Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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Toraja Indonesia Weaving

Weaving the Technology of Our Lives

We have the ability to choose how to weave technology into our lives. How can we use technology in a healthy way? What are the consequences of being always connected and having everything available instantaneously? Andrew McDiarmid discusses technology, digital wellness, and freedom with Robert J. Marks. Additional Resources Andrew McDiarmid’s website Andrew McDiarmid at Discovery.org How to Glorify God Read More ›

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Atom Particle

A Materialist Gives Up on Determinism

Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne undercuts his own argument against free will by admitting that quantum phenomena are real

Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne has denied free will for years. But most recently, he has said something that puts the whole matter in doubt. A bit of background: Free will simply cannot be real if determinism is true, that is, if everything in nature falls like dominoes after the first one is pushed: If nature is truly like that, our acts, like those of the dominoes, are wholly determined by natural history and physical laws that we do not control. Nearly all arguments against free will depend critically on determinism. But there is a central problem with determinism: It is clear from physics that determinism in nature is not true. In 1964, theoretical physicist John Bell (1928–1990) proposed relatively simple Read More ›

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Eye

John Lennox: How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact the World by 2084?

What will be the effects of artificial intelligence by the year 2084? Robert J. Marks and Dr. John Lennox discuss artificial general intelligence, threats and advantages of artificial intelligence, and Dr. Lennox’s book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. Show Notes 00:46 | Introducing Dr. John Lennox, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University 01:34 | Reasons for Read More ›

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Peep hole with camera

A chilling snippet from mass surveillance in China

China is helping other countries restrict their citizens’ internet, while shunning the U.S.
Overall, governments worldwide are restricting the freedom of the internet, especially around election times, and the big social media companies are conspicuous by their silence.   Read More ›
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The End of Human Drama

Part 3: Yuval Harari on the end of democracy, volition, religion, and art?

In this third part of their reflection on Yuval Harari’s Atlantic piece anticipating technology’s march toward tyranny, Jay Richards and Robert J. Marks discuss the many assumptions therein. At the root of these speculations is an overestimation of the power of information processing systems and an underestimation of the human ability to be the true governors of their creations, not their docile “pets”. Harari rightly points to a better understanding of the mind as the way forward, but fails to appreciate its true nature, resulting in a dismal prognosis for art, religion, and democracy. Read More ›