Mind Matters Reporting on Natural and Artificial Intelligence

TagCOVID-19

china-flag-and-praying-patriot-man-with-crossed-hands-holding-cross-hoping-and-wishing-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
China flag and praying patriot man with crossed hands. Holding cross, hoping and wishing.
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post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 18, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy
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How China’s Technocracy Uses the Pandemic to Suppress Religion

The pandemic provided a pretext to install surveillance equipment in churches and surveil believers online
Heather Zeiger
October 18, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the ways that technology can lead either to greater accessibility or greater oppression. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now using the same technologies that have given many people around the world access to religious materials and church services during the pandemic to forcibly stop religious gatherings and restrict the distribution of religious materials within China. Although the CCP is officially atheist, over 60% of the population adheres to a recognized religion; 30.8% practice Chinese folk religions, 16.6% Buddhism, 7.4% Christianity, 4.2% ethnic religion, and 1.8% Islam. Authentic numbers may be higher, given the risk of punishment for practicing certain religions in China. The Chinese government has persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned Falun Gong members…

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post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 12, 2020
Categorized
Global Technology, Programming, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy
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China: COVID-19’s True History Finds an Unlikely Home — GitHub

The Chinese Communist party, rewriting the COVID-19 story with itself as the hero, must reckon with truthful techies
Heather Zeiger
October 12, 2020
Global Technology, Programming, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy

For a brief window of time at the beginning of 2020, China’s internet censors didn’t block stories about Wuhan and COVID-19, the coronavirus. Caixin, a widely-read news magazine, published a multi-page investigative report on everything leading up to the outbreak, including the way in which the provincial authorities in Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital, suppressed knowledge of the virus. Fang Fang, an award-winning novelist, kept a Wuhan diary online on Weibo, which was recently published as a book in the U.S. (HarperCollins 2020). For that short time, comments on the coronavirus were not being censored (Wired) at WeChat. Many people were thus able to vent their frustrations and pay their respects when 32-year-old ophthalmologist and whistleblower Li Wenliang…

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Crypto currency background with various of shiny silver and golden physical cryptocurrencies symbol coins, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, zcash, ripple
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post
Author
News
Date
October 10, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology
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Has COVID-19 Helped or Harmed Crypto and Blockchain?

Cryptocurrencies rebounded after an initial slump earlier this year
News
October 10, 2020
Business and Finance, Global Technology

The recently aired discussion at COSM about the future of bitcoin and other privately minted cryptocurrencies took place last October, before COVID-19 was much thought of in the Western world. Catching up, the cryptos and blockchain had a rough ride earlier this year but they have stabilized recently. In February, as the pandemic sent markets scurrying, things were looking grim for the cryptos: During the last week, the spread of the coronavirus has been all over the news; the virus, which had remained well-contained in China, spread throughout South Korea, Iran, Italy, and is now reaching its fingers into other parts of Europe. The New York Times reported on Thursday that “the signs were everywhere…that the epidemic shaking much of…

video-call-online-zoom-conference-business-team-gathered-for-an-online-meeting-in-zoom-app-on-a-computer-monitor-a-group-of-people-online-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Video call. Online zoom conference. Business team gathered for an online meeting in zoom app. On a computer monitor a group of people online
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post
Author
News
Date
September 11, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Surveillance, Work
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COVID-19: Technology Trends That Are Sneaking Up on Us Faster Now

Most of these changes, for better or worse, are probably here to stay
News
September 11, 2020
Business and Finance, Surveillance, Work

We knew big changes were coming. And that COVID-19 has ramped them up. But when experts expound grand generalities and wave their hands a lot, it can be hard to clearly see what a change means where we live and work. One writing teacher, for example, learned how to massively adapt all of a sudden: Each spring, I teach Writing about Oneself, a class on first-person reading and writing, to 12 Yale undergraduates chosen from 100 or so… Every year I fill out the registrar’s Pedagogical Needs Request Form, leaving 14 of the 15 “Technological Needs” boxes unchecked. (No, I don’t need a SMART board. No, I don’t need a digital projector. No, I don’t need a Blu-ray player.) The…

coronavirus-pandemia-concept-planet-hologram-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Coronavirus pandemia concept, planet hologram
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
September 8, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health
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Supercomputer Provides a New Clue re COVID-19 Fatalities

A surprising pattern I found last April: Southern hemisphere countries had significantly lower death rates than northern ones
Eric Holloway
September 8, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health

Back in April, I ran an analysis on COVID-19 death rates in relation to Earth’s hemispheres. I took the COVID-19 death rate for each country that reported more than 500 cases and plotted its death rate against its latitude. A surprising pattern emerged: Southern hemisphere countries had significantly lower death rates than northern ones: That is not a statistical fluke because the graph comprises 198 different countries and the best fit quadratic curve parameters have statistical significance scores of 0.12, 0.07 and 0.0000016 for the x^2, x and c components respectively. What could explain this pattern? As I noted at the time, one big difference is that, when it is cold and cloudy in the northern hemisphere, it is warm…

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Online exam
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
September 7, 2020
Categorized
Education, Ethics
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What’s To Be Done About Cheating with Chegg in the COVID era?

College-level solutions to specific problems can be texted, for a fee, to students writing exams
Robert J. Marks
September 7, 2020
Education, Ethics

Academic dishonesty is a fancy term for cheating. With profit-motivated websites like Chegg.com, cheating is now easier than ever. When taking an exam, take a photo of a problem that stumps you and send it to Chegg. In literally minutes, you’ll be sent the answer over your cell phone. How do they do it? Often they employ smart nerds from poor countries who, by local standards, are paid big bucks for their efforts.Chegg, which charges $14.95 per month for its service, does not see itself as a site for cheaters but as a resource to help with homework. It advertises: With over 21 million homework solutions, you can also search our library to find similar homework problems & solutions. Browsing…

rear-view-of-asian-woman-working-and-online-meeting-via-video-conference-with-colleague-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Rear view of Asian woman working and online meeting via video conference with colleague
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
August 10, 2020
Categorized
Education
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How to Teach and Hold Meetings in “Mixed Mode” in the COVID Era

Teachers and facilitators face a challenge when some students are online in quarantine and some are in front of them in person
Jonathan Bartlett
August 10, 2020
Education
In the current COVID-19 environment, the economy may be opening up but some people are still sick or in quarantine. This means that more and more meetings are run in a mixed mode — a combination of in-person and online participants. Read More ›
binary-code-with-china-flag-data-protection-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Binary code with China flag, data protection concept
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
July 30, 2020
Categorized
Surveillance
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Charges Reveal Extent of China-Sponsored Hacking in the West

Targets have included COVID-19 labs, dissidents, and religious groups
Heather Zeiger
July 30, 2020
Surveillance
What’s new about the most recent indictment is the acknowledgment that China is working with known cybercriminals. Read More ›
Phone-Screen-for-Hel-modified
Phone-Screen-for-Hel-modified
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
July 2, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy
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China’s Health Code App: One More Way to Track Citizens

Heather Zeiger
July 2, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Surveillance, Technocracy

For the Chinese Communist Party, SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus) has provided an opportunity to expand its massive surveillance system. The current extensive network of facial recognition cameras has left some gaps. People could avoid recognition, for example, by wearing a face covering to curb the spread of a respiratory illness. Now, China is looking to fill those gaps by keeping the Alipay Health Code app, launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a mainstay for its citizens: Compared to omnipresent facial recognition software and other surveillance systems in China, the health code mechanism covers more people and collects a broader range of personal information. The state can also impose stricter control as people now have to use health codes…

Line-of-Actual-Control-public-domain
Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) Between Trees Looks Up and to Right Winter - captive animal
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
June 18, 2020
Categorized
Global Technology, Social Media
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The Age of the Wolf Warrior: China’s Post-Pandemic Strategy

The younger diplomats take their cue from a Chinese Rambo-style movie and the rewritten history they learned at school
Heather Zeiger
June 18, 2020
Global Technology, Social Media

While countries around the world have been dealing with the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), China has claimed disputed areas in the South China Sea, taken over the Hong Kong government, and flown planes over Taiwan. One result was a standoff between warships from the U.S., Australia, and China. A 2016 international tribunal in The Hague ruled that China has no legal sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. China, saying that the ruling was void, claims areas that are also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Japan. The Chinese Liberation Army has also increased the number of troops at its border with India (the Line of Actual Control) disputed since the Sino-Indian war in 1962 (below…

The concept of planet Earth similar to the COVID-19 virus
The concept of planet Earth similar to the COVID-19 virus
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
June 7, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Peer Review, Science
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Twenty Years on, Aliens Still Cause Global Warming

Over the years, the Jurassic Park creator observed, science has drifted from its foundation as an objective search for truth toward political power games
Jonathan Bartlett
June 7, 2020
Medicine and Health, Peer Review, Science

In 2003, author and filmmaker Michael Crichton (1942–2008), best known for Jurassic Park, made a now-famous speech at Caltech, titled “Aliens Cause Global Warming.” The title was humorous but the content was serious. He was not addressing some strange theory of global warming; he was warning about the politicization of science. Crichton (left, in 2002, courtesy Jon Chase, Harvard CC 3.0), noted that, over the years, science has drifted away from its foundation as an objective search for truth and given itself over to political power games. The first time that he witnessed that was with the famous Drake Equation, used to turn SETI speculations about space aliens into a science. The Drake equation was a series of probabilities multiplied…

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Sad wife holding wedding ring on coronavirus confinement
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 3, 2020
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Science
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Does COVID-19 Lead Women to Cheat?

The “subpersonal” approach to human psychology is popular but is it valid?
Denyse O'Leary
June 3, 2020
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Science

It's an open question whether the mind evolved at all and therefore whether evolutionary psychology is any help in understanding it.

Read More ›
smart-technologies-in-your-smartphone-collection-and-analysis-of-big-data-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Smart technologies in your smartphone, collection and analysis of big data
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
June 1, 2020
Categorized
Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy
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The Birds Aren’t Real. But Maybe the Spying Is.

A defense of our fundamental right to privacy
Gary Smith
June 1, 2020
Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy

Technology frees us from drudgery but also enable surveillance that enslaves us. Then, far from computers becoming more like humans, we may become more like computers.

Read More ›
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St Francis Outpatient Center in Federal Way, Washington State
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post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
June 1, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Religion
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COVID-19: Atheism Went Viral As Well

Atheists are uniquely unsuited to accuse others of devaluing human life
Michael Egnor
June 1, 2020
Medicine and Health, Religion

Professor Steven Pinker’s quickly deleted tweet provides a window into anti-religious hate. In health and medicine, he is entirely mistaken. 

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couple-of-two-seniors-or-mature-people-walking-in-the-airport-going-to-their-gate-and-take-their-flight-wearing-medical-mask-to-prevent-virus-like-coronavirus-or-covid-19-carrying-luggage-or-trolley-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
couple of two seniors or mature people walking in the airport going to their gate and take their flight wearing medical mask to prevent virus like coronavirus or covid-19 - carrying luggage or trolley
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
May 28, 2020
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Medicine and Health
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Ten Ways COVID-19 Will Change Your Next Air Trip

You’ll still get there but it definitely won’t be half the fun
Denyse O'Leary
May 28, 2020
Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Medicine and Health

On board, the plane will be cleaner but also leaner. Expect to wear a mask and snack before you go.

Read More ›
medical-statistics-and-graphic-charts-with-stethoscope-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
medical statistics and graphic charts with stethoscope
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
May 26, 2020
Categorized
Mathematics, Medicine and Health, Social Media
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Making Sense of the Numbers Behind COVID-19

Media and politicians put statistics before us to sway our opinions. But what do they really mean?
Heather Zeiger
May 26, 2020
Mathematics, Medicine and Health, Social Media

Numbers can frighten or enlighten. The secret is making them explain themselves. Here’s a quick primer.

Read More ›
cybercrime-hacking-and-technology-concept-male-hacker-with-headphones-and-coding-on-laptop-computer-screen-wiretapping-or-using-computer-virus-program-for-cyber-attack-in-dark-room-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
cybercrime, hacking and technology concept - male hacker with headphones and coding on laptop computer screen wiretapping or using computer virus program for cyber attack in dark room
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
May 20, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Global Technology, Surveillance
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The New Cyber Cold War with China

Cybersecurity strategist Peter Singer told Wired that there has never been a better time than the COVID-19 pandemic to be a government hacker
Heather Zeiger
May 20, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Global Technology, Surveillance

The United States has formally accused China of both funding and operating cells of hackers who infiltrate research labs working on responses to COVID-19.

Read More ›
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Vitamin D gelcaps.
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
May 14, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health
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Vitamin D and COVID-19: Is It Data or Noise?

Because random clusters occur naturally in large numbers, only randomized, controlled trials can tell us
Gary Smith
May 14, 2020
Medicine and Health

Random data shows geographic clusters. Thus some locations will inevitably have higher COVID-19 rates than others. As my example shows, associating these clusters with personal characteristics after the fact is not convincing scientific evidence. That’s where randomized, controlled trials are needed.

Read More ›
young-woman-using-smart-phonesocial-media-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpeg
Young woman using smart phone,Social media concept.
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post
Author
News
Date
May 1, 2020
Categorized
Data Privacy, Medicine and Health, Surveillance
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Is Contact Tracing a Simple Answer to COVID Lockdowns?

An engineering professor at the University of Austin asks us to look at the costs and benefits
News
May 1, 2020
Data Privacy, Medicine and Health, Surveillance

The conventional science fiction fear of a superintelligent AI taking over the planet and ridding it of pesky humans distracts our attention from a much more realistic threat: Artificial intelligence (AI) makes both government and corporate surveillance much easier, cheaper, and more useful—whether it is in average citizens’ interests or not. If we are lucky, this will be the decade when we address the implications of that fact.

Read More ›
robot-studies-a-coronavirus-with-magnifiernano-robot-with-bacterium3d-render-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpeg
Robot studies a coronavirus with magnifier,nano robot with bacterium,3d render.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
April 30, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Medicine and Health
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Can AI Save Us from COVID-19? An Expert Is Skeptical

To use AI more successfully next time, we need a clear understanding of its limitations as well as its capabilities
News
April 30, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Medicine and Health

Experts list various problems, including the fact that AI is vulnerable to failure due to unforeseen problems, including problems with data (too sparse, too noisy, too many outliers, etc.). It also doesn’t learn as well from experience as humans do.

Read More ›