Tag: Culture | Page 2 | Mind Matters

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Peter Biles
Date
September 26, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Consciousness, Culture, fiction, novels, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Tech, Writing}

Sam Altman Was on My Favorite Writing Podcast. His View on Storytelling Surprised Me.

_{When we read, we want to hear from a human about what it means to be human.} _{Peter Biles
September 26, 2024

3

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has garnered a fair share of criticism from the writing crowd for creating ChatGPT, a tool that on the surface seems to banish the need for human writers at all. However, Altman recently appeared on David Perell’s prominent writing podcast “How I Write” to talk about his own writing process, AI, and what he uses ChatGPT for. Altman and Perell talk about the importance of language for human communication, with Altman noting how he can’t imagine human life without language. AI, Altman says, is supposed to make language and the writing process “better.” In his view, that’s what computers have also sought to do: Create opportunities for humans to expand and deepen their capacities. But Read More ›

Incredible night view of Stellisee lake with Matterhorn Cervino peak in Swiss Alps. Millions of stars in the pre-bright sky. Zermatt resort location, Switzerland. Landscape astrophotography

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Peter Biles
Date
July 24, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, censorship, Culture, Elon Musk, Humanity, Jordan Peterson, religion, social media}

Musk Wants to Use AI to Understand the Universe. Will it Work?

_{Could AI ever aid our quest to fully understand the universe?} _{Peter Biles
July 24, 2024

2

Artificial Intelligence}

Jordan Peterson and Elon Musk sat down this week for an extensive conversation ranging from technology, AI, politics, and even religion and questions of the metaphysical. These two prominent figures are active on Musk’s X, and frequently call out infringements on free speech and other authoritarian measures they see as a danger. In one interesting point in the interview, Musk described how he diverged in his views from his friend Larry Page on AI safety. Page evidently believes that we will “upload our minds to the computer,” to which Peterson said, “There’s not much difference between that and the death of humanity.” Musk nonetheless is the developer of his own AI system and believes that AI can aid humanity’s perennial Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
June 28, 2024

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Coldplay, Culture}

Coldplay, Pop Music, and AI Mimicry

_{Musicians are being pressured into the pop music mania} _{Peter Biles
June 28, 2024

3

Arts & Culture}

Coldplay is my favorite band. Some make fun of me for this, but their discography, ranging from the raw immediacy of Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) to the synthetic coldness of Ghost Stories (2014) is too wide ranging, beautifully rendered, and personally resonant for me to dismiss. That said, something’s happened to the music industry that has even alt-rockers in its grip, including Coldplay. The super-band’s latest single, “feelslikeimfallinginlove,” is a far cry from their roots. While some bands maturate with age, Coldplay has simplified and infantilized; frontman Chris Martin was writing much more interesting, compelling lyrics at age twenty-five than forty-five. The new single is a simple pop song, youthful, exuberant, without much musical complexity or the Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
May 20, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Relationships

Tagged
AI, algorithm, Culture, dating, free press, relationships, romance}

AI Is Going to Do the Dating for You

_{Making dating "easier" with AI might actually end up making it a lot harder.} _{Peter Biles
May 20, 2024

2

Artificial Intelligence, Relationships}

Could AI explicate aspects of my personality, package it, and sell it to the other representative bots in the dating pool? Sure, but where is the humanity?

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Peter Biles
Date
May 3, 2024

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Culture, Human exceptionalism, novels, Writing}

The Uniqueness of the Human Writer

_{LLMs are shortcuts, but sometimes the shortcut makes you miss the point of the journey} _{Peter Biles
May 3, 2024

4

Artificial Intelligence}

The place of the human writer in our increasingly automated world has been a point of debate for years, even before the advent of ChatGPT.

remote work at home hybrid work telecommuting teleconference work from anywhere remote office laptop computer woman businesswoman flex work distributed work webcam conference call coworkers teamwork

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Peter Biles
Date
April 18, 2024

Tagged
Covid, Culture, Employees, society, Work}

Remote Work: Liberation or a Major Step Back?

_{Feeling disconnected or undervalued can lead to quiet quitting, data shows} _{Peter Biles
April 18, 2024

3}

Articles and studies abound on the viability of remote work, particularly following the mass transformation of the white-collar workplace after 2020. While millennials and Gen-Z workers, fresh out of college, fled metro areas and moved online, whole office spaces found themselves empty. Office real estate workers continue to struggle leasing out their spaces to businesses, since so many employers now have a remote or hybrid work schedule. It is difficult to reach a conclusive stance on the pros and cons of remote work by reading the dozens of articles on the topic. Opinions vary so widely. Some praise the new shift towards remote work as a revolutionary step in the workforce. Others note that remote work is actually a step Read More ›

Closed up image of a Female using TikTok application on a smartphone in home. 5 September, 2022. ChiangMai, Thailand.

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Peter Biles
Date
March 13, 2024

Categorized
Addiction

Tagged
addiction, AI, Culture, Gen Z, habits, Instagram, iPhones, Technology, TikTok, Twitter, X}

Escaping the Dopamine Cartel

_{We can't even be bothered with "entertainment" anymore.} _{Peter Biles
March 13, 2024

3

Addiction}

Ted Gioia investigates the impact of the “dopamine culture,” our modern tendency to flit among tabs and scroll endlessly through fifteen-second-long video clips.

Black egg on a black background. The concept of coloring eggs for Easter. Standing alone egg

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Gary Varner
Date
December 6, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Alien, Culture, Movies}

Alien Review, Part 2

_{Herding aliens in space is a bad idea} _{Gary Varner
December 6, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Read Part 1 of this review first if you missed it: Alien Review, Part 1 | Mind Matters In the previous review, we began discussing the sci-fi classic, Alien, and we left off with one of the Nostromo’s crewmembers, Kane, waking up after being attacked by a strange creature which had essentially glued itself to his face. Now, the creature is dead, and all seems well. Since Kane appears to be alright, and the crew begins eating another meal, preparing to renter cryosleep for their return journey to Earth. But as they are eating, Kane begins to scream in pain. The other’s try to help him, but they have no idea what’s going on. Finally, another alien explodes from Kane’s Read More ›

Foggy coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest in Northern California, in the early morning light.

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Peter Biles
Date
November 12, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Apes, Arts and Culture, Culture, emotion, Evolution, Human exceptionalism, intellect}

Planet of the Apes and Human Exceptionalism

_{This movie franchise makes us wonder what makes human beings unique.} _{Peter Biles
November 12, 2023

4

Arts & Culture}

One semi-random movie franchise I’ve been a massive fan of is the newest iteration of The Planet of the Apes. The original trilogy, directed by Matt Reeves (The Batman) concluded in 2017, but a “fourth” film is set to release on Memorial Day of 2024, and a trailer for it dropped this week. I’m starting to become somewhat “anti-trailer” given that more often than not they tend to either distort the hype of the film or give away the story entirely. But in the cases of movies I’m most excited about, I confess that generally I give the trailer a quick view. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set years after Caesar, the founder of the ape colony Read More ›

Israeli National flag waving on the top of Mount of Olive with background of residential houses in Jerusalem, Israel

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Michael Egnor
Date
October 23, 2023

Categorized
Ethics

Tagged
Culture, ethics, Evil, Evolution, free will, Israel, Morality}

Israel, Free Will, and the Problem of Evil

_{If determinism is true, then we have no free will. We are nothing more than meat machines.} _{Michael Egnor
October 23, 2023

7

Ethics}

The events of the past week in Israel have left the civilized world reeling. Hamas has killed more than 1,200 Jewish innocents in the most violent eruption of anti-Semitism since the Holocaust, and it seems likely a war will follow that will soon kill thousands more innocent people. As we ponder and pray over this mass slaughter, it is worthwhile to reflect for a moment on what these events tell us about the ideological and scientific dogmas of the 21st century — about atheism, determinism and Darwinism. Are these dogmas true, and do they provide a meaningful understanding of man and of moral action? If atheism is true and there is no God, there is no Moral Lawgiver. The concept of Read More ›

Back view of man looking at alien invasion, UFO flying in the sky, concept of evidence and sighting, retro illustration. Generative AI

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Gary Varner
Date
September 9, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
aliens, Arrival, Culture, Extraterrestrial life, Language, Movies and TV, science}

Arrival Review, Part 1

_{Nobody behaves like they should for the first ten minutes. They act, dare I say, alien.} _{Gary Varner
September 9, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Arrival is an interesting movie. It’s well-shot, well-acted, and well-written. The trouble is the script makes some strange choices in the beginning and I just wasn’t persuaded by the movie’s twist at the end. The story starts out with a montage where Louise is raising her daughter, but the child tragically dies of some unknown illness, presumably cancer. The viewer is led to conclude that this is a flashback, but if one listens to the monologue Louise delivers, she says plainly that she’s explaining when the child’s story begins, if there are beginning at all, which is something she no longer believes. This basically means that the entire movie is a flashback, but the viewer is not supposed to notice Read More ›

the young guy playing an acoustic guitar. Shooting backlit

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Peter Biles
Date
September 8, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, art, Culture, Jordan Peterson, music, Politics, Robots, YouTube}

Oliver Anthony, Music, and Human Exceptionalism

_{Honest music speaks to the heart and brings us closer together.} _{Peter Biles
September 8, 2023

2

Arts & Culture}

If you’ve been online at all for the last few weeks, chances are you’ve come across headlines about the folk/country singer Oliver Anthony, whose song “Rich Men North of Richmond” went viral in August. The song, a broad critique of elite power in Washington D.C., (Democrat and Republican) has gained both applause and fierce critique, but for the most part, seems to have deeply resonated with the general American public. Psychologist Jordan B. Peterson recently had Anthony on his podcast, discussing music, entrepreneurship, and virality. One thing is clear about Anthony’s songs: they’re honest, and people are attracted to that. Peterson noted in their conversation that authenticity is a sign of brilliance in artists, and how that sort of honesty Read More ›

Shelves with books in a bookstore. Education and development. Blurred. Horizontal photo. A great background for your design.

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Peter Biles
Date
August 6, 2023

Categorized
Education

Tagged
academia, Arts and Culture, Culture, John Locke, National Review, Politics, religion, The King's College, The West}

Don’t Censor Western Books

_{For thousands of men and women, the Western canon served as a lifeline} _{Peter Biles
August 6, 2023

3

Education}

Today, people on the Left and Right worship politics. What if more conservatives put their wallets toward culture?

industrial pollution at sunset with smokestacks emitting smoke. Generative AI

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News
Date
June 19, 2023

Categorized
Transhumanism

Tagged
AI, Consciousness, Culture, machine, Mary Harrington, Paul Kingsnorth, religion, The West, transhumanism, UnHerd, YouTube}

Two Writers on Transhumanist Trends

_{Paul Kingsnorth and Mary Harrington discuss the modern urge to throw off all natural limits} _{News
June 19, 2023

1

Transhumanism}

This is a conversation from a year ago but nevertheless remains radically pertinent today. Paul Kingsnorth and Mary Harrington, both who have written on various modern trends to try and transcend bodily limits, sat down on the Rebel Wisdom YouTube channel to have a chat. Both have written for the online magazine UnHerd, but up until this point, had never interacted with each other. Kingsnorth is a former environmentalist who became disillusioned with the movement and eventually converted to Orthodox Christianity. He is also a novelist and currently lives a simple life in Ireland. Harrington is a contributing editor of UnHerd and writes on feminism, politics, and other pressing cultural issues. Both believe that the urge to throw off human Read More ›

instagram filter Himalaya mountains nepal

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News
Date
May 12, 2023

Categorized
Addiction, Environment

Tagged
Boy Scouts, Culture, Digital media, Lawsuit, Nature, Robert J. Marks, Technology, Trail Life}

Boy Scouts and Tech Addiction

_{You can't mimic the reality compared to what you see on the screen} _{News
May 12, 2023

2

Addiction, Environment}

The Boy Scouts of America once enjoyed a booming membership. But over the last decade especially, due to some policy changes, abuse scandals, and a giant lawsuit, the once great organization has seen a colossal decline. In last week’s podcast, Robert J. Marks sat down with former Boy Scout leader and his cousin Kent Marks. Together they talked about the tragic decline in the Boy Scouts program, which coincides with the enduring need to help boys navigate the many distractions and difficulties of growing up in a digitally mediated world. Today, Kent continues to lead boys on wilderness expeditions and believes that getting guys away from the screens and into the beauty of the outdoors is a key to their Read More ›

Back view of businessman suit standing at office looking at night city through panoramic window. Generative AI

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Gary Varner
Date
April 15, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
AI, Arts and Culture, Culture, Gary Varner, Movies, Science fiction, society, Technology, tv}

Her, Part One

_{The 2013 dystopian film proposes an intriguing "what if"} _{Gary Varner
April 15, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

When I was reviewing the Orville, Season Three, I spent a lot of time complaining about the robot-love subplot which consumed far too much of the series. I will probably always find the idea of such a relationship ridiculous, but that doesn’t mean the concept can’t be explored in a thoughtful way. One such thoughtful exploration is the movie Her, where a man falls in love with his AI operating system. Unlike the Orville, which demands that the viewer take the relationship seriously, almost going so far as to call the viewer a bigot if they don’t get on board with the fantasy, Her leaves everything open-ended, treating the whole idea of a man and robot falling in love as Read More ›

beautiful bunch cordyceps,mushrooms in neon light. The last of us style. Generative AI.

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Gary Varner
Date
April 8, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Culture, Gary Varner, HBO Max, Science fiction, television, The Last of Us, TV shows, Video games}

The Last of Us: Final Thoughts

_{The HBO series is a mixed bag but is still worth the watch} _{Gary Varner
April 8, 2023

6

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

The Last of Us HBO series is a mixed bag. There are parts of this show I really liked and other parts I despised. The main trouble is that there are two full episodes which are completely irrelevant to the plot. Frankly, you could skip episodes three and seven and not miss a thing. These episodes are just fanfare for the critics and add nothing to the story. Particularly episode three. I’ve never seen such a random addition to a series. What’s so astounding is that the flashback in episode three keeps going. About halfway through, the viewer realizes that they really are going to have to watch these two old men live and die, all so Joel and Ellie Read More ›

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Gary Varner
Date
March 15, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Apocalypticism, Arts & Culture, Culture, Gary Varner, Science fiction, The Last of Us, TV shows}

The Last of Us, Episode 3 (Part 2)

_{Why were we subjected to this episode if it wasn’t going to contribute to the narrative?} _{Gary Varner
March 15, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we discussed how episode three started out relatively strong then unexpectedly shifted to another story altogether. It’s important to note that we are not watching a ten-minute flashback or some b-plot involving a couple of supporting characters. Almost all of the episode is devoted to Bill and Frank, and frankly, their story goes nowhere. As I mentioned before, the subject of this random entry into the series is Bill and Frank’s romantic relationship, and given the fact that this little deviation from the source material contributes nothing to the plot as a whole, it is strongly suspected that the only reason the writers chose to tell this story was to gain the admiration of critics who share their Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
March 10, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, art, Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, ChatGPT, Consciousness, Culture, Dall-E, Gary Smith, Midjourney, mind, OpenAI}

Observing and Communing

_{What human art and literature do that AI can't} _{Peter Biles
March 10, 2023

5

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

AI image generators like Midjourney or DALL-E are generally adept at capturing the accuracy of the human form. The concerns over copyright, job infringement, and general degradation of the visual arts via such AI are ongoing concerns for many artists and practitioners. However, a new New Yorker article by Kyle Chayka identifies a noticeable flaw in AI artwork: human hands. Missing the Big Picture Chayka begins by recalling an art class where he was asked to draw his own hand. It’s an assignment for beginners, and as behooves a novice, tempts the artist to focus more on the specific contours of the hand instead of the overall structure and form. The forest gets lost in the trees, so to speak. Read More ›

Cyber relationships on the Internet. Connected people. People and microchips. Cybernetic society. Alone in the net.

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News
Date
March 2, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
Culture, Jacques Ellul, Salvo, Self, society, Technology, Western}

The Technological Society We Live In

_{In today's world, we think we can solve everything through technique. How's that going for us?} _{News
March 2, 2023

2

Technology}

In a blog post this week from Salvo, Joshua Pauling cites the influential thinker Jacques Ellul on the development of a “technological society” in Western culture. Pauling writes, Even in the mid-20th century, Ellul, a French philosopher and theologian, saw technique and efficiency coming to consume every aspect of life and society. As he defined it in The Technological Society (originally entitled La Technique in French), technique is the “totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency in every field of human activity” (xxv). Just as the factories of the industrial world were optimized according to new standards of efficiency, now everything is measured, recorded, analyzed through a lens of efficiency, and then submitted to a technique to maximize outcomes according to Read More ›