Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagElon Musk

woman-passenger-sitting-in-the-backseat-and-selects-a-route-when-her-self-driving-car-rides-on-the-highway-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Woman passenger sitting in the backseat and selects a route when her self-driving car rides on the highway.
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
April 29, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance
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Tesla Continues to Walk Back Full Self-Driving Claims

In 2016, Tesla (TSLA) couldn’t tell enough people that its cars would soon drive themselves
Jonathan Bartlett
April 29, 2021
4
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

In 2019, Tesla raised billions of dollars on the prospect of a fleet of a million robotaxis by the next year. However, starting on the Q3 2019 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk started walking back some of those claims. To begin with, in that earnings call, Musk started saying that “feature complete” really just meant that the “City Streets” version would be operable, not that it could actually drive without assistance. A year later, in regulatory filings with the California DMV, Tesla said, “As such, a final release of City Streets will continue to be an SAE Level 2, advanced driver-assistance feature.” In the accepted terminology around levels of self-driving, truly self-driving vehicles are classed as SAE Level 5. Level Read More ›

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Motorsport racing track and car slammed brakes sign
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
April 28, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Law
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Artificial Intelligence Slams on the Brakes

The problem of autonomous cars suddenly slamming the brakes is becoming well known and it has no known fix
Richard W. Stevens
April 28, 2021
9
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Law

Having just donated your well-worn 1994 Toyota Camry to charity, you’re driving a brand new 2020 Honda sedan on a major street, enjoying air-conditioned comfort on a sunny day, with the satellite radio service narrowcasting tunes from the soundtrack of your life. Then, WHAM! In a half second, the car slows from 45 to 20 — and you never touched the brake pedal. You never saw it coming but your neck is still reminding you painfully of your whiplash injury. A close family member experienced this exact scenario just a month ago. She never touched the brake pedal. What happened? The dealership’s sales representative had not explained each and every feature of this postmodern car and certainly didn’t warn about Read More ›

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Technology and engineering concept
Type
post
Author
William A. Dembski
Date
April 19, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Artificial Intelligence: Unseating the Inevitability Narrative

World-class chess, Go, and Jeopardy-playing programs are impressive, but they prove nothing about whether computers can be made to achieve AGI
William A. Dembski
April 19, 2021
10
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Back in 1998, I moderated a discussion at which Ray Kurzweil gave listeners a preview of his then forthcoming book The Age of Spiritual Machines, in which he described how machines were poised to match and then exceed human cognition, a theme he doubled down on in subsequent books (such as The Singularity Is Near and How to Create a Mind). For Kurzweil, it is inevitable that machines will match and then exceed us: Moore’s Law guarantees that machines will attain the needed computational power to simulate our brains, after which the challenge will be for us to keep pace with machines..  Kurzweil’s respondents at the discussion were John Searle, Thomas Ray, and Michael Denton, and they were all to varying degrees critical of his strong Read More ›

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Male hands holding steering wheel of a car
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
April 19, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance
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Do Not Be Fooled: The “Self-Driving” Car Doesn’t Drive Itself

Over-reliance on technology that is not intended to be used without human attention can be deadly
Jonathan Bartlett
April 19, 2021
3
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Two people died in a car crash in a Tesla on Sunday morning. While many details are yet to be confirmed, the investigators have confirmed that no one was in the driver’s seat at the time of impact. Additionally, the resulting fire required more than 30,000 gallons of water to extinguish because the batteries continued to reignite. Here at Mind Matters, we want to reiterate to our readers that even though Tesla’s driver assistance system is officially named “Full Self-Driving”, no one should take that to mean that the car can drive itself. We have been fully documenting the problematic nature of Tesla’s self-driving claims for many years. Recently, the hype coming from Tesla has been so problematic that many other outlets have begun Read More ›

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Abstract virtual binary code illustration on blurry modern office building background. Big data and coding concept. Multiexposure
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 1, 2021
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The Chaitin Interview V: Chaitin’s Number

Robert J. Marks
April 1, 2021
2

Listen in as Robert J. Marks picks the mind of Professor Gregory Chaitin about Chaitin’s number – a number that has been called “mystical and magical”. How does this number work? Why do some people call it “Chaitin’s constant”? What is the usefulness of philosophizing in mathematics? Show Notes 00:27 | Introducing Gregory Chaitin and Chaitin’s number 01:32 | Chaitin’s Read More ›

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Castaway in bureaucracy
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post
Author
News
Date
March 23, 2021
Categorized
Mathematics, Peer Review, Science
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Gregory Chaitin on How Bureaucracy Chokes Science Today

He complains, They’re managing to make it impossible for anybody to do any real research. You have to say in advance what you’re going to accomplish. You have to have milestones, reports
News
March 23, 2021
10
Mathematics, Peer Review, Science

In last week’s podcast, “The Chaitin Interview III: The Changing Landscape for Mathematics,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician and computer scientist Gregory Chaitin on how Stephen Wolfram’s software has taken much of the drudgery out of math. At the same time, in Chaitin’s view, a threat looms: A new, more bureaucratic, mindset threatens to take the creativity out of science, technology, and math: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-126-Gregory-Chaitin.mp3 This portion begins at 19:45 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: I was sitting down tallying, I think, the intellectual giants that have introduced new mathematical ideas, brand new. I was thinking of people like Claude Shannon, Lotfi Zadeh, yourself… I don’t know if we Read More ›

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Online education concept
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post
Author
News
Date
March 22, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Programming
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How Stephen Wolfram Revolutionized Math Computing

Wolfram has not made computers creative but he certainly took a lot of the drudgery out of the profession
News
March 22, 2021
11
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Programming

In last week’s podcast, “The Chaitin Interview III: The Changing Landscape for Mathematics,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician and computer scientist Gregory Chaitin on many things mathematical, including why math or engineering geniuses (Elon Musk came to mind, of course) can’t just follow the rules. This week, we look at Stephen Wolfram’s new program that checks your hard math. What can — and can’t — it do for mathematicians? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-126-Gregory-Chaitin.mp3 This portion begins at 13:22 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Gregory Chaitin: Now, there is what I regard as a piece of AI, so it might be interesting to talk about it. My friend Stephen Wolfram (pictured), the system he’s created, Read More ›

spacex-concept-spacecraft-in-orbit-of-the-earth-spacex-elon-musk-mars-programm-3d-render-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
SpaceX Concept Spacecraft in orbit of the Earth. SpaceX Elon Musk Mars programm 3d render
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post
Author
News
Date
March 21, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Programming
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Why Elon Musk and Other Geniuses Can’t Afford To Follow Rules

Mathematician Gregory Chaitin explains why Elon Musk is, perhaps unexpectedly, his hero
News
March 21, 2021
12
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Programming

In last week’s podcast, “The Chaitin Interview III: The Changing Landscape for Mathematics,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician and computer scientist Gregory Chaitin on many things mathematical, including why great books on math, advancing new theorems, aren’t written much any more. This week, we look at why geniuses like Musk (whose proposed Mars Orbiter is our featured image above) simply can’t just follow the rules, for better or worse: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-126-Gregory-Chaitin.mp3 This portion begins at 7:57 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Gregory Chaitin: Look at Elon Musk (pictured). He’s my great hero. He’s a wonderful engineer and he’s a wonderful entrepreneur and he doesn’t follow the rules. Robert J. Marks: He doesn’t, Read More ›

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black mathematics board with formulas
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post
Author
News
Date
March 20, 2021
Categorized
Mathematics, Peer Review
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Why Don’t We See Many Great Books on Math Any More?

Decades ago, Gregory Chaitin reminds us, mathematicians were not forced by the rules of the academic establishment to keep producing papers, so they could write key books.
News
March 20, 2021
9
Mathematics, Peer Review

In our most recent podcast, “The Chaitin Interview III: The Changing Landscape for Mathematics,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician and computer scientist Gregory Chaitin on many things mathematical, including whether math is invented or discovered. This time out, Chaitin talks about why he thinks great books on math, advancing new theorems, aren’t written much any more: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-126-Gregory-Chaitin.mp3 This portion begins at 02:49 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: You don’t hear the word “scholarship” very much anymore in academia. Gregory Chaitin: And people don’t write books. In the past, some wonderful mathematicians like G. H. Hardy (1877–1947, pictured in 1927) would write wonderful books like A Mathematician’s Apology (1940) Read More ›

businessman-gives-the-bitcoin-manselective-focusblock-chain-technology-conceptwar-of-bitcoindigital-currency-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Businessman gives the bitcoin man.selective focus.block chain Technology concept.War of bitcoin,Digital currency.
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post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
March 15, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance
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The Startling Energy Costs of Bitcoin

As Bitcoin gains credibility, power consumption worries grow
Jonathan Bartlett
March 15, 2021
3
Business and Finance

Most people are aware of the rising price of Bitcoin. Despite the fact that most people are unaware of how to transact in it, and few merchants take it as a form of currency, Bitcoin is becoming an increasingly popular investment. As interest in Bitcoin grows, a few people are starting to take notice of the startling energy costs associated with Bitcoin transactions. As Mind Matters has been pointing out for years, the energy costs associated with having a “trustless” system such as Bitcoin is immense, with Bitcoin transactions generally costing 400,000 times as much energy as a single transaction on the Visa network. According to the BBC, the Bitcoin network – which, again, very few people are regularly transacting in – now consumes more energy than the Read More ›

new technologies, a child uses a futuristic processor for augmented reality. high technology and communication concept. TV
Type
post
Author
News
Date
February 21, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Science
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Theoretical Physicist Argues, the Sim Universe Is Pseudoscience

It’s a lot of fun in science fiction and some scitech celebs buy in. But Sabine Hossenfelder and others explain why it’s fiction
News
February 21, 2021
6
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Science

Theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder does not like the notion that we are living in a giant computer sim. Elon Musk likes it (“Elon Musk says there’s a ‘one in billions’ chance reality is not a simulation”) and so does Neil deGrasse Tyson (“Neil deGrasse Tyson says it’s ‘very likely’ the universe is a simulation”). Philosopher of science Nick Bostrom advanced that view in a seminal 2003 paper in Philosophical Quarterly. Former Astronomer Royal Martin Rees is sympathetic to it. Some call it the Planetarium hypothesis, when it is cited as a reason we do not see intelligent extraterrestrials. One source offers “15 irrefutable reasons” why, like Neo in The Matrix (1999), we might be living in a universe that is Read More ›

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Classic club sandwich with ham and bacon on a wooden board. Next cup is a mixture of pickled miniature onions, gherkins, tomatoes. Gray background. Close-up.
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post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
February 15, 2021
Categorized
Surveillance, Technocracy
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For Five Days There Was Free Expression in China

Then censors blocked the Clubhouse app
Heather Zeiger
February 15, 2021
7
Surveillance, Technocracy

In March 2020, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Paul Davidson and former Google engineer Rohan Seth launched their newest app, Clubhouse. The app is an invite-only audio chat app that lets users talk in virtual rooms. These conversations can be one-on-one or they could have an audience of up to 5,000 users (the current room limit in the beta version of the app). The app is only available on the iPhone and, once invited, users must use their actual phone number and Apple ID to join. Each user is only allowed to invite up to five people. The app’s exclusive nature gave it the tantalizing aura of the “next-big-thing” among the tech types. On January 31, Space-X’s Elon Musk made an appearance Read More ›

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Storage
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post
Author
News
Date
January 2, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Our #1 AI Hype of 2020!: Elon Musk Will Fix Your Brain!

The device has been tried on rats, mice, and pigs.
News
January 2, 2021
9
Artificial Intelligence

In #2 of our Top Ten AI Hypes, a guy left his day job to help make AI that thinks like people. Honestly, some of us were stuck for what we could do to top that! Well, our nerds came through for #1!: How about “Elon Musk wants to connect your BRAIN to a computer this year as ‘awesome’ Neuralink mind-chip prepares to launch” (The Sun) ELON Musk has tweeted that his brain-computer chip company Neuralink is working on an “awesome” version of the device. The kooky billionaire believes his brain interface tech will turn humans into a genius super race. Charlotte Edwards, “Elon Musk wants to connect your BRAIN to a computer this year as ‘awesome’ Neuralink mind-chip prepares Read More ›

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Tired man sitting in car, wearing in sleeping mask
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 1, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance
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#4 Elon Musk: This Time Autopilot Is Going To WORK!

Jonathan Bartlett: I have to say, part of me loves Elon Musk and part of me can't stand the guy
News
January 1, 2021
7
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Our nerds here at the Walter Bradley Center have been discussing the top twelve AI hypes of the year. Our director Robert J. Marks, Eric Holloway and Jonathan Bartlett talk about overyhyped AI ideas (from a year in which we saw major advances, along with inevitable hypes). From AI Dirty Dozen 2020 Part III, here’s #4: Elon Musk’s fully self-driving software is finally going to work: Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that the test version of the company’s Autopilot system will be released in “a month or so.” While he didn’t describe its capabilities, Musk said that once it’s out, “you’ll see what it’s like. It’s amazing. It’s clearly going to work.” Chris Woodyard, “Elon Musk says Tesla’s full Read More ›

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black car interior \
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
December 31, 2020
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AI Dirty Dozen 2020 Part III

Robert J. Marks
December 31, 2020
2

There are many forces that shape the hyped AI stories we read. Media is everywhere and competition is fierce. Articles with provocative headlines and content are clickbait for the browsing consumer. We’re going to count down the AI Dirty Dozen: the top twelve AI hyped stories for 2020. Join Dr. Robert J. Marks as he discusses some of these stories with Read More ›

vehicle navigation system.jpg
Autopilot self-driving car system with no human intervention. Close up cropped image of hand of African male driver browsing the internet using smartphone and touchscreen in futuristic autonomous car
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
October 26, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance
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Self-Driving Cars: Waymo Beats Tesla By Picking the Right Target

Trying to get the human out of the loop, as Musk proposes, becomes increasingly costly as the complexity increases
Jonathan Bartlett
October 26, 2020
5
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance

Full self-driving has been a contentious topic in the last few years. In 2016, Elon Musk started claiming that his cars had all the hardware needed to do full self-driving, and that the software would be there by 2019. You would be able to summon a car from across the United States and it would drive across the country, recharging as needed, to pick you up, no driver needed. He has specifically indicated that he means Level 5 autonomy, which means that no driver is needed at all. The driver can sleep, watch a movie, or just hang out in the back seat. In fact, in 2016, he indicated that drivers were merely there for regulatory purposes. Musk’s claims about Read More ›

cells-under-a-microscope-cell-division-cellular-therapy-3d-illustration-on-a-dark-background-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Cells under a microscope. Cell division. Cellular Therapy. 3d illustration on a dark background
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post
Author
News
Date
October 1, 2020
Categorized
Information Theory, Science
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New Book: Our Bodies’ Cells Are a “Third Infinity” of Information

If the first cell somehow morphed into existence without the ability to reproduce, it would also have been the last cell.
News
October 1, 2020
3
Information Theory, Science

Recently, computer engineer and philosopher Jonathan Bartlett pointed out that Elon Musk has inadvertently highlighted the biggest problem with origin of life studies: How life originated is not as difficult a question as how it originated with the ability to reproduce. If the first cell somehow morphed into existence without the ability to reproduce, it would also have been the last cell. The only cell, in fact. Musk, as it happens, was talking about the production of cars when he tweeted, “The machine that makes the machine is vastly harder than the machine itself.” He estimated “1000% to 10,000% harder.” Indeed, and that’s also true of the cells that comprise just about every living being. Our cells not only live Read More ›

robotic-arms-in-a-car-plant-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
robotic arms in a car plant
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
September 26, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Information Theory
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Elon Musk Tweet Shows Why Many Doubt Origin of Life Studies

Musk was talking about the origin of machines, not life, but the principle is, perhaps surprisingly, the same
Jonathan Bartlett
September 26, 2020
4
Artificial Intelligence, Information Theory
Creating a machine that manufactures or a cell that reproduces is much harder than creating a prototype of either. It’s a search for a search. Read More ›
woman-passenger-sitting-in-the-backseat-and-selects-a-route-when-her-self-driving-car-rides-on-the-highway-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Woman passenger sitting in the backseat and selects a route when her self-driving car rides on the highway.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 17, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology
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If Self-Driving Cars Become the Norm, What Will It Feel Like?

Already, Millennials are more likely than their parents to see transportation as simply a means to an end
News
July 17, 2020
6
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Global Technology

Recently, Jay Richards interviewed Bryan Mistele, founder and CEO of INRIX, on the non-fiction future of the self-driving car. INRIX provides data systems for analyzing traffic issues relevant to self-driving (autonomous) vehicles. He sees a bright future, amid many misconceptions: From the interview: Jay Richards: What do you think is the key misconception that people have about this technology? Bryan Mistele: I think the biggest misconception is that it’s just about autonomous vehicles. That you’ll go to a dealer, you’ll buy an autonomous vehicle. That’s not really the vision of what people in the industry are pursuing. It’s about what we call the ACES, Autonomous Connected, Electric, and Shared, all working together to deliver, basically, mobility as a service. Certainly Read More ›

man-in-a-tesla-car-behind-the-wheel-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Man In A Tesla Car. Behind The Wheel Concept.
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
July 15, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Ethics
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German Court Rules: Tesla Autopilot Is False Advertising

In America, for reasons many people can’t quite comprehend, the regulatory agencies haven’t said much about the inflated claims
Jonathan Bartlett
July 15, 2020
4
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Ethics

Here at Mind Matters News, we have long been critics of Elon Musk’s claims about his “self-driving” Teslas. Autopilot is a cool feature but marketing it as “full self-driving” is simply a lie, and a dangerous one at that. Musk (right) has been making false claims about Autopilot for almost half a decade now. He claimed in 2016 that all Teslas that left the factory were equipped with the hardware for Level 5 full self-driving. If you’re not aware of the levels of self-driving defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Level 5 means that the car will take you wherever you want to go and you can sleep in the back. Level 4 means that, in some situations Read More ›