^TagHuman exceptionalism

Chat bot Robot Online Chatting Communication Business Internet Technology Concept

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
December 5, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Andy Crouch, Artificial Intelligence, chatbots, Computers, David Decosimo, Elon Musk, Human exceptionalism, human exceptionalism (vs. computers), OpenAI, Twitter}

OpenAI Launches Impressive New Chatbot: ChatGPT

_{The sophisticated AI tool could revolutionize the internet, and come with big cost} _{Peter Biles

December 5, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence}

Artificial intelligence is making great strides in 2022. A few months ago, the company OpenAI introduced DALL-E, a text-to-image generator, which they made open to the public. Some have raised concerns over the future role of artists and copyright issues considering AI art generators. Does AI pose a threat to human creators? Well, that question just got weightier and more multifaceted. OpenAI just released ChatGPT, what writer Jacob Carpenter calls, “the most advanced, user-friendly chatbot to enter the public domain.” ChatGPT can “write lines of code, pen a college-level essay, author responses in the voice of a pirate, and write a piano piece in Mozart’s style.” Carpenter goes on to point out that some are wondering if the chatbot threatens Read More ›

closeup of old handwriting; vintage paper background

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 20, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Creativity and AI writing tools, fiction, Human exceptionalism, Language, poetry}

Shakespeare vs. AI: Who Wins?

_{AI fails to do justice to the full range and depth of human language} _{Peter Biles

October 20, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

I’ve written a fair bit in the last month on the development of AI art tools, but what about language? AI, as you’re probably aware, is not only able to mimic artistic styles. Its developers also want it to generate words, and to all appearances, they are succeeding. If visual artists are in trouble, how are journalists, novelists, and academics implicated in the AI revolution? I have a background in English, literature, and creative writing, so naturally, this AI issue hits a bit closer to home. Suppose an AI program could compose a short story with the prose quality and cohesive style of Ernest Hemingway. Could AI eventually produce news content, thus substituting the human reporter or journalist? As it Read More ›

“Fluorite” - oil painting. Conceptual abstract picture of the eye. Oil painting in colorful colors. Conceptual abstract closeup of an oil painting and palette knife on canvas.

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 19, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Beauty, Creativity, Featured, Human exceptionalism, Machines, visual art}

Human Artists and their AI Copycats

_{What will happen to actual artists if AI can mimic their styles?} _{Peter Biles

October 19, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

Imagine you’re walking through a world-class art museum, and you come across Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers.” (Let’s assume someone hasn’t already thrown tomato soup on it.) The painting isn’t a replication. It’s not a copy of a copy of a copy. It’s the original canvas and paint, the direct object created by the artist himself, shaped by age, visited by thousands of admirers—it’s “vintage.” You stand there admiring the work of a past genius, and get a sense of its beauty and meaning in a whole new way. There’s something unique in witnessing “the real thing.” Why do people travel worldwide to look at Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” when they can see a digital recreation through a Google search? Or why Read More ›

hope, freedom, life, different, contrast concept, blue sky human with broken human, surreal and fantasy artwork, conceptual art, painting illustration, sadness and depression idea

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 26, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Engineered Arts (robotics), human brain, Human exceptionalism, human uniqueness, mind}

Making Art Is Uniquely Human

_{While the architects of AI "art" tools like to think their technology can replace human creativity, the artistic impulse is uniquely human} _{Peter Biles

September 26, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

In my last post, I wrote about a novelist who used a version of the AI art tool known as Stable Diffusion to gather images for a promotional website. She wanted erotic and violent elements in the artwork and found that other AI art tools included “guardrails” limiting access to graphic results. But if these images are disconnected from a human, imaginative process, can we say AI-generated results qualify as creative works? Artificial intelligence doesn’t only challenge our notions of what it means to be human. It also makes us wonder what it means to make art and whether human beings are the only agents capable of creating it. Walter Kirn addressed this question poignantly in a Substack essay. Kirn Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 16, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Human exceptionalism

Tagged
Animal rights, Christianity, Creativity, Dean Koontz, Dogs, Human exceptionalism, Human rights, transhumanism, Wesley J. Smith, Wesley J. Smith on transhumanism}

Human Exceptionalism is a Central Theme for Novelist Dean Koontz

_{Bestselling author Dean Koontz talks fiction, human exceptionalism, and transhumanism with Wesley J. Smith in new podcast episode (Part II)} _{Peter Biles

September 16, 2022

6

Arts & Culture, Human exceptionalism}

In Part I of this two-part series, we looked at Dean Koontz’s remarks on the purpose of art and the unique role of the novelist in today’s “everything is political” environment. But that’s not all he and Smith discussed on the Humanize Podcast on September 12th. Both had a lot to say about human exceptionalism, authoritarianism, and also…dogs! Koontz spoke about his love for the pups at the end of the episode, but first, discussed how the “animal rights” movement has gone wrong, and how a materialistic worldview can lead to despair. Smith commented how human exceptionalism is a central theme in Koontz’s novels and asked the reason, to which Koontz responded, “There’s no civilization if we don’t recognize Read More ›

October walk in the rain, a young woman with a red umbrella in the autumn city park, autumn look

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 21, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Featured, Human exceptionalism, Non-Computable You (book), Robert J. Marks}

Computer Prof: You Are Not Computable and Here’s Why Not

_{In a new book, Baylor University’s Robert J. Marks punctures myths about the superhuman AI that some claim will soon replace us} _{News

June 21, 2022

3

Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Philosophy of Mind}

In a just-released book, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks II explains, as a computer engineering professor at Baylor University, why humans are unique and why artificial intelligence cannot replicate us: ”Emotions that make us human will never be duplicated by a machine,” says Marks. “These include compassion, love, empathy, elation, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, pleasure, pride, excitement, embarrassment, regret, jealousy, grief, hope, and faith. Properly defined, creativity, sentience, and understanding are also on the list. These and other non-algorithmic traits are evidence of non-computable you.” Discovery Institute, “Are Future Humans Doomed To Be Replaced By Artificial Intelligence?” at PR NewsWire (June 21, 2022) Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will (Discovery Institute Press, 2022) is Read More ›

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
February 24, 2022

Tagged
Angus Menuge, Aristotle, Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, descartes, Elon Musk, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, human dignity, Human exceptionalism, Jaegwon Kim, Michael Egnor, mind-body dualism, mind-body problem, Mind-Body problem (types of theory), Mind-Brain Distinction, Near-death experiences, Ned Block, Neuralink, Paul Churchland, religious liberty and the law, Richard Swinburne, Robert J. Marks, Roger Penrose, Roger Penrose (on consciousness), Stephen Hawking, Sybil, Sybil (1976 film), Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Aquinas (on perception)}

Discussing Consciousness and the Mind-Body Problem

_{Robert J. Marks

February 24, 2022

2}

What does it even mean to be aware of something, to be conscious? Why do the vast majority of people only have one consciousness? Will computers ever experience consciousness? On this Bingecast, Dr. Robert J. Marks and Dr. Angus Menuge discuss these questions and more. Show Notes 00:01:36 | Introducing Dr. Angus Menuge 00:07:02 | Near-death experiences 00:10:32 | The Read More ›

^{Type
podcast

Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
December 2, 2021

Tagged
abductive reasoning, AI, AI in the futture, Alan Turing, Andrew McDiarmid, Artificial Artificial Intelligence (AAI), Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deductive reasoning, Erik Larson, Human exceptionalism, Hyping AI Hinders Innovation, Inductive reasoning, Inductive reasoning (and science), Jaron Lanier, reasoning and ai, Shoshana Zuboff, Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, The Alan Turing Machine, The human brain project, The Myth of Artificial Intelligence (book), the Turing Test}

Hyping Artificial Intelligence Hinders Innovation

_{Andrew McDiarmid

December 2, 2021

1}

When AI is equated with human intelligence, innovation suffers. While artificial intelligence can help to improve our world, many people believe the myth that it can reach beyond the limits of its programming. Andrew McDiarmid, senior fellow at Discovery Institute, discusses the limitations and dangers of AI with Erik Larson, author of the new book The Myth of Artificial Intelligence. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 16, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience

Tagged
Human exceptionalism, Ion channels, Junk DNA (human vs. chimp), Neurons (human vs other mammals)}

Human Neurons, Brains, Much More Efficient Than Animal Ones

_{What was formerly thought to be “junk DNA” differs between humans and chimpanzees and plays a role in brain development} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 16, 2021

4

Neuroscience}

What makes humans different should be straightforward, right? We should, for example, have more complex neurons than ferrets and macaques. But we don’t. We have simpler ones: Neurons communicate with each other via electrical impulses, which are produced by ion channels that control the flow of ions such as potassium and sodium. In a surprising new finding, MIT neuroscientists have shown that human neurons have a much smaller number of these channels than expected, compared to the neurons of other mammals. MIT, “A Striking Difference Between Neurons of Humans and Other Mammals” at Neuroscience News (November 10, 2021) The paper requires a subscription. In the most extensive study of its kind, nine other mammals were studied. Larger mammals have larger Read More ›

Tomb of bare-knuckle fighter Tom Sayer on Highgate Cemetery

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 11, 2021

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Death (as abstraction), Death (as concept), Death (as undersstood by animals), Death (playing possum), Grief (in animals), Human exceptionalism, Opossum (thanatosis), Susana Monsóis, Thanatosis (feigning death)}

A Philosopher Simply Invents Animals’ Concept of Death

_{She demands that we accept her invention so we can “rethink” human exceptionalism, and the “disrespect for the natural world that comes with it”} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 11, 2021

10

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Last week I talked about the question of whether primate mothers who carry dead infants around understand the concept of death. The scientists conducting the research sounded commendably cautious in the conclusions they drew. Not everyone follows their lead in this. Susana Monsóis, professor of philosophy at UNED (Madrid) and author of La zarigüeya de Schrödinger (Schrödinger’s Possum), “ a book on how animals experience and understand death,” dispenses with all that. Her subtitle is “Having a concept of death, far from being a uniquely human feat, is a fairly common trait in the animal kingdom.” Yet she falls far short of demonstrating that. Her essay is a classic on what happens when we seek simply to amass support for Read More ›

Human intelligence vs artificial intelligence. Face to face. Duel of views. Animated illustration on a school blackboard.

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 22, 2021

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Bernard Widrow, Bill Dembski, Creativity, David Gelernter, Deep Blue, Gary Kasparov, Greg Hammerly, Hit Refresh, Human exceptionalism, Robert J. Marks, Roman Yampolskiy, Satya Nadella, seductive optics, seductive semantics, Walter Bradley Center}

Robert J. Marks: There’s One Thing Only Humans Can Do

_{Robert J. Marks

July 22, 2021

1}

This week, we listen to Robert J. Marks speaking at the launch of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Dallas, Texas. Robert J. Marks is the Director of the Bradley Center and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University. In a panel discussion at the 2019 launch of the Bradley Center, Dr. Marks Read More ›

dachsund dog portrait studio looking up.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 13, 2021

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
Animal immortality, C. S. Lewis, Carol Apple, Christof Koch, Human exceptionalism, Panpsychism (vs. materialism), Problem of Pain (book), Purzel (dog)}

Do Any Dogs Go To Heaven? If So, Why?

_{Neuroscientist Christof Koch was troubled as a child by the Catholic tradition that dogs like his beloved Purzel did not go to heaven} _{News

June 13, 2021

5

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

In recent articles, we’ve discussed well-known neuroscientist Christof Koch’s Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of consciousness which, as he acknowledges, takes a panpsychist (everything is conscious to some degree) approach to the mind. He has explained his reasoning at MIT Press Reader: Materialists must see human consciousness as an illusion — but then whose illusion is it? Panpsychism allows humans to have actual consciousness but, he says, “experience may not even be restricted to biological entities but might extend to non-evolved physical systems previously assumed to be mindless — a pleasing and parsimonious conclusion about the makeup of the universe.” His perspective is gaining popularity in science. One, perhaps unexpected, factor that he mentions as shaping his overall approach was youthful Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
June 1, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Alexa, Alfred Nobel, Artificial Intelligence, drones, Futurism, Gaming AI (book), George Dvorsky, George Gilder, Human exceptionalism, John Searle, Killer robots, Nikola Tesla, Paul Scharre, Roger Penrose, Selmer Bringsjord, Slaughterbots, The Case for Killer Robots, Thomas Edison, Topsy the elephant}

Chicken Little AI Dystopians: Is the Sky Really Falling?

_{Futurist claims about human-destroying superintelligence are uninformed and irresponsible} _{Robert J. Marks

June 1, 2021

5

Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence}

The article “How an Artificial Superintelligence Might Actually Destroy Humanity” is one of the most irresponsible pieces about AI I have read in the last five years. The author, transhumanist George Dvorsky, builds his argument on a foundation of easily popped balloons. AI is and will remain a tool. Computers can crunch numbers faster than you or me. Alexa saves a lot of time looking up results on the web or playing a selected tune from Spotify. A car – even a bicycle – can go a lot faster than I can run. AI is a tool like fire or electricity used to enhance human performance and improve lifestyles. Like fire and electricity, AI can be used for evil or Read More ›

Nairobi, Kenya : Ranger feeding orphaned baby elephant in David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust conservation center

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
May 8, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
How to Be Animal (book), Human exceptionalism, Lord of the Flies (book), Melanie Challenger, Moral choice, reason, William Golding}

There Is No Escape From Human Exceptionalism

_{Author Melanie Challenger thinks we should embrace our true animal nature. But that’s impossible} _{Denyse O'Leary

May 8, 2021

4

Ethics, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

Melanie Challenger, author of How to Be Animal (2021) thinks we would be less messed up if we could just accept our animal nature. She writes at Aeon, “Human exceptionalism is dead: for the sake of our own happiness and the planet we should embrace our true animal nature.” Further, Today, our thinking has shifted along with scientific evidence, incorporating the genetic insights of the past century. We now know we’re animals, related to all other life on our planet. We’ve also learned much about cognition, including the uneasy separation between instinct and intention, and the investment of the whole body in thought and action. As such, we might expect attitudes to have changed. But that isn’t the case. We Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 11, 2020

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Animal Minds, Brain as computer, Coma, Consciousness, Disorders of consciousness, Featured, Half a brain, human brain, Human exceptionalism, Michael Egnor, neuroplasticity, Neuroscientists, Persistent vegetative state (PVS), Prostheses, Sophia the Robot, Split brain}

Your Mind vs. Your Brain: Ten Things To Know

_{Although we are only beginning to understand the workings of the brain, it clearly isn't the same thing as the mind} _{News

October 11, 2020

9

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Here are some reasons why they aren’t really the same: 1. Is the human brain unique in some way? Yes, but not so much in its structure as in the things we do with it. For example, the human, mouse, and fly brains all use the same basic mechanisms, which is a bit of a puzzle, considering the different things we do with our brains. The human brain is bigger than most. But then lemurs performed as well as chimps on the primate cognitive test battery (a primate intelligence test) and lemurs only have brains that are 1/200th the size of chimps’ brains. So, what we humans are doing differently from lemurs and chimps doesn’t depend wholly on brain size Read More ›

Pair of ravens in courtship. Corvus corax

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 29, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Birds, Chimpanzees, Crows, Evolution, Human exceptionalism, intelligence, Language, Mirror test, Mythology, Neocortex, Primates, Ravens, Suzana Herculano-Houzel}

Why Does Science Embrace the “Talking Animals” Myth?

_{Many birds are quite smart but why do some researchers imply that they think like people?} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 29, 2020

8

Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In recent years, studies have confirmed a widespread cultural intuition that some birds, particularly corvids like crows and ravens, are “smart.” They show considerable problem-solving skills. Thus, they loom large in mythology as messengers and tricksters. For example, the Norse king of the gods (pictured) had two ravens as advisors. Oddly enough, science today retains the mythology and makes a curious use of it: New discoveries about the specifics of corvid brain organization and intelligence are framed as demonstrating that humans do not really have as exceptional thinking ability as we suppose: Research unveiled on Thursday in Science finds that crows know what they know and can ponder the content of their own minds, a manifestation of higher intelligence and Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 19, 2019

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Carl Sagan, dolphins, Frank Drake, Human exceptionalism, John C. Lilly, Margaret Howe Lovatt, Peter (dolphin)}

Dolphinese: The Idea That Animals Think As We Do Dies Hard

_{But first it can lead us down strange paths} _{Denyse O'Leary

August 19, 2019

11

Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Down one of them, some researchers met a dolphin. Unfortunately for the dolphin. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 13, 2019

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, anthropomorphism, Don Ross, Elephants, Human exceptionalism, Natural Intelligence, personification}

Elephants Who Fly — or Become “Persons” — Are Magic

_{Okay, it's impossible. But then why do thinkers who disbelieve the one believe the other?} _{Denyse O'Leary

August 13, 2019

10

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

For decades, researchers were transfixed with the idea of humanizing great apes by raising them among humans and teaching them language. Emerging from the ruins and recriminations of the collapse, philosophy prof Don Ross has a new idea: Let’s start with elephants instead.

Are Monkeys with Some Human Genes Partly Human?

_{If they are somewhat smarter than other macaques, do they have minds and souls?} _{Eric Holloway

August 12, 2019

6

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

In my ongoing dialogue with Querius, I say no; a human is not reducible to a handful of genes.

If the Mind Is Immaterial, Is Human Cloning Impossible?

_{I agree with Mike Egnor that the mind is immaterial but I don’t think human cloning is impossible} _{Jay Richards

July 12, 2019

8

Philosophy of Mind}

There are, of course, empirical implications of both the materialist and non-materialist understanding of the human mind. But the success of human cloning won’t weigh on the question one way or the other.