Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagChatGPT

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Classical Sculpture Displayed in Art Gallery - Elegant Frame Backdrop Perspective

AI Slop is Invading the Culture, Replacing Writers

The antidote to AI slop is a renewal of aesthetic and literary taste
These soulless data-churning machines are spitting out nonsense so pervasively that they’re beginning to shape the way we actually see the world. Read More ›
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Statistical illusion in TV game. Isometric illustration of undecided businessman on stairs with open doors. Modern landing page of making decision.

Intelligence Requires More Than Following Instructions

Post-training improves the accuracy and usefulness of LLMs but does not make them intelligent in any meaningful sense — as the Monty Hall problem shows
The danger is not that computers are smarter than us but that we think they are and thus trust them to make decisions they should not be trusted to make. Read More ›
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Vintage woodworking tools on the workbench

AI and the Destructive Lies of the Tool Trope

You've heard this, right? “Technology isn’t good or bad; it’s a tool, it’s just how you use it that matters.” False.
Because LLM AIs never understand a single word, image, video, or line of code, they can’t know whether anything they say is right, true, or good. Read More ›
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Understanding Investor Psychology: Influence on Market Behavior and Decision Making, Generative Ai

Cognitive Psychology and the Limits of AI: An Interview with Dr. Joe McDonald

On this episode, host Robert J. Marks begins a conversation with Dr. Joe McDonald exploring the relationship between cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI). Dr. Joe McDonald is an expert in cognitive psychology and human factors research. He is the CEO and Principal at Jumpseat Research, a firm that applies cognitive science principles to improve technology design and user experiences. Read More ›

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AI in Finance and Banking, AI applications in finance and banking with an image depicting algorithmic trading, AI

The AI Bubble: Lessons from Past Financial Bubbles

In this installment of the Mind Matters News podcast, host Robert J. Marks begins a conversation with economics professor and author Gary Smith about the hype of generative AI and its impact on the market. Smith is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Economics at Ponoma College and a frequent contributor to Mind Matters News. Smith argues that generative AI, embodied Read More ›

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Intelligence artificielle

Podcast Guest Claims He Won’t Die, Says We’re Creating God With AI

Got immortality? This man says he has the secret.
Johnson’s views on AI sound crazy, but they reflect a burgeoning hope that computerized superintelligence will somehow solve all the enigmas of existence. Read More ›
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Conceptual illustration of people with eyeballs as their heads looking at mobilephones

2025: Rejecting Brain Rot

Toward a more embodied and human way of life
Following the data, observing personal experience, and developing another vision for human flourishing can get us a step closer to a fuller, intentional life. Read More ›
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Businessman working on a laptop in an office, with a transparent overlay showing a modern cityscape of buildings and skyscrapers. Ideal for themes of technology, business, and urban life. Ai Generate.

AI Adoption is Slowing Amidst the “Biggest Gamble in Business History”

Workers and companies aren't buying the AI hype
In the case of AI, knowledge workers are trying to tell us something. They don’t like AI as much the top managers do, and their excitement is falling. Read More ›
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books in a library

What’s Happening to Literature?

Why aren't students reading anything anymore?
Consider the great literary tradition, which still calls out with its timeless voice, reminding us that it’s still there for the taking for those who eyes to see and ears to hear. Read More ›
phone in the dark
Asian woman playing game on smartphone in the bed at night,Thailand people,Addict social media

The Tragic Case of Teen’s Death and Character.AI

From the perspective of friends and family, it looked like Sewell just got mired in his phone. They weren’t aware he “fell for a chatbot.”
Sewell spiraled farther down an AI vortex until he fantasized about "joining" the chatbot in some kind of postmortem union. Read More ›
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space view of the American Ian hurricane in Florida state of United States showing the effects of climate change on cities of America. 3D illustration.

AI Social Media “Slop” Makes Lies Look Convincing

The AI slop machine holds graver consequences when the images reflect natural disasters
AI companies should be held accountable by being required to watermark their images. Read More ›
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Dynamic cyber big data flow: blockchain networks intersecting with ai technology and digital communication. Vibrant 3d illustration of music waves and science research

Hinton and Hopfield Win Nobel Prize in Physics

Hinton warns against neglecting AI safety

Geoffrey E. Hinton, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence responsible for helping develop “neural networks,” has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize alongside John J. Hopfield. The two scientists won the award for their groundbreaking work in machine intelligence, paving the way for a revolutionary new way to use computers. Hinton attracted attention just last year when he departed from Google and started warning the public about the potential dangers of new AI systems. He likened the AI revolution to the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, only this time, it won’t be our physical capacities that get trumped by the machine, but our intellects. The New York Times reports, “It will be comparable with the Industrial Revolution,” Read More ›

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Man reading in the park

Sam Altman Was on My Favorite Writing Podcast. His View on Storytelling Surprised Me.

When we read, we want to hear from a human about what it means to be human.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has garnered a fair share of criticism from the writing crowd for creating ChatGPT, a tool that on the surface seems to banish the need for human writers at all. However, Altman recently appeared on David Perell’s prominent writing podcast “How I Write” to talk about his own writing process, AI, and what he uses ChatGPT for. Altman and Perell talk about the importance of language for human communication, with Altman noting how he can’t imagine human life without language. AI, Altman says, is supposed to make language and the writing process “better.” In his view, that’s what computers have also sought to do: Create opportunities for humans to expand and deepen their capacities. But Read More ›

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Illustration of AI generating unique poetry and prose, generative AI in literature, machine learning, creative writing, advanced technology, digital storytelling

National Novel Writing Month Approves AI Writing

But what about most of the arts and culture community?
The pushback was swift and overwhelming negative. Read More ›
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Closeup financial chart with uptrend line candlestick graph in stock market on blue color monitor background

AI Increased the Market Cap of the Magnificent Seven by $10 Trillion. Will it last?

AI is here to stay, just not in these insanely high share prices
Are the benefits from generative AI really hundreds of times higher than those from Microsoft Office? Read More ›
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A retro video games arcade fighting machine for two players, with a large blank screen. 3D render illustration.

A Weekend Watch: Paul Kingsnorth and Louise Perry

Who is technology serving?
What do we lose when we’re never quiet with our own thoughts, always checking our phones, always listening to Spotify or a podcast in the background? Read More ›
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Blue car drown in water canal. Extreme accident vehicle sink in river pound lake, traffic incident

Our Tech Use Crosses the Line When We Trust It Too Much

Don't be like Michael Scott and let AI drive your car into a lake
I've never driven my car into a lake screaming "the machine knows!" like Michael Scott did but the temptation to use technology like this loom in everyday life. Read More ›
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hand of woman holding pen with writing on paper report in office

Study: Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain. What Does that Say About ChatGPT?

Nothing can replace pen and paper

It might be time to get the pens and notebooks back out and shut off the keyboard for a while. Just pretend you’re back in the first grade and don’t have a minicomputer in your back pocket. Writing by hand can help stimulate the whole brain and stave off cognitive decline, according to a study by Van der Weel and Van der Meer (2024), as reported by Pamela B. Rutledge in Psychology Today. Using a more personal note, she writes, I’ve never been one to keep a journal, but I now wonder if the exclusive use of computers and the lack of handwriting practice is doing my brain a disservice by decreasing the activity of cortico-subcortical components of the writing Read More ›

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Web Development Dreams Come True: Silhouetted Developers in Discussion with Company Logo

Are We Close to Peak AI Hype?

Outrageous statements are proliferating.
Sanity might be about ready to return to the market. Just maybe, we have reached peak hype. Read More ›