Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagCold War

young-girl-playing-with-dolphin-in-xel-ha-park-rivera-maya-mexico-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Young girl playing with dolphin in Xel-ha park, Rivera Maya, Mexico

The Surprising Role Dolphins Have Played in the Search for ET

Dolphins, with their apparent alien intelligence, have been seen by scientists interested in ET as a stand-in

In a recent essay, Thomas Moynihan, a researcher with Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, puts the explosion of interest in dolphin intelligence in context: It began during the Space Race (1957–1998) — which helped fuel and fund the search for extraterrestrial intelligences. Its development also coincided withe Cold War (1946–1991) between the US and the USSR. In 1961, amid the growing tensions, neuroscientist John C. Lilly claimed that he had made contact with the first “alien” intelligence. But, as Moynihan says, Lilly “wasn’t talking about little green men from Tau Ceti, he was talking of minds much closer to home: bottlenose dolphins.” Why dolphins? As Moynihan recounts, from ancient times, mariners knew that dolphins were intelligent and modern zoologists like Read More ›

dozens-of-drones-swarm-in-the-cloudy-sky-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Dozens of Drones Swarm in the Cloudy Sky.

Robert J. Marks on Killer Robots

Robert J. Marks discusses AI and the military, autonomous weapons, and his book The Case for Killer Robots with hosts Robert D. Atkinson and Jackie Whisman from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Dr. Marks’ book The Case for Killer Robots is available at Amazon.com in print, audio and Kindle formats. For a limited time, the Bradley Center is Read More ›

3D Rendering of abstract binary data in glowing blue and red color. For deep machine learning, crypto currency, hi tech product uses. Big data visualization, artificial intelligence. With copy space

The Greatest Threat We Face From AI—and What We Can Do

Here’s a list of things that have really happened with artificial intelligence (AI), in order of increasing severity.

When we get to the end of the list, we will see that it is like beads connected by a string—revealing the most dangerous threat.

Read More ›
philip-brown-542110-unsplash
Two fighter planes, one older one newer

STEM EDUCATION 3. Killing People and Breaking Things

Modern history suggests that military superiority driven by technology can be a key factor in deterring aggression and preventing mass fatalities
Today, better AI is the goal of the arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin has prophesied: “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere [AI] will become the ruler of the world.” Putin’s remarks apply to both economic and military dominance. Read More ›