Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagChatGPT

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Abstract landscape. Colorful art landscape with the tower of Babel in dramatic light. Art illustration. Digital art image.

The New Tower of Babel

The old ways of arguing and understanding each other are on the decline, if not on life support.

We all know Babel (no, not the language learning company). It’s in Genesis. The Biblical story about God making so many languages and dialects and (let’s add) opinions that no one could understand each other or effectively communicate. One legacy of the triumph of digital technology and AI in every corner of our existence is that we’ve recreated this Babel. Let me try to unpack this, and bear with me if it seems I’m saying something derogatory about one belief or another — my aim is to avoid that game and try to explain the mechanism, the social and cultural story, by which our new Babel is ascendant, and the old ways of arguing and understanding each other are on Read More ›

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Robert J. Marks Discusses Artificial Intelligence in D.C.

Marks is making the rounds talking about AI and his new book.

Marks’ views on AI are valuable contributions to the current discourse on the topic, so it’s wonderful his book is making a splash with some big names.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence concept,3d rendering,conceptual image.

Is AI’s Future Open or Closed?

Watch Archana Vemulapalli, Head of Solutions Architecture at Amazon Web Services, discuss developments in artificial intelligence

Watch Archana Vemulapalli, Head of Solutions Architecture at Amazon Web Services, discuss developments in artificial intelligence with Bryan Mistele, CEO of transportation analytics provider, INRIX – especially ways in which AI can be employed to make people more productive and efficient, and in the end, make the world a better place. You can watch this video and many more from the most recent COSM conference, which featured leading thinkers and pioneers in the fields of tech, artificial intelligence, and computing.

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Futuristic AI robot in priest attire stands inside church and preaching. Setting combines traditional religious elements with advanced technology, showcasing unique blend of past and future.

Father Justin, a Chatbot, is Absolving Sinners

Critics are calling for the AI priest to be "taken down immediately."

Catholic Answers is a “media ministry that serves Christ by explaining and defending the Catholic faith,” according to their description on X. For Catholic observers, it serves as a good resource for deepening one’s faith and finding clarification on certain Catholic doctrines. However, the site recently introduced a controversial new member to the team: Father Justin, a chatbot “priest” designed to help answer people’s questions about Catholicism. In defense of this AI app, Catholic Answers said, As a leading Catholic apostolate, Catholic Answers is committed to leveraging the latest technologies to advance its mission of explaining and defending the Catholic faith. The Father Justin app is the latest example of this commitment, providing a new and appealing way for searchers Read More ›

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University college audience or lecture room with students as back to school education study and learning during conference presentation and training seminar meeting

Universities Should Prioritize Critical Thinking Over Large Language Models

It is doubtful that LLMs can generate novel ways to boost productivity

No matter how many words they train on and no matter how many human trainers correct their mistakes, they will continue to lack the critical thinking skills.

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Data reflecting on eyeglasses on man's face. Computrer programmer big data and ux designer concept

AI’s Illusion of Rapid Progress

It always seems to be on the verge of perfection

Too many people are extrapolating from the systems that are purportedly automated, even though they aren’t yet working properly.

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Big data and artificial intelligence concept. Machine learning and cyber mind domination concept in form of women face on dark blue technology background, 3d illustration.

Joe Rogan Spins Bizarre Take on Evolution and AI

The podcaster thinks AI could become "God"

Joe Rogan recently sat down with Tucker Carlson to have an often-bizarre conversation that involved everything from UFOs to evolution to saunas. Rogan’s comments on artificial intelligence, however, were some of the most provocative of the exchange, and reflected a sentiment common among futurists and transhumanists: AI could become a life form, evolve, and replace the human race. Rogan situates his views by noting that only humans think humans are important. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, human life is inconsequential. He went on to note that AI could become “God,” and evolve to a certain point where it would basically know everything there is to know. The question is: why would anyone want that, and why should that Read More ›

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ai technology, robotic technology system, molecule of chemical, atom cell plexus and science, abstract futuristic universe cyber network server online, background illustration 3d rendering

Meta AI Scientist: AGI is a Pipe Dream

Human intelligence still can't be matched by a soulless algorithm

Predictions on AI’s ever-developing complexity have tech optimists counting the days until the machine replaces the human mind. Artificial general intelligence is the term they use to describe the point in which AI will officially overtake human intelligence. However, certain experts in the field, among them Robert J. Marks, host of the Mind Matters podcast, protest the assumption. AI researcher and scientist Yann LeCun, the AI chief at Meta, said recently that the current AI systems are nowhere close to achieving human-like intelligence. LeCun said, “We’re easily fooled into thinking they are intelligent because of their fluency with language, but really, their understanding of reality is very superficial,” he said. “They’re useful, there’s no question about that. But on the Read More ›

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COSM 2023 Now on YouTube!

COSM 2023 explored the nature of artificial intelligence, as well as its future potential and risks.

You can now watch the 2023 COSM Technology Summit on YouTube. If you weren’t able to attend, or perhaps you want to revisit some of your favorite speakers, we are now releasing the second tranche of videos for your enjoyment. Click here to go to the COSM 2023 Playlist on YouTube! COSM 2023 explored the nature of artificial intelligence, as well as its future potential and risks. Stephen Wolfram spoke about his efforts to make the world more computable so that computers can help us understand the world. Afterward, George Gilder and Bob Metcalfe joined him in a fascinating discussion about Turing machines, neural networks, and AI-driven language models. A panel featuring William Dembski, Robert Marks, and George Montanez offered Read More ›

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Large Language Models - Generative AI illustration

Can We Trust Large Language Models? Depends on How Truthful They Are

Just because a piece of tech is highly sophisticated doesn't mean it's more trustworthy

The trust we put in Large Language Models (LLMs) ought to depend on their truthfulness. So how truthful are LLMs? For many routine queries, they seem accurate enough. What’s the capital of North Dakota? To this query, ChatGPT4 just now gave me the answer Bismarck. That’s right. But what about less routine queries? Recently I was exploring the use of design inferences to detect plagiarism and data falsification. Some big academic misconduct cases had in the last 12 months gotten widespread public attention, not least the plagiarism scandal of Harvard president Claudine Gay and the data falsification scandal of Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne. These scandals were so damaging to these individuals and their institutions that neither is a university president any longer.  When I queried Read More ›

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Retro Robot mad of junk rusty metal learning Human Civilization by it self reading books like making updates in library

Former Googlers Weren’t Shocked by Gemini

The new bot simply reflects the tech giant's ideological commitments.

For them, Gemini is in keeping with Google’s corporate culture and represents the tech giant’s prioritization of ideology over excellence.

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Isolated children's toy against a blue texture background, teddy bear from childhood, an old pink hippo

Pink Dancing Hippos: Don’t Tell ChatGPT-4 Not to do Something

Can OpenAI fix this flaw in GPT4? Absolutely. Time will tell if they do or not.

Moral: Don’t ask GPT-4 to NOT do something. Chances are the current version might let you down.

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Artificial neuron in concept of artificial intelligence. Wall-shaped binary codes make transmission lines of pulses and/or information in an analogy to a microchip.

Wrestling with AI: Making More and Better Disciples

AI may have "knowledge," but it lacks wisdom.

Even if it were possible that AI reaches consciousness — it will never have the mind of Christ.

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Stock market diagram on LCD screen. Selective focus.

AI and Wall Street’s Hype Curve

Almost all new tech has a hype curve. Here are the stages.

Technologies that have surfed the hype curve include superconductivity, the Segway, cold fusion, information theory, Theranos, Piltdown man and string theory.

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Robot's hand holds up a red heart aigenerated.

Will You Be My Valentine, Chatbot?

It is a tragedy indeed when our loneliness as a culture has developed so far that many people see chatbot companions as one of the only way forward.

Recent studies indicate that members of Gen Z are dividing politically according to sex, with men leaning more conservative and women going more liberal.

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selective focus of robotic arm holding glass of water and person taking notes at wooden table

Japanese Novelist Who Won Prestigious Literary Award Unabashedly Used ChatGPT

Meanwhile, authors in the United States are waging war against AI for copyright violation

While stylistically, the prose AI “created” for Karan’s novel might be “flawless,” it lacks credibility because it lacks the human voice.

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Servers data center room with bright bokeh light going through the corridor 3D rendering

The Allure of General Purpose Technologies

Generative AI is merely the most recent one.

I don’t believe that economists intended to create a monster when they coined the term “general purpose technology”, but they have.

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Earphones and mobile phone with podcast app on screen

Napster, Spotify, and AI: How Will AI Escape Copyright Woes?

Robert J. Marks on AI and learning from past copyright cases.

Copyright lawsuits are abounding against generative AI. Since the advent of ChatGPT in late 2022, various companies, artists, and writers have raised concerns over AI’s plagiaristic tendencies. Robert J. Marks, host of the Mind Matters podcast, has the story over at Newsmax. Marks recalls the debacle of Napster, a music streaming service that provided music for “free” without payment to the artists. Not surprisingly, it was soon shut down. So how will it fare with generative AI? What’s the solution to all the impending legal woes in the realm of AI? Marks writes, Today’s Spotify keeps automatic records of song frequency and, from subscriber’s payments, distributes royalties accordingly. Similar methods could be applied to compensate content creators by generative AI. It’s not Read More ›

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Artificially Smart: Artificial Intelligence and Higher Education

Understanding needs to remain the metric by which students are evaluated

If steps aren’t taken to ensure that conceptual mastery remains the standard for higher education, most students will complete their degrees as technicians.

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polar bear astronaut in space suit, generative ai

Internet Pollution — If You Tell a Lie Long Enough…

Large Language Models (chatbots) can generate falsehoods faster than humans can correct them. For example, they might say that the Soviets sent bears into space...

Later, Copilot and other LLMs will be trained to say no bears have been sent into space but many thousands of other misstatements will fly under their radar.

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