Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Tagcapitalism

bellevue-skyline-at-sunset-stockpack-adobe-stock
Bellevue Skyline at sunset
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
April 19, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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More COSM 2023 Videos on YouTube!

The third tranche of COSM videos cover graphene, AI and capital markets, and George Gilder's "Life After Capitalism"
Caitlin Cory
April 19, 2024
3
Artificial Intelligence

The third tranche of COSM 2023 videos is now available — covering an array of fascinating topics, such as graphene, how artificial intelligence impacts venture capital markets, and the principles of George Gilder’s book Life After Capitalism to name a few. If you weren’t able to attend, or perhaps you want to revisit some of your favorite speakers, take a look at our COSM 2023 playlist on YouTube! A few highlights of the recently released videos: “It is the strongest material known to man. It is also incredibly conductive, thermally stable, chemically stable, and has all these incredible applications such as strengthening composites to reinforce cement, plastics, things like that, all the way up to making flexible electronics and touch Read More ›

man-presenting-to-group-of-people-stockpack-adobe-stock
Man Presenting to Group of People
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 29, 2023
Categorized
Economics
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New Review of “Life After Capitalism” Amplifies Book’s Core Themes

Returning to the "mind-centered economy" where knowledge is wealth
Peter Biles
June 29, 2023
3
Economics

A new review of George Gilder’s latest book Life After Capitalism from Samuel Gregg highlights the need for the return of the “mind-centered economy,” in which governmental bureaucracies no longer hamper human creativity and imagination. When capitalistic, democratic societies fall for materialistic presuppositions of the world, they end up resembling socialist contexts in which the state is everything and individual men and women are squelched. Gregg writes at the Acton power blog, [Gilder]takes this notion of the free human mind as the decisive factor in driving economic growth and applies it across the board to economic theory, technology, and our understanding of money. Looking at the question of incentives, for example, Gilder points out that they would yield nothing in Read More ›

closeup-of-ben-franklin-on-a-one-hundred-dollar-bill-for-background-iv-stockpack-adobe-stock
Closeup of Ben Franklin on a one hundred dollar bill for background IV
Type
post
Author
George Gilder
Date
June 9, 2023
Categorized
Economics
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Life After Capitalism: Human Creativity Drives Economic Growth

Gilder once more rocks the archetypes of modern information theory and economics with a paradigm-shifting salvo of sheer brilliance
George Gilder
June 9, 2023
2
Economics

Author of national bestseller Life After Google and generation-defining Wealth and Poverty, venture capitalist, futurist, and pioneering thinker extraordinaire George Gilder pinpoints how the clash of creativity with power at the heart of economic systems leads to global cognitive dissonance and argues that the creation of the novel taps capitalism’s infinite promise and is humanity’s only path of escape from stagnation and tyranny. Gilder once more rocks the archetypes of modern information theory and economics with a paradigm-shifting salvo of sheer brilliance. The capitalist era is over — get ready for life after capitalism. For more than two hundred years, capitalism spread wealth around the globe, bringing unprecedented prosperity and progress, liberating human potential. But something has gone terribly wrong in the world economy. Read More ›

emotional-glitchy-tetris-pattern-pixelated-photoluminescence-scifi-otherworldly-realistic-stockpack-adobe-stock
emotional glitchy tetris pattern pixelated Photoluminescence SciFi Otherworldly Realistic
Type
post
Author
News
Date
May 26, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Technology
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Before the iPhone, There Was Tetris

What was the precursor for the widespread tech addiction we see today, particularly in young people?
News
May 26, 2023
2
Arts & Culture, Technology

What was the precursor for the widespread tech addiction we see today, particularly in young people? Many say it was the iPhone. Peter Tonguette, however, thinks that the game Tetris started the screentime avalanche. Tonguette reviewed the new Apple TV+ film Tetris, which covers the story of the classic game’s development, acquisition, and subsequent popularity in the early nineties. He writes, One might assume this changeover coincided with the rise of smartphones and social media, but a new movie shows that it happened as early as the summer vacation of 1989. During that fateful interregnum between school years, kids were introduced to something that prefigured the electronic devices of the 21st century: a battery-powered, 8-bit handheld videogame device whose two Read More ›

office-building-top-view-background-in-retro-style-colors-manhattan-buildings-of-new-york-city-center-wall-street-stockpack-adobe-stock
Office building top view background in retro style colors. Manhattan buildings of New York City center - Wall street
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 21, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism
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HBO’s “Succession” Goes Transhumanist

The popular show about a family owned media empire hints at the desire to live forever
Peter Biles
May 21, 2023
3
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

[Warning: Spoilers Ahead] The highly-watched HBO show “Succession” tells the story of a media empire ruled by a cantankerous, manipulative businessman, Logan Roy, and his three children who are hardly any better. Most of the show is a commentary on the corrupting effects of wealth and the power dynamics involved in the media empire’s core leadership. In the dramatic fourth season, Logan Roy dies from what seems to be a stroke while he’s flying to Norway to discuss a giant merger deal with another media mogul. From there, the three Roy children, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv (along with a half-brother Connor who doesn’t care as much about his place in the kingdom) scramble to figure out the leadership, direction, and Read More ›

puppeteer-manipulates-the-doll-voting-is-dishonest-on-television-person-lowers-a-paper-ballet-box-to-put-it-in-an-urn-false-voice-fake-news-on-tv-stockpack-adobe-stock
Puppeteer manipulates the doll. Voting is dishonest. On television, person lowers a paper ballet box to put it in an urn, false voice. Fake news on TV.
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
May 10, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Panic Propaganda Pushes Surrender to AI-Enhanced Power

The hype over AI's significance makes us more vulnerable to it
Richard W. Stevens
May 10, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence

Can you believe it? USA Today, the national news outlet, on May 4, 2023, declared (italics added): It’s the end of the world as we know it: ‘Godfather of AI’ warns nation of trouble ahead. Before digging out and playing your 1987 REM album, ask yourself: Is this headline true – and what do we do now?  The USA Today article mitigates the doom timeframe from imminent to someday in paragraph one (italics added): One of the world’s foremost architects of artificial intelligence warned Wednesday that unexpectedly rapid advances in AI – including its ability to learn simple reasoning – suggest it could someday take over the world and push humanity toward extinction. Within a day, the Arizona Republic ran Read More ›

vintage-bank-sign-stockpack-adobe-stock
Vintage Bank Sign
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 14, 2023
Categorized
Business and Finance
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Why Did the Tech Bubble Correspond with Low Interest Rates?

Ultimately, our economy’s deeper problems aren’t so much a result of “money” as they are bad allocations of resources.
Jonathan Bartlett
March 14, 2023
4
Business and Finance

For context, read Bartlett’s article explaining the fall of SVB here. I wanted to make a quick note about why tech bubbles tend to correspond with low interest rate environments. Interest rates essentially dictate how long someone can wait before they need to produce something of real value. In a 20% interest rate environment, it will be evident really quickly if you are failing to produce something of value. Since essentially 1/5 of your capital disappears each year, if you aren’t doing something that will generate real profits quickly, you are sunk. You can’t paper over problems with more borrowing because the cost of that borrowing is so high. Additionally, in such an environment, the payoffs for investment need to be large Read More ›

google on ipad
Bangkok, Thailand 25 AUG 2020. Men hand using digital tablet for search information on Google. Wireless Smartphone technology with intelligence search engine.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 25, 2023
Categorized
Law, Media
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U.S. Department of Justice Sues Google (Again)

The DOJ claims the tech giant is unlawfully monopolizing the digital advertising market
News
January 25, 2023
2
Law, Media

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing Google, claiming the technology company has monopolized the digital advertising market. This marks the second federal anti-trust suit against Google. Google has led the digital advertising market for years, although companies like TikTok and Amazon are becoming more viable competitors. Despite the competition, Google still raked in $209B in advertising in 2021, per a briefing from 1440 News, and its 2022 financial report is expected to disclose similar numbers. The official complaint notes the benefit and importance of a “vibrant internet” in American life but emphasizes the centrality of economic diversity and competition. Section 4 of the complaint claims “the ad tech space is broken,” further explaining,   One industry behemoth, Google, Read More ›

money-piggy-bank-finance-stockpack-pixabay
money, piggy bank, finance
Type
post
Author
Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk
Date
October 25, 2021
Categorized
Economics
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Destructing the Creative Destruction Myth

Debunking the argument that the Fortune 100 list is evidence of the productive vitality of capitalism
Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk
October 25, 2021
6
Economics

Joseph Schumpeter argued that capitalist economies are not stagnant and calcified but, instead, by nature a form or method of economic change and not only never is but never can be stationary. Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, 1950 He believed that embedded in capitalism is an engine of change that revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. This process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has got to live in. Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, 1950 Schumpeter was no doubt influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin had written that the “extinction of old forms is the almost Read More ›

Robot Examining Financial Report With Calculator
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
July 21, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Economics
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Should Robots Pay Taxes?

Taxing artificial intelligence is the latest proposal to expand centralized control of human life
Richard W. Stevens
July 21, 2021
13
Artificial Intelligence, Economics

In June 2021, we started considering the provocatively titled podcast transcript, “Can a Robot Be Arrested? Hold a Patent? Pay Income Taxes?”, posted on the IEEE Spectrum site. Steven Cherry interviewed Ryan Abbott, physician, lawyer, and professor, about these topics and referencing his 2019 book, The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the Law. We’ve discussed whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems could be charged with crimes or can hold a patent. Whether “robots should pay taxes” turns out to be the scariest question yet. Touching upon the subject only lightly in the podcast, Abbott details the problem of taxing AI in Reasonable Robot, following this thought process: Automation using AI threatens to increase human unemployment. Current U.S. tax law encourages automation through favorable treatment Read More ›

technology-and-socialism-stockpack-adobe-stock
technology and socialism
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 4, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Social Media, Technocracy
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“AI is fastest path to Communism,” says Elon Musk’s partner

In a viral TikTok video, the singer/songwriter said AI will lead us to a world of leisure and no work
News
June 4, 2021
4
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Social Media, Technocracy

Social media was aflood yesterday with confusion and intrigue when Grimes – a Canadian singer/songwriter and 3-year partner to technological entrepreneur Elon Musk – said that “AI is actually the fastest path to communism” and encouraged communists to embrace the technology if they want to see their political dreams come true. Grimes (born Claire Elise Boucher) posted a short video to TikTok on Thursday, proposing that artificial intelligence could lead us to a utopia in which no one has to work and everyone lives in leisure: “I have a proposition for the communists. So, typically most of the communists I know are not big fans of AI. But if you think about it, AI is actually the fastest path to Read More ›

department-store-shop-class-luxury-near-the-red-bridge-historical-buildings-of-saint-petersburg-in-the-background-the-city-and-st-isaacs-cathedral-dome-of-golden-color-in-the-evening-at-sunset-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Department store shop class luxury, near the Red Bridge, historical buildings of Saint-Petersburg. In the background the city and St. Isaac's Cathedral dome of golden color, in the evening at sunset.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
October 9, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Surveillance
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Russia Aims to Close the Technology Gap With the United States

Independent since 1991, the vast nation offers a government version of Silicon Valley culture
News
October 9, 2020
10
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology, Surveillance

In this week’s podcast, “AI development in Russia, Part 1,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks talks with Samuel Bendett about Russia’s struggles to develop AI for entrepreneurship and free enterprise, rather than military uses. It turns out to be mainly a cultural struggle, as historic institutions must adapt to an environment where market dominance is more important than military dominance. Mr. Bendett, who is fluent in Russian and English, is an advisor to the Russia Studies Program and the Center for Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence of the CNA Adversary Analysis Group. And how is Russia faring? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-103-Samuel-Bendett.mp3 From the transcript: (Show Notes, Resources, and a link to the complete transcript follow.) Robert J. Marks (pictured): What I want Read More ›

gray-vehicle-being-fixed-inside-factory-using-robot-machines-stockpack-unsplash.jpg
gray vehicle being fixed inside factory using robot machines
Type
podcast
Author
Jay Richards and Larry L. Linenschmidt
Date
May 28, 2020
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Bingecast: Jay Richards on The Human Advantage

Jay Richards and Larry L. Linenschmidt
May 28, 2020
2

Will machines take over human jobs? Jay Richards discusses artificial intelligence, virtue, job displacement, and collaboration using technology with Larry L. Linenschmidt. This interview is about Jay’s book, The Human Advantage: The Future of American Work in an Age of Smart Machines. This interview was originally aired by the Hill Country Institute and is included here in its entirety. This Read More ›

Auto Mechanic with Tool on Blurred Background
Type
podcast
Author
Larry L. Linenschmidt and Jay Richards
Date
October 17, 2019
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Jay Richards on the Greatly Exaggerated Death of Human Jobs — Part I

Larry L. Linenschmidt and Jay Richards
October 17, 2019
2

Rumor has it, artificial intelligence and robotics will make humans obsolete. Larry L. Linenschmidt discusses artificial intelligence, job displacement, virtue, and machines with Jay Richards. This interview is about Jay’s book, The Human Advantage: The Future of American Work in an Age of Smart Machines. This interview was originally aired by the Hill Country Institute and is included here in Read More ›

People running away from an invisible hand
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
October 5, 2018
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Does Technology Favor Tyranny?

Part One: Deconstructing Yuval Harari’s Silly Forecast of AI’s Future Impact
Robert J. Marks
October 5, 2018
1

Will infotech and biotech erode human agency, subvert human desires, and render free-market economics obsolete?  At first glance, there looks to be a wide gap between the future of AI and the destruction of democracy. Some futurists claim to have jumped that chasm. In a cheery little column published by the Atlantic, Yuval Noah Harari posits AI will ultimately destroy Read More ›