Tag: Consciousness | Page 11

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post

News
Date
January 13, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Consciousness, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), Sabine Hossenfelder}

A Theoretical Physicist Grapples With the Math of Consciousness

_{Looking at the various theories, she is not very happy} _{News
January 13, 2021

3

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

She’s not very happy with what she sees: The currently most popular mathematical approach to consciousness is integrated information theory, IIT for short. It was put forward by a neurologist, Giulio Tononi, in two thousand and four. In IIT, each system is assigned a number, that’s big Phi, which is the “integrated information” and supposedly a measure of consciousness. The better a system is at distributing information while it’s processing the information, the larger Phi. A system that’s fragmented and has many parts that calculate in isolation may process lots of information, but this information is not “integrated”, so Phi is small. For example, a digital camera has millions of light receptors. It processes large amounts of information. But the Read More ›

Psychology concept. Sunrise and woman silhouette.

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post

News
Date
January 6, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Complex systems, Consciousness, Self-organization}

Can Our Minds Extend Beyond Our Bodies?

_{It depends on how we define our “minds” — Can we disentangle our minds from our experiences?} _{News
January 6, 2021

3

Philosophy of Mind}

Well, here’s a fun coffee break challenge offered by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., the author of Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) (2016): … our mind is not simply our perception of experiences, but those experiences themselves. Siegel argues that it’s impossible to completely disentangle our subjective view of the world from our interactions. “I realized if someone asked me to define the shoreline but insisted, is it the water or the sand, I would have to say the shore is both sand and sea,” says Siegel. “You can’t limit our understanding of the coastline to insist it’s one or the other. I started thinking, maybe the mind is like the coastline—some Read More ›

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post

News
Date
December 19, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Computers, Consciousness}

A Silicon Valley Psychologist Doesn’t Believe in Consciousness

_{Duncan Riach thinks that, with increasing complexity, computers will appear to be conscious too but it’s a misunderstanding for both humans and computers} _{News
December 19, 2020

3

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Duncan Riach, who believes that computers can become selves, doesn’t believe in consciousness. As he explains, I’ve lost friends over this because a denial of consciousness undermines a final refuge of the arrogance of selfhood: universal consciousness. But even most normal people are strongly insistent that consciousness is a real thing, a special thing, and that they possess it. The problem I have is that there’s not only no evidence for it, but what people seem to be referring to as consciousness is explainable as an effect no more unusual, no less materialistically explainable, than water flowing downhill… Rather than jumping to the conclusion that this body has a soul and/or that somehow this “I am,” this feeling of something Read More ›

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post

News
Date
December 19, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, Consciousness, Hidden Spring (book), Mark Solms, mind}

Psychologist: Consciousness Is Not a Thing But a Point of View

_{Mark Solms attempts to explain consciousness in his new book, Hidden Spring} _{News
December 19, 2020

3

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Anyone who thinks about consciousness soon realizes that it is a Hard Problem. It means being a subject of experience, rather than an object to which experiences happen. A dog has consciousness. He yelps when in pain. But a rock does not care about becoming sand. In an interesting article in Psychology Today, neuropsychologist Mark Solms outlines some thoughts from a book he has written on the subject, The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness (Norton, 2021): Physiological processes do not produce consciousness in the sense that the liver produces bile. Consciousness is not a thing but rather a point of view. What we perceive objectively as physiological processes in the brain we perceive subjectively as conscious Read More ›

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post

News
Date
December 15, 2020

Categorized
Information Theory, Science

Tagged
Consciousness, cosmology, hard problem of consciousness, Origin of life, Paul Davies}

But Do “Hidden Webs of Information” Really Solve Life’s Mystery?

_{Cosmologist Paul Davies won an award last year for an attempt that left “more questions than clean-cut answers (Physics World)} _{News
December 15, 2020

4

Information Theory, Science}

Last year, State University of Arizona’s cosmologist Paul Davies won a Best Book award from Physics World for Demon in the Machine: The book’s subtitle is “How hidden webs of information are solving the mystery of life.” But are they? The book deals with established physics concepts (such as the second law of thermodynamics), but also delves into Davies’ thoughts on topics such as the emergence of human consciousness (while making sure the reader is aware of what is speculation). Readers, though, are likely to be left with more questions than clean-cut answers about the laws of nature. “Just in the last 10 years or so, I suppose, I’ve begun to see a confluence of different subjects. Partly, this is Read More ›

Liquid Nitrogen bank containing suspension of stem cells. Cell culture for the biomedical diagnostic

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post

Heather Zeiger
Date
November 1, 2020

Categorized
Ethics, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, Brain organoids, Consciousness, Featured, Materialism, mind, Naturalism, Sentience}

Can We Make Brains in a Dish? Can We Make MINDS in a Dish?

_{Experiments with brain organoids have left many wondering whether we should be concerned about creating brains-in-a-dish} _{Heather Zeiger
November 1, 2020

8

Ethics, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In a recent report, Nature addressed several studies on disembodied brains grown in the lab. One of those studies, published last year by Alysson Muotri of the University of California, San Diego, showed that brain organoids (organized clusters of brain cells) displayed electrical signals reminiscent of a twenty-five-week-old pre-term baby. the electrical activity continued for several months until the experiment was eventually stopped. Experiments with such brain organoids have left many wondering whether we should be concerned about creating brains-in-a-dish. Organoids, such as those made of kidney or liver cells, have been used to study drug development and disease. They are made either from embryonic stem cells—an ethically problematic source because they involve the destruction of an embryo—or induced pluripotent Read More ›

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post

News
Date
October 30, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Consciousness, Gaming AI (book), George Gilder, Philip Ball, Quantum computers, Quantum Mechanics}

Will Quantum Mechanics Produce the True Thinking Computer?

_{Quantum computers come with real world problems of their own} _{News
October 30, 2020

3

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

There is an odd relationship between the human mind and quantum mechanics, the science of things too small to be governed by ordinary physics.

Everyone Seems To Be Looking For the “Seat of Consciousness”

_{Does consciousness have a seat at the table? Wait a minute. Isn’t consciousness the TABLE?} _{News
October 30, 2020

4

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Prominent neuroscientist Christof Koch, whose theory of consciousness is linked to panpsychism, has a new paper at Nature: Human Behaviour. Ideally, many science notables would like to “naturalize” human consciousness—to make it the same sort of phenomenon as the wind in the trees in a universe where nothing has any intrinsic meaning that sets it apart from anything else or points to a higher order of things. That would, of course, make calculation easier. But is it true? Here’s the abstract: Electrical stimulation of the human cortex, undertaken for brain surgery, triggers percepts and feelings. A new study documents an ordering principle to these effects: the farther removed from sensory input or motor output structures, the less likely it is Read More ›

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post

News
Date
October 11, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Animal Minds, Brain as computer, Coma, Consciousness, Disorders of consciousness, Featured, Half a brain, human brain, Human exceptionalism, Michael Egnor, neuroplasticity, Persistent vegetative state (PVS), Prostheses, Sophia the Robot, Split brain}

Your Mind vs. Your Brain: Ten Things To Know

_{Although we are only beginning to understand the workings of the brain, it clearly isn't the same thing as the mind} _{News
October 11, 2020

9

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Modern neuroscience research is both shedding light on the brain and revealing the depths of its mysterious relationship with our minds.

Why Do Many Scientists See Cells as Intelligent?

_{Bacteria appear to show intelligent behavior. But what about individual cells in our bodies?} _{News
October 7, 2020

4

Natural Intelligence, Science}

Recently, we talked about the ways in which bacteria are intelligent. Researchers into antibiotic resistance must deal with the surprisingly complex ways bacteria “think” in order to counter them. For example, some bacteria may warn others while dying from antibiotics. But what about individual cells in our bodies? A skeptic might say that bacteria are, after all, individual entities like dogs or cats. There is evidence that individual life forms can show intelligence even with no brain. But dependent cells? Surprisingly, cells that are not independent at all but part of a body can also show something that looks like intelligence, as Michael Denton discusses in Miracle of the Cell (2020): No one who has observed a leucocyte (a white Read More ›

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podcast

Geoffrey Simmons and Robert J. Marks
Date
October 1, 2020

Tagged
Consciousness, Creativity, functional MRI (fMRI), Geoffrey Simmons, mind, Mind-Brain Distinction, Problem Solving, Problem-solving, Roger Penrose, Satya Nadella, split-brain surgery, thinking}

How Can You Talk to Yourself?

_{Geoffrey Simmons and Robert J. Marks
October 1, 2020

2}

If your mind is one, how can it talk to itself? What will artificial intelligence be like in the future. Dr. Geoffrey Simmons and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss the mind, artificial intelligence, and Dr. Simmons’ book Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?: The Convergence of Designs. Show Notes Additional Resources

The robot writes with a pen and looks at the computer monitor. Artificial Intelligence

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podcast

Robert J. Marks and Selmer Bringsjord
Date
September 24, 2020

Tagged
Alan Turing, Consciousness, Creativity, Natural Language Processing, Turing Test}

Bingecast: Selmer Bringsjord on the Lovelace Test

_{Robert J. Marks and Selmer Bringsjord
September 24, 2020

4}

The Turing test, developed by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human. Many think that Turing’s proposal for intelligence, especially creativity, has been proven inadequate. Is the Lovelace test a better alternative? What are the capabilities and limitations of AI? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Selmer Bringsjord discuss Read More ›

robot make a relationships with human, it use for match and make satisfaction for love buddy by pair the personality data with algorithms technology combine deep, machine learning, digital twin

^{Type
podcast

Geoffrey Simmons and Robert J. Marks
Date
September 17, 2020

Tagged
Alan Turing, Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves? (book), Consciousness, cosmic rays, Faraday cage, Geoffrey Simmons, Intelligent Design, Ray Kurzweil, Robots, Science fiction, Singularity, Singularity Is Near (book), space, space brain, Turing Test}

Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?

_{Geoffrey Simmons and Robert J. Marks
September 17, 2020

2}

What are the capacities of human-like robots? Will they ever replace humans? Dr. Geoffrey Simmons and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss artificial intelligence, outer space, consciousness, and Dr. Simmons’ book Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?: The Convergence of Designs. Show Notes Additional Resources

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post

News
Date
September 10, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
aboutness, Bernardo Kastrup, Computers, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, Featured, intentionality, Michael Egnor, Near-death experiences, Nokia, Ray Kurzweil}

Michael Egnor: What Happens to Our Consciousness After We Die?

_{Computer programmer and philosopher Bernardo Kastrup provides a surprising answer} _{News
September 10, 2020

11

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

In this week’s podcast, “Can Computers Think?”, Michael Egnor continued his discussion with philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for The European Organization for Nuclear Research and for Phillips Research Laboratories, and has authored many academic papers and books. This week, they look at a big question, “Will computers ever be conscious?”. But Egnor brought up an even bigger one: “What happens to our consciousness after we die?” As a scientist, Kastrup has worked for The European Organization for Nuclear Research and for Phillips Research Laboratories and has authored many academic papers and books. He is a leading advocate of cosmopsychism, the idea that intelligence did not randomly evolve somehow to help life forms Read More ›

3D Rendering of artificial Intelligence hardware concept. Glowing blue brain circuit on microchip on computer motherboard. For stock trading, financial management, or technology product background

^{Type
podcast

Bernardo Kastrup and Michael Egnor
Date
September 10, 2020

Tagged
Arthur Schopenhauer, Bernardo Kastrup, computer, Computers, Consciousness, Death, metaphysics, mind, Near-death experiences, Philosophy, Teleology}

Can Computers Think?

_{Bernardo Kastrup and Michael Egnor
September 10, 2020

1}

Will computers ever be conscious? What happens to our consciousness after we die? Has science made philosophy irrelevant? Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Bernardo Kastrup discuss consciousness, artificial intelligence, and philosophy. Show Notes Additional Resources

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podcast

Bernardo Kastrup and Michael Egnor
Date
September 3, 2020

Tagged
Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, epiphenomenal, Evolution, immateriality, Intelligent Design, Intelligent design theory, Jerry Fodor, Materialism, metaphysics, mind, mutation, Panpsychism, Teleology}

The Evolution (or Not) of Consciousness

_{Bernardo Kastrup and Michael Egnor
September 3, 2020

1}

Did consciousness evolve? How do materialists deal with the definition of consciousness? Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Bernardo Kastrup discuss consciousness, evolution, and intelligent design. Show Notes Additional Resources

Glorious Sky - Elements of this Image Furnished by NASA

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post

News
Date
August 20, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, Featured, Michael Egnor, Panpsychism, Sabine Hossenfelder}

Bernardo Kastrup Argues for a Universal Mind as a Reasonable Idea

_{The challenge, he says, is not why there is consciousness but why there are so many separate instances of consciousnesses} _{News
August 20, 2020

9

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, Michael Egnor continued his discussion with philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup; This week, the topic was panpsychism and cosmopsychism. (Last week, the topic was why consciousness couldn’t just evolve from the mud.) https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-096-Bernardo-Kastrup.mp3 A partial transcript follows: (The complete transcript is here. The Show Notes and Resources are below.) Dr. Kastrup made clear that he is not a panpsychism but rather a cosmopsychist. He explains the difference, defining panpsychism as follows: Bernardo Kastrup (pictured): Panpsychism, well, to be more accurately called constitutive panpsychism, it’s the notion that at least some of the elementary particles that constitutes the universe, at least some of them, are fundamentally conscious. In other words, they have experiential states, fundamental experiential Read More ›

Asian women travel relax in the holiday. Standing on the mountain. Thailand

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podcast

Bernardo Kastrup and Michael Egnor
Date
August 20, 2020

Tagged
Consciousness, cosmopsychism, dissociative identity disorder, Panpsychism, Quantum Physics}

Bernardo Kastrup on Panpsychism and Cosmopsychism

_{Bernardo Kastrup and Michael Egnor
August 20, 2020

1}

How do we know what happens around us? Is the whole universe conscious? Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Bernardo Kastrup discuss panpsychism, cosmopsychism, and conciousness. Show Notes Additional Resources

^{Type
post

News
Date
August 13, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Darwinism, Evolution, Featured, god, Intelligent design theory, Jerry Coyne, Jerry Fodor, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Natural selection, Panpsychism, Philosophy, What Darwin Got Wrong (book)}

Why Consciousness Couldn’t Just Evolve from the Mud

_{Kastrup, a panpsychist, is sympathetic to the basic intuitions behind the idea that there is design in nature (intelligent design theory)} _{News
August 13, 2020

10

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, “Does the Moon Exist if No One is Looking at It?”, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviewed philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. Dr. Kastrup has been, in Dr. Egnor’s words, “leading a modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism”—that is, reality is essentially mental rather than physical.

Multiverse Physicist Max Tegmark Seeks AI That Checks News Bias

_{Naive people who truthfully claim to be acting only “for good” in trying to address bias in the news via AI are kidding themselves} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 22, 2020

7

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Max Tegmark (right) is probably better known as a multiverse cosmologist than as an AI specialist. The MIT physics professor told New Scientist in 1998 that “All possible universes exist, even triangular ones.” He also informed Scientific American in 2003 that “Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication of cosmological observations”: Is there a copy of you reading this article? A person who is not you but who lives on a planet called Earth, with misty mountains, fertile fields and sprawling cities, in a solar system with eight other planets? The life of this person has been identical to yours in every respect. But perhaps he or she now decides to put down this Read More ›