Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagCOSM 2022

close-up-on-drop-splash-of-a-healthy-extra-virgin-oil-full-of-oligo-elements-and-vitamins-creating-circular-waves-by-falling-down-on-the-liquid-and-seamless-pure-surface-shining-with-golden-reflects-stockpack-adobe-stock
Close up on drop splash of a healthy extra-virgin oil full of oligo elements and vitamins creating circular waves by falling down on the liquid and seamless pure surface shining with golden reflects.
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Author
News
Date
June 4, 2023
Categorized
Medicine and Health
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Synthetic Biology: What New Therapies Are in Store?

For today's featured video from COSM 2022, watch Babak Parviz, Vice President at Amazon, lead a discussion on synthetic biology
News
June 4, 2023
2
Medicine and Health

For today’s featured video from COSM 2022, watch Babak Parviz, Vice President at Amazon, lead a discussion on synthetic biology, the multi-disciplinary field that applies engineering principles to redesign biological systems for new purposes. The panel focuses on bio-medical technologies that hold great promise for curing diseases and even counteracting human aging. For more material on the topic, see this piece on Altos Labs and their work on bio-longevity. Part of their project also involves artificial intelligence research: Altos Labs’ vision isn’t too far removed from that of the transhumanists who want to computerize human consciousness. For them, however, longevity is a junior varsity goal — what we really need is a way to live forever. Harrison quips at the Read More ›

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Abstract technology black background. Futuristic digital motherboard texture. Neon blue light
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Author
News
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June 2, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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Carver Mead on the Future of Tech and Science

Listen to a classic lecture from Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead
News
June 2, 2023
1
Technology

We’ve been featuring lectures and interviews from the 2022 COSM conference, but today’s video is from a bit further back. Carver Mead, the winner of the 2022 Kyoto Prize, spoke at a Discovery Institute event about his pioneering work in transistor technology. Mead said, Any time you have a leading-edge technology you’re pushing, you will uncover fundamental questions there aren’t answers to in the literature. When you first look at the literature it it looks overwhelming. It looks like everything’s been done and everything that needed to be known is already known. And it turns out. That’s only an illusion. Watch the full talk below:

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electric car parked in front of home modern low energy suburban house 3d rendering
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News
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June 2, 2023
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Technology
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Electric Cars: Fantasy or Salvation?

Many are extolling the benefits of electric cars, especially to reduce emissions
News
June 2, 2023
1
Technology

Many are extolling the benefits of electric cars, especially to reduce emissions. Some jurisdictions are even banning the sale of gas-burning cars in the near future. The panel discusses the future of electric vehicles, their benefits as well as the challenges of their widespread adoption (including manufacturing issues and power supply limitations), and some of the practical issues associated with owning and operating an electric vehicle. Read here for further analysis on the panel and the participants’ various views on electric cars. There, Peter Biles writes, Despite their disagreements, the panelists shared various insights on the development of electric vehicles. As their conversation indicates, global economic issues are in the mix when we talk about electric cars. -Peter Biles, Are Read More ›

the-variety-of-different-types-of-chips-and-electronic-components-on-the-printed-circuit-board-stockpack-adobe-stock
the variety of different types of chips and electronic components on the printed circuit board
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News
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June 1, 2023
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Technology
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Celebrating an Internet Pioneer: Frederico Faggin

Faggin discussed his background and how he came to design the first commercial microprocessor at Intel
News
June 1, 2023
1
Technology

For today’s featured video from the COSM 2022, check out this interview between journalist Maria Teresa Cometto and Frederico Faggin. Faggin discussed his background and how he came to design the first commercial microprocessor at Intel. For more similar material, visit the Center’s YouTube page to enjoy more lectures and videos from past COSM conferences.

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Gold bitcoin cryptocurrency coins on yellow backgound
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Author
News
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May 30, 2023
Categorized
Cryptocurrency
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John Tamny and the Future of Money

Forbes editor John Tamny discusses his views on crypto and traditional forms of money at COSM 2022
News
May 30, 2023
1
Cryptocurrency

The 2022 COSM conference saw a number of remarkable speakers, including winner of last year’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, Carver Mead, and Forbes editor John Tamny, who is featured in today’s highlighted video from the conference. Tamny sat down with philosopher Jay Richards to share his thoughts on the conference and his views on the future of money, especially regarding cryptocurrencies versus traditional forms. You can watch the conversation here, and can also access many other great talks and interviews on the Center’s main YouTube page.

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Distinguished guests at COSM 2021
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News
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May 26, 2023
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Technology
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Tackling the Big Questions with Carver Mead

Mead said that COSM attendees argued in good faith in order to reach the truth
News
May 26, 2023
1
Technology

Dr. Carver Mead, Professor Emeritus and California Institute of Technology and recipient of the prestigious 2022 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology, gave the closing remarks for last year’s COSM conference. “We’ve tackled the big questions,” Mead said. Mead noted that in a system where free information is bountiful, our adversaries will try to set us at odds against each other. “That’s the one thing that can cripple us,” he said. “Is when we get at odds with each other. This COSM has been a wonderful example of us arguing over things not because we have a fixed idea and we don’t want to change because of some preconceived notion, but because we want to get to the truth.” You can Read More ›

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News
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March 23, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Lemoine at COSM 2022: A Conversation on AI and LaMDA

Will AI ever become "sentient"?
News
March 23, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

Blake Lemoine, ex-Google employee and AI expert, sat down with Discovery Institute’s Jay Richards at the 2022 COSM conference last November. Together they discussed AI, Google, and how and why Lemoine got to where he is today. Lemoine famously claimed last year that LaMDA, Google’s breakthrough AI technology, had achieved sentience. Lemoine explains that many people at Google thought AI had the potential for sentience, but that such technology should not be made prematurely for fear of the negative impacts it could have on society. You can listen to their interesting and brief conversation in the video below, and be sure to see more sessions from the 2022 COSM conference featuring Lemoine and other leaders and innovators in technology on Read More ›

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News
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March 22, 2023
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Economics
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Countering Doom with Superabundance

Marian L. Tupy challenges the ideology of scarcity and promotes a refreshing new perspective on human innovation and population
News
March 22, 2023
1
Economics

The idea that the higher the human population the scarcer earth’s resources become is prevalent and mainstream. It is behind many of the doomsday alarmist calls for population control and influences much of economic theory and practice. But what if it’s wrong? Marian Tupy, co-author with Gale Pooley of the 2022 book Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet, offers a different account. The earth’s resources and innovation actually increase the more people there are on the planet. Bringing their innovation and creativity to the table, joined with earth’s resources, humans find ways to create “superabundance.” Marian Tupy spoke at the COSM Conference back in November 2022, and his lecture on his Read More ›

COSM2022-Nov10-174A0052-ai-panel
Panel on AI at COSM 2022
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Author
Casey Luskin
Date
November 13, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Human exceptionalism
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Experts at COSM Debate Whether Chatbot was Sentient

Turned out quite pleasant. Google fired him in 2022 - but what really happened there?
Casey Luskin
November 13, 2022
8
Artificial Intelligence, Human exceptionalism

Last Thursday morning at COSM, a panel of experts debated whether truly sentient artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially exist — and even whether it already does. Robert J. Marks, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University, opened by criticizing the Turing test, as a measure of whether we’ve produced genuine AI. Developed by the famous English mathematician and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, the test holds that if we can’t distinguish a machine’s conversational discourse from that of a real human, then it must exhibit humanlike intelligence. Marks maintains that this is the wrong test for detecting true AI. In his view, the Turing test fails because it “looks at a book and tries to judge Read More ›

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Group of IT experts
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News
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September 27, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning
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At COSM 2022, Blake Lemoine Faces Computer Engineers

… not talk show hosts… about his claim that chatbot LaMDA is a real person. Venture capitalist Matt McIlwain hosts the panel
News
September 27, 2022
2
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

Matt McIlwain, managing director of Madrona Venture Group a venture capital consortium, will be moderating a most interesting panel at COSM 2022: It includes ex-Googler Blake Lemoine — yes, he’s the one who started the global uproar around that Google chatbot LaMDA, which he claims is a real person. Google HQ didn’t agree… which is why he no longer works there. But is that because it is not true or because it is not popular? What Lemoine believes is still definitely out there. The main point: On McIlwain’s panel, Lemoine will be facing off against Baylor University pioneer in swarm intelligence Robert J. Marks and with George Montañez, an up-and-coming machine learning pro at Harvey Mudd College. Can he convince Read More ›

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Author
George Gilder
Date
September 22, 2022
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Artificial Intelligence, Economics, Events
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Is AI Sentient? Where’s the Economy Headed? Join Me at COSM 2022!

We’ll find out together from a remarkable lineup of insightful movers, shakers, and thinkers
George Gilder
September 22, 2022
2
Artificial Intelligence, Economics, Events

Where is the U.S. economy headed in the next year? Is decoupling from China realistic, or even possible? Is our country ready for widescale electric vehicle adoption? And what are the cutting-edge technologies that will change the world? These are just a few of the questions we will grapple with at COSM 2022. Register now for COSM 2022, Nov. 9-11 in Seattle Another is whether AI will ever achieve consciousness. Remember the Google engineer who made national headlines a month ago for claiming that the company’s AI had become sentient? His name is Blake Lemoine, and he will be making his case — in one of his first public appearances — at COSM 2022 in November. We have also added Read More ›

Peter Thiel with George Gilder at COSM 2021
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Author
News
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September 21, 2022
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Cryptocurrency, Data Privacy, Economics
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Peter Thiel Will Be Luncheon Keynoter at COSM, November 9

Billionaire venture capitalist Thiel made waves earlier this year, calling Warren Buffett and other investment gurus a “finance gerontocracy”
News
September 21, 2022
4
Cryptocurrency, Data Privacy, Economics

Some iconic tech venture capitalists go with the flow — and then there’s Peter Thiel: In an age when some computer scientists prophesy that AI will soon rise up and destroy mankind, he says no, that’s not happening; the big story is the End of Privacy. He also sees Big Tech innovation as slowing down, in the sense that most Wow!! new developments are successfully hyped riffs on earlier ones. He goes so far as to say that, contrary to expert views, cryptocurrency is not just a flash in the pan. At Bitcoin 2022, he blasted “Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink as ‘finance gerontocracy.’” That is, they are over the hill though not yet under it. So Thiel is Read More ›

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Network connected across planet Earth , view from space. Concept of smart wireless communication technology . Some elements of this image furnished by NASA
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News
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September 14, 2022
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Data Privacy, Global Technology, Programming
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Google Cloud’s Ankur Jain To Speak at COSM 2022

One of his key initiatives is bringing internet connectivity to less well-served parts of the globe.
News
September 14, 2022
4
Data Privacy, Global Technology, Programming

Ankur Jain, VP Engineering for Google Cloud for Telecom, Distributed Cloud, and Immersive Stream, will be speaking at COSM 2022, November 9–11 in Bellevue, Washington. Go here to get the Early Adopter rate before September 15 (tomorrow). At work, he has focused on cross-Google programs like cloud computing, mobile communications, 5G, and privacy issues. One of his key initiatives is bringing internet connectivity to less well-served parts of the globe. He noted in 2017, “As people increasingly access the Internet through their mobile devices, mobile operators are now designing their next-generation networks based on many of the same principles that we’ve adopted to power our own networking infrastructure.” In his current position, he leads Google Cloud’s Telco, Distributed Cloud Edge, Read More ›

human-hand-is-holding-electric-car-charging-connect-to-electric-car-stockpack-adobe-stock
Human hand is holding Electric Car Charging connect to Electric car
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Author
News
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September 13, 2022
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Business and Finance, Environment, Self-Driving Cars
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Cars of the Future Will Offer “Electrifying” Rides — Guaranteed

Electric car expert Tony Posawatz will be speaking about new industry developments at COSM 2022
News
September 13, 2022
4
Business and Finance, Environment, Self-Driving Cars

After forty years in the car business, professional engineer Tony Posawatz, is optimistic about the future of electric vehicles (EVs). At Forbes, he was mooted to replace Elon Musk at Tesla in 2018. Well, one thing Posawatz would not do is jump into an expensive catfight with… Twitter. He is wholly focused on ACES, as it is called: Autonomous, Connected, Electric & Shared vehicles, as the future of private transportation. Go here to get the Early Adopter rate before September 15. Current CEO of Invictus iCAR, a consulting firm that specializes in making cars leaner, meaner, and greener, Posawatz describes himself as “known for championing award-winning products and electrifying rides.” His interests and achievements span many automotive areas: “His product/general Read More ›

Chinese microchip
Macro image of a motherboard with the inscription
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News
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September 12, 2022
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Business and Finance, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Politics
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How Safe Is Our Tech If It Depends on Non-Free Nations?

Europe’s energy woes, in the wake of the Russia–Ukraine war, should spur us to take the question seriously
News
September 12, 2022
4
Business and Finance, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Politics

Keith Krach, former chairman and CEO of Docusign, the app that enables you to conveniently buy a house in Delaware while selling one in Oregon, is speaking at COSM (November 9–11 in Seattle). Docusign was of immense help during the COVID pandemic when in-person transactions were often impractical, illegal, or just impossible. Go here to get the Early Adopter rate before September 15. Krach, former Under Secretary of State and current Chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University, has been thinking a good deal about our future and new technology. He is committed to the importance of rehoming technology Americans need in the United States, as he told Fierce Electronics recently: Our adversaries, starting with the Read More ›

big-ideas-illuminated-light-bulb-among-the-rest-of-the-unlit-bulbs-stockpack-adobe-stock
Big ideas. Illuminated light bulb among the rest of the unlit bulbs.
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post
Author
News
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September 12, 2022
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Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity
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COSM Speaker Hopes To Put Creativity Within Every Human’s Reach

Jules Urbach, a game developer at 18, has large aspirations but he has the advantage of new software that might help
News
September 12, 2022
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

Jules Urbach, founder and CEO of leading cloud graphics company OTOY, wants to use AI to give every single person the agency to create. He is speaking again at COSM 2022 (November 9–11 in Seattle). Go here to get the Early Adopter rate before September 15. Urbach, who started out in computer gaming at 18, is “a pioneer in computer graphics, streaming, and 3D rendering, with more than 25 years of industry experience. His experience has inspired him to try to help many more people be more creative: Jules Urbach dreams of a world in which anyone can be a creator and anything you imagine can be effortlessly brought to life in fantastic visual detail, without any prior visual graphics Read More ›

cpu electronic parts
Spare electronic parts isolated on gray background. 3D illustration
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Author
News
Date
September 9, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology
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How Federico Faggin Put the Computer’s Brain on a Chip

In the Marvel Universe, a story like this would, of course, start with a portentous meeting of top AI brains in a secret mountain stronghold, holding the world’s future in their hands…
News
September 9, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology

Federico Faggin, one of the inventors of the microprocessor, will be speaking at COSM 2022 (November 9–11 in Seattle). He was leader of the team that developed the Intel 4004, the world’s first commercial microprocessor — essentially, the brains of the affordable modern computer. A few key microchips have replaced the complex, room-size computers of the mid-twentieth century. In a sense, he is one reason why so many people worldwide can afford electronics today. Go here to get the Early Adopter rate before September 15. In the Marvel Universe, a story like this would, of course, start with a portentous meeting of top AI brains in a secret mountain stronghold, holding the world’s future in their hands… This isn’t the Read More ›

COSM 2021
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post
Author
News
Date
September 8, 2022
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Artificial Intelligence, Relationships, Social Media
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Software Pioneer David Gelernter to Speak at COSM 2022, November

Gelernter, a Yale computer prof, is known for thinking through problems from a non-Silicon Valley-elite perspective
News
September 8, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Relationships, Social Media

David Gelernter has been derided as a “fiercely anti-intellectual computer scientist” by influencers whose computer systems may well depend in part on his software (though they probably don’t know that and couldn’t tell us how). From his page at Yale University: The “tuple spaces” introduced in Carriero and Gelernter’s Linda system (1983) are the basis of many computer-communication and distributed programming systems worldwide. “Mirror Worlds” (1991) “foresaw” the World Wide Web (Reuters, 3/20/01) and was “one of the inspirations for Java”; the “lifestreams” system (first implemented by Eric Freeman at Yale) is the basis for Mirror Worlds Technologies’ software. “Breaking out of the box” (NY Times magazine, ‘97) forecast and described the advent of less-ugly computers (Apple’s iMac arrived in Read More ›