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Silhouettes of people observing stars in night sky. Astronomy concept.

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 16, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence (AI), C.S. Lewis, Computers, Eric Hedin, god, religion, spiritual longing, transcendence}

Another Non-Computable Trait: Spiritual Longing

_{You can't program spiritual longing into a computer, not matter how savvy the algorithm.} _{Peter Biles

September 16, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

What makes human beings unique, compared to say, a piece of granite? What distinguishes us from advanced artificial intelligence? Robert J. Marks has argued that several characteristics set us apart from the machines in his book Non-Computable You. This week, scientist Eric Hedin, citing from the classic thought of Anglo-Irish writer C.S. Lewis, adds another trait to the list: spiritual longing for something greater than the material. Hedin writes, If physical desires, such as hunger, rightly indicate that we were meant to be satisfied with food, then the longing for something that transcends even our most lavish experiences of abundance must also indicate an attainable fulfillment we have never yet tasted and without which we cannot be fully satisfied. Stated Read More ›

Aerial cityscape view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge at Night

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 27, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Athens, Faith, god, Jerusalem, Luke Birgis, reason, religion, science, Silicon Valley, soul, Wired}

Silicon Valley is All About Use, Not Truth

_{Of Athens, Jerusalem, and the "third city"} _{Peter Biles

August 27, 2023

3

Technology}

A new article from Wired by Luke Birgis discusses the mentality and culture of Silicon Valley, and puts the technological vision of life up alongside the classic dichotomy between “Athens” and “Jerusalem.” Athens was symbolic of reason, while Jerusalem indicated the spiritual life of the soul. Figuring out a way of connecting (or disconnecting) these two mythic kingdoms has long been the task of philosophers and theologians. Need religion be separated from reason? Are science and faith naturally incompatible? These are worthy questions in their own right. Birgis, however, identifies another burgeoning kingdom that is arguably reducing both Athens and Jerusalem to hypothetical rubble: Silicon Valley. The Valley’s core philosophy is neither reason or beauty, but value, or usefulness. Birgis Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 26, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Adam and EVe, Arts and Culture, Consciousness, emotions, free will, god, mind, Movies and TV, Robots, tv, Westworld}

Westworld Episode 10 Review (Part Two)

_{Welcome to the dark end of the journey} _{Gary Varner

August 26, 2023

7

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Last time, Teddy had just finished saving Dolores from the Man in Black, who turned out to be William all along. He takes her to the coast because that was where he promised to take her when they were performing their pre-programmed loop. However, the coast is apparently not very far because as Dolores dies in his arms, Teddy starts reciting a campy monologue, and then shuts down while the board applauds the speech. Even when they’re trying to escape their loop, the robots still, somehow, find themselves trapped in yet another one of Dr. Ford’s narratives. Dr. Ford appears, addresses the crowd, then orders for Teddy to be cleaned up, and for Dolores to be taken to a nearby Read More ›

Science and research of the universe, spiral galaxy and physical formulas, concept of knowledge and education

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 22, 2023

Categorized
Mathematics

Tagged
faith and religion, god, Intelligent design theory, Mathematics, Numbers, Physics, religion, science, science and faith}

From Physics to Faith?

_{A podcast episode looking at how physics points to more than meets the eye} _{News

August 22, 2023

2

Mathematics}

Do you recognize the number 1/137.035999206? It might seem arbitrary, but if the fine-structure constant were any higher or lower than it is, you might not exist! On this episode of ID the Future, host Brian Miller kicks off an engaging conversation with Rabbi Elie Feder and Rabbi Aaron Zimmer, hosts of the Physics to God podcast. Feder has a PhD in mathematics and has published articles on graph theory. Zimmer has training in physics, and has studied mathematics, philosophy, and psychology. Both men also have extensive rabbinical training. Through their podcast, Feder and Zimmer invite both secular and religious listeners on a journey through modern physics as they offer rational arguments for an intelligent cause of the universe. In Part 1 of Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 2, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, god, Jesus Revolution, Mere Christianity (book), Pirate's Cove, Revival, Robert J. Marks, social media, TikTok}

Running from TikTok to Baptism and Truth

_{AI-powered social media is hurting kids, but look at the simultaneous revival happening, writes Robert J. Marks} _{News

August 2, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence}

“Digital fentanyl.” That’s the evocative term U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc. used to describe TikTok. In Robert J. Marks’ new Newsmax article, he decries the tragic effects of social media on teens. The data is in: social media makes kids depressed. Marks writes, Media-drenched teenage boys without girlfriends feel like social freaks. One in three teenage girls who use social have body image issues.Young adults who use social media are three times as likely to suffer from depression. Depression can lead to suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, female suicides aged 15-24 increased by 87 percent over the past 20 years and male suicides increased by 30 percent. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says suicide is now the second leading Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 15, 2023

Tagged
Arts and Culture, ChatGPT, Elon Musk, Ethan Hunt, god, Government power, Mission Impossible, Movies and Film, OpenAI, religion, Tom Cruise, xAI}

Mission Impossible: A Dead Reckoning With Artificial Intelligence

_{The villain in the new blockbuster movie is an artificial intelligence known simply as "the entity."} _{Peter Biles

July 15, 2023

3}

I walked into the theater expecting a typical villain in the latest installment of Mission Impossible starring the inimitable Tom Cruise. And at the film’s beginning, you’re definitely led to believe that the pale, sour-faced Russians are behind yet another espionage program destined to thwart America and conquer the world. But that’s only a front. The real villain in the new blockbuster movie is an artificial intelligence known simply as “the entity.” The impossible mission, tasked to Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is to track down a mysterious key, made of two separate parts, that apparently can unlock the entity and reveal what it’s capable of. God in the Machine Hunt and his usual gang of expatriates find themselves at odds with Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
February 21, 2023

Categorized
Addiction, Social Media

Tagged
AA, addiction, Adolescents, Asbury, CBN, Depression, god, Recovery, Revival, Robert J. Marks, social media, suicide, TikTok}

The Asbury Revival and the Cure for TikTok

_{In the age of social media addiction, young people need to know they can be imperfect and yet loved} _{Robert J. Marks

February 21, 2023

3

Addiction, Social Media}

Social media portrays a world where everybody is happy and having a good time. Everybody, of course, except for you. There must therefore be something wrong with you. You are a loser. Teenage boys without girlfriends feel like social freaks. One in three teenage girls who use social media suffers from body image issues. Social Media and Depression Young adults who use social media are three times as likely to suffer from depression. Depression can lead to suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, female suicides aged 15-24 increased by 87 percent over the past 20 years and male suicides increased by 30 percent. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says suicide is now Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 18, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Creator, god, Goldbach's Conjecture, Incompleteness theorems (Gödel), Kurt Gödel, Peter Atkins, Proof (in mathematics), Scientific materialism, Scientism, Stephen Hawking, String theory, Theism, Theory of Everything, William Lane Craig}

How Materialism Proves Unbounded Scientific Ignorance

_{There is an infinite number of things that are true that we cannot prove scientifically and never will} _{Robert J. Marks

April 18, 2021

6

Philosophy, Science}

Science is based on a glut of laws from physics, chemistry, mathematics, and other areas. The assumption of scientific materialism, as I understand it, is that science has explained or will explain everything. The final conclusion of scientific materialism, also known as scientism, is nicely captured in a question chemist Peter Atkins asked philosopher William Lane Craig in a debate: “Do you deny that science can account for everything?” Scientism’s assumption that science can establish everything is self-refuting. Careful analysis shows that there is an infinite number of things that are true that we cannot prove scientifically and never will. Stephen Hawking saw the tip of the iceberg of this truth when he said, “Up to now, most people have Read More ›

beautiful natural bright background (texture), peacock feathers, panorama

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 27, 2020

Categorized
Religion

Tagged
Fine-tuning, god, Goldilocks Zone, Implicit learning, Implicit pattern learning, Psychology, Rare Earth hypothesis, Religious believers}

Believers in God Detect Patterns More Easily

_{Psychologists found that both devout Christians and Muslims unconsciously detected patterns in a test more quickly} _{News

September 27, 2020

4

Religion}

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center wanted to know “why and how brains come to believe in gods.” They explored that question using a concept in psychology called implicit pattern learning. Explicit learning is conscious but implicit learning is unconscious. For example, explicit learning is mastering the times tables in arithmetic class. Implicit learning is absorbing, without consciously thinking about it, the way the teacher treats others. The researchers’ hypothesis was: “people whose brains are good at subconsciously discerning patterns in their environment may ascribe those patterns to the hand of a higher power” To test that, they studied people who believe in God in the United States and in Afghanistan, using a conventional test for unconscious pattern learning: For Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 3, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
Bernardo Kastrup, cosmopsychism, Featured, free will, George Berkeley (1685–1753), god, Idealism, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Naturalism, Objective idealism}

Does Physics Today Point to Mind Rather Than Matter Only?

_{A cosmopsychist looks at the universe, God, and free will} _{News

September 3, 2020

12

Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

In a recent podcast, “Does the Moon Exist if No One is Looking at It?”, Michael Egnor continued his discussion with philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. As a scientist, Kastrup has worked for The European Organization for Nuclear Research and for Phillips Research Laboratories, and has authored many academic papers and books. This week’s topic is the way physics today points to mind as opposed to materialism. Kastrup offers some thoughts on God and free will as well, from his cosmopsychist (or objective idealist) position: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-095-Bernardo-Kastrup.mp3 From the transcript: (Other discussions in the series, Show Notes, Resources, and a link to the complete transcript follow.) Michael Egnor: You have said and written that physics points to the mind. What Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 13, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Darwinism, Evolution, Featured, god, Intelligent design theory, Jerry Coyne, Jerry Fodor, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Natural selection, Panpsychism, Philosophy, What Darwin Got Wrong (book)}

Why Consciousness Couldn’t Just Evolve from the Mud

_{Kastrup, a panpsychist, is sympathetic to the basic intuitions behind the idea that there is design in nature (intelligent design theory)} _{News

August 13, 2020

10

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, “Does the Moon Exist if No One is Looking at It?”, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviewed philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. Dr. Kastrup has been, in Dr. Egnor’s words, “leading a modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism”—that is, reality is essentially mental rather than physical. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
July 12, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Science

Tagged
2084 (book), Dan Brown, Featured, god, John Lennox, Origin (novel), Robert J. Marks}

In Dan Brown’s AI Hype Novel, the Hero Stumbles Onto God

_{Not clear that was supposed to happen but stories do get away on their authors at times…} _{News

July 12, 2020

6

Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Science}

In a recent podcast, “John Lennox: False Assumptions in the hype over AI,” Oxford mathematician John Lennox, author of 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2020) discussed common mistaken assumptions with Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks. One of them seems to be that AI might prove there is no God, replace God, or become God. Things get interesting when these science fictions meet the world of fact. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-090-John-Lennox.mp3 From the transcript: Robert J. Marks: In your book, you discussed Dan Brown’s novel entitled Origin. Now Dan Brown is famous for writing many, I don’t know, kind of strange books. One was the Da Vinci Code, but his recent one deals with artificial intelligence and you discuss Read More ›

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
March 21, 2019

Tagged
Afterlife, AI, Consciousness, god, immortality, theology}

John Lennox on AI: Downloading the Mind

_{Reducing the Mind to Bits} _{Robert J. Marks

March 21, 2019

1}

The topic of Natural and Artificial Intelligence can be discussed from a number of viewpoints, including philosophically, technically and theologically. Our guest today, Dr. John Lennox, can address AI from all of these points of view. We’ll explore his multi-spectral perspective today on Mind Matters. Show Notes 01:00 | Introduction; Dr. John Lennox 01:50 | Downloading Immortality 03:44 | Non-algorithmic Read More ›