Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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AI, Machine learning, Hands of robot and human touching big data of Global network connection, Internet and digital technology, Science and artificial intelligence digital technologies of futuristic.
Type
post
Author
David Hsing
Date
September 4, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Artificial Consciousness Remains Impossible (Part 1)

The cherished fiction of conscious machines is an impossibility
David Hsing
September 4, 2023
12
Artificial Intelligence

This article is an attempt to explain why the cherished fiction of conscious machines is an impossibility. The very act of hardware and software design is a transmission of impetus as an extension of the designers and not an infusion of conscious will. The latter half of the article is dedicated to addressing counterarguments. Lastly, some implications of the title thesis are listed. Intelligence vs. Consciousness Intelligence is the ability of an entity to perform tasks, while consciousness refers to the presence of a subjective phenomenon. Intelligence[1]: “…the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment” Consciousness[2]: “When I am in a conscious mental state, there is something it is like for me to be in that state from the Read More ›

adorable-little-girl-shopping-for-toys-cute-female-in-toy-store-happy-young-girl-selecting-toy-stockpack-adobe-stock
Adorable little girl shopping for toys. Cute female in toy store. Happy young girl selecting toy
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
July 3, 2023
Categorized
Natural Intelligence
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How a Toddler in a Toy Store Refutes Materialism

This everyday observation yields insight into a fundamental truth
Richard W. Stevens
July 3, 2023
5
Natural Intelligence

I’m a magnet for materialists. I often get into discussions with people who tell me that the universe is nothing but matter and energy. These folks believe in materialism. They say I’m nutty and wrong to think there is anything else. Something like: “Silly theist! Gods are for kids!” Let’s follow that thought. A grandparent of 11 humans, I’ve journeyed with their parents through the young ones’ toddlerhood many times. There’s a lot to learn about reality from toddlers’ learning and growing. It leads to understanding Toddler Truth. Take a toddler to a game arcade, a toy store, or another kid’s house to play. There’s one thing you can count on hearing: “I want that!” We parents start tuning out Read More ›

sea-and-waves-stockpack-adobe-stock
sea and waves
Type
post
Author
Tom Gilson
Date
May 14, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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The Incoming Tidal Wave of AI Deceit

Every technological advance brings painful disruptions with it
Tom Gilson
May 14, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

Leaders in business and science have called for a moratorium on developing artificial intelligence. They’re putting human wisdom up against humans’ quest for power, and we know who always wins those battles. Pardon the cynicism, but honestly, I don’t think we’ve begun to realize what a horrific mess we’re creating for ourselves here. AI developers will promise you great good from it. In reality it looms over us as a huge yet mostly unrecognized threat, especially for the damage it will do to human trust. AI itself won’t care, though. On one level it feels nothing, knows nothing, understands nothing. On another level it’s really quite insane. It’s innocent enough when confined in proper limits. AI-assisted braking in your car is Read More ›

artfcal
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
February 27, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Let’s Take the “I” Out of AI

Large language models, though impressive, are not the solution. They may well be the catalyst for calamity.
Gary Smith
February 27, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

When OpenAI’s text generator, ChatGPT, was released to the public this past November, the initial reaction was widespread astonishment. Marc Andreessen described it as, “Pure, absolute, indescribable magic.” Bill Gates said that the creation of ChatGPT was as important as the creation of the internet. Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, said that, “ChatGPT is one of the greatest things ever created in the computing industry.” Conversations with ChatGPT are, indeed, very much like conversations with a super-intelligent human. For many, it seems that the 70-year search for a computer program that could rival or surpass human intelligence has finally paid off. Perhaps we are close to the long-anticipated singularity where computers improve rapidly and autonomously, leaving humans far behind, Read More ›

person at the internet
Business man works in office with laptop. Concept of internet network. double exposure
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 30, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Why ChatGPT Won’t Replace Google

With Google, the algorithm eventually leads you to content made by real people. With ChatGPT, you never leave the algorithm
Jonathan Bartlett
January 30, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

To some extent, ChatGPT is a newer, easier-to-use interface than Google.  Unlike Google, it doesn’t make you waste time by visiting those pesky websites.  It not only looks into its database for content, but it also summarizes it for you as paragraphs. There is a problem lurking in there, however.  Being computers, neither Google nor ChatGPT cares about the truth.  They are algorithms, and they merely do as they are told.  Additionally, you can’t code the human mind into algorithms.  However, there is a fundamental difference between what ChatGPT does and what Google does that will prevent content generators like ChatGPT from displacing search engines like Google: Google eventually lets you out of its system. Ultimately, the goal of search Read More ›

3d-rendering-of-futuristic-blue-circuit-board-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendering of futuristic blue circuit board
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 11, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Can AI Design AI?: Responding to Google’s Latest Tech

Anything can be intelligence if we set the bar low enough
News
June 11, 2021
3
Artificial Intelligence

Could a computer design itself? Could it design a bigger and better computer? A team at Google says yes. According to a recent article at NewScientist, Google has begun using AI to design AI. “Engineers at Google have tasked an artificial intelligence with designing faster and more efficient processors – and then used its chip designs to develop the next generation of specialised computers that run the very same type of AI algorithms,” writes Matthew Sparkes. Sparkes continues by explaining Google’s chip design, and introducing the reader to Google’s Anna Goldie, a member of the team at the front of this effort that tasks computers with making better computers. “It is conceivable,” says Sparkes, “that this new AI-designed chip will be used Read More ›

phrenology-head-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Phrenology Head
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
May 24, 2021
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Science
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Phrenology: The Pseudoscience That Just Won’t Give Up

Are we arguing about this AGAIN?
Jonathan Bartlett
May 24, 2021
4
Natural Intelligence, Science

Phrenology is the detailed study of cranial sizes and shapes as a proxy for brain size and shape. Practitioners believed themselves to be able to use this information as an indicator of both the character and the mental abilities of the person whose brain was being investigated. Phrenology has been widely discredited, and is thought by many today to be pseudoscience. However, the vestiges of phrenology remain with us today, and are still used to justify various common beliefs and inferences, even by otherwise very educated people. The most common way that this happens is the use of brain size in the evaluation of the character of human evolution. It is often supposed by researchers that brain size can be Read More ›

prosthetic arm
young man working freelance in laptop at home
Type
post
Author
Stephen Berger
Date
May 19, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind
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Will Humans Ever Be Fully Replaceable by AI? Part 3

Data outlines what can be quantified but does not show the comparison between AI and human performance at the most important points
Stephen Berger
May 19, 2021
11
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

To get the right answer to the question of whether artificial intelligence will ever become capable of replacing man we must get the ontology, epistemology, and metrology right. Ontology seeks to understand the essential nature of things and the relationships between different things. Epistemology looks at what we can know and how accurately we can know what is knowable. Finally, metrology explores how we make measurements and comparisons. To get the right answer we must measure the right things (ontology), select what we will measure (epistemology), and determine how we make our measurements and comparisons with accuracy, precision, and repeatability (metrology). Mistakes in any of these areas will lead to a bad outcome. A common mistake is to measure what Read More ›

concept-of-rivalry-between-robots-and-humans-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Concept of rivalry between robots and humans
Type
post
Author
Stephen Berger
Date
May 2, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Will Humans Ever Be Fully Replaceable by AI? Part 2

Particles and energy can be translated into each other. Might man also be a type of duality, with a natural and a spiritual reality?
Stephen Berger
May 2, 2021
7
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

In Part 1, we looked at the many dimensions to our thinking. Now, we ask, What then is man? Is man simply a complex biological machine that is fully explained by analyzing it in the four dimensions of space and time? Is the brain just a biological computer fully contained in four dimensions? Most of the world’s religions hold that man exists beyond the mere physical. Man has a soul, a spirit; these exist outside of the physical universe. There are characteristics, attributes, and values that are very real and have great impact, but which defy direct observation or quantification. String theory, an active research area in modern physics, requires 10 or 11 dimensions to fully explain what we see Read More ›

the-first-model-of-the-computational-mechanism-is-an-arithmometer-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
The first model of the computational mechanism is an arithmometer.
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
March 16, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Programming
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Computers Are Getting Faster But Are They Getting Smarter? No.

Computers are Turing machines, limited to operations that can be completely understood in relation to their programming
Eric Holloway
March 16, 2021
3
Artificial Intelligence, Programming

Won’t quantum computers be smarter than regular ones? No. Still No. What about optical computing, computing with DNA, or some other exotic form of computation? Always No. A skeptical reader might ask, Why such a definitive answer? How do you deal with the spectacular performance of deep learning? What about AlphaGo Zero? What about Watson? What about the infamous Deep Blue? What about quantum supremacy? Don’t these examples all disprove your point? No. All forms of computation past, present, and future will be physical. And all physical phenomena can be modeled by a Turing machine (pictured). No matter how fast the computer runs, the computer will never be more powerful than a Turing machine. A Turing machine consists of five Read More ›

a-raven-in-dartmoor-uk-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
A raven in Dartmoor, UK
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 16, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Science
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So Now Ravens Are As Smart As Chimpanzees…

But wait! Weren’t chimpanzees supposed to be the closest thing to humans?
News
December 16, 2020
3
Natural Intelligence, Science

Researchers tested ravens they had raised themselves (“hand-raised”), starting at four months of age (not far from the egg…) and then at 8, 12, and 16 months of age on a series of cognitive skills, compared to chimpanzees: Comparing the cognitive performance of the ravens with those of 106 chimpanzees and 32 orangutans who completed similar tasks in a previous study, the authors found that with the exception of spatial memory, the cognitive performance of the ravens was very similar to those of orangutans and chimpanzees. Nature Publishing Group , “Cognitive performance of four-months-old ravens may parallel adult apes” at Phys.org Here’s the open-access study. The authors offer an explanation: The findings provide evidence that ravens, similarly to great apes, Read More ›

tumor-cell-under-attack-of-white-blood-cells-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Tumor cell under attack of white blood cells
Type
post
Author
News
Date
October 7, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Science
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Why Do Many Scientists See Cells as Intelligent?

Bacteria appear to show intelligent behavior. But what about individual cells in our bodies?
News
October 7, 2020
4
Natural Intelligence, Science

Recently, we talked about the ways in which bacteria are intelligent. Researchers into antibiotic resistance must deal with the surprisingly complex ways bacteria “think” in order to counter them. For example, some bacteria may warn others while dying from antibiotics. But what about individual cells in our bodies? A skeptic might say that bacteria are, after all, individual entities like dogs or cats. There is evidence that individual life forms can show intelligence even with no brain. But dependent cells? Surprisingly, cells that are not independent at all but part of a body can also show something that looks like intelligence, as Michael Denton discusses in Miracle of the Cell (2020): No one who has observed a leucocyte (a white Read More ›

gray-mouse-lemur-microcebus-murinus-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Gray Mouse Lemur, microcebus murinus
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 30, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Lemurs with Brains 1/200 the Size of Chimps’ Pass Same IQ Test

This new finding about mouse lemurs also makes human exceptionalism more exceptional
Denyse O'Leary
September 30, 2020
4
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
Researchers were surprise to discover recently that the mouse lemur, a tiny primate whose brain is 1/200th the size of a chimpanzee’s brain, did as well as great apes on a primate intelligence test. Read More ›
pair-of-ravens-in-courtship-corvus-corax-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Pair of ravens in courtship. Corvus corax
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 29, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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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 ›

antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-inside-a-biofilm-3d-illustration-realistic-scientific-background-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Antibiotic resistant bacteria inside a biofilm, 3D illustration. Realistic scientific background
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 26, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Natural Intelligence
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Do Bacteria Warn Others While Dying from Antibiotics?

Scientists are learning more about the complex ways bacteria overcome efforts to control them
Denyse O'Leary
August 26, 2020
3
Medicine and Health, Natural Intelligence

That’s what we learn from a new open-access paper in Nature titled “Dead cells release a ‘necrosignal’ that activates antibiotic survival pathways in bacterial swarms.” It’s sometimes described as “screams,” but it’s actually a release of chemicals, which amounts to the same thing: a warning to prepare for an onslaught of antibiotics. The scientists also noted another curious factor: The cascade of genes turned on by necrosignals not only protected the surviving swarm from antibiotics, but promoted future resistance to the compounds that killed their comrades. What’s more, the scientists realized that subpopulations of swarm bacteria were genetically variable; some were more susceptible to the antibiotics than others. Swarms of bacteria may collectively cultivate different subpopulations as an evolutionary survival Read More ›

cat-and-robotic-vacuum-cleaner-in-the-room-fluffy-british-shorthair-cat-is-playing-with-a-robotic-vacuum-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Cat and robotic vacuum cleaner in the room. Fluffy british shorthair cat is playing with a robotic vacuum.
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 18, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Science
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In What Ways Are Cats Intelligent?

Cats have nearly twice as many neurons as dogs and a bigger and more complex cerebral cortex
Denyse O'Leary
August 18, 2020
7
Natural Intelligence, Science

It’s hard to come up with an interspecies IQ test. We live in a world where dogs are smarter than wolves in some ways but wolves are smarter than dogs in others. So much depends on what we want to measure. So let’s look at cats in relation to dogs because dogs have been studied so much more. Dogs are often seen as smarter than cats because they can do more jobs for humans. But humans bred dogs for millennia to do those very jobs. Cats have also made themselves useful to humans by killing pest rodents. But we best help the cat kill rodents just by getting out of his way. Thus, to assess cat intelligence vs. dog intelligence, Read More ›

jumping-spider-close-up-macro-photography-portrait-of-spider-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Jumping spider close up. Macro photography. Portrait of spider
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 13, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence
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In What Ways Are Spiders Intelligent?

The ability to perform simple cognitive functions does not appear to depend on the vertebrate brain as such
Denyse O'Leary
August 13, 2020
7
Natural Intelligence

This year saw a huge uproar in science media over claims that prominent researcher of spider behavior Jonathan Pruitt, a behavioral ecologist currently at McMaster University in Canada, had fabricated evidence of complex, seemingly intelligent behavior in spiders. After many colleagues recently raised concerns in blogs and tweets that behavioral ecologist Jonathan Pruitt had fabricated the data behind a slew of provocative results regarding animal personalities and social spiders, he denied the charges, saying any problems were inadvertent mistakes. Elizabeth Pennisi, “Embattled spider biologist seeks to delay additional retractions of problematic papers” at Science (March 12, 2020) Some of Pruitt’s data management mistakes seem rather curious: More than 20 scientists — co-authors, peers and other interested observers in the field Read More ›

dog-playing-the-shell-game-with-her-human-concept-of-training-pets-domestic-dogs-being-smart-and-educated-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Dog playing the shell game with her human. Concept of training pets, domestic dogs being smart and educated
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 5, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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In What Ways Are Dogs Intelligent?

There is no human counterpart to some types of dog intelligence
Denyse O'Leary
August 5, 2020
8
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

At Gizmodo recently, George Dvorsky adopted the useful, though somewhat unusual, strategy of determining dog intelligence by focusing on what dogs can’t do. He starts with the premise, as put by University of Exeter psychology professor (and dog expert) Stephen Lea, who says that domestication “has radically altered the intelligence of dogs.” Not so much raised or lowered it as changed its nature from the type of intelligence we would expect from a wolf: “Dogs are very good at what they’re bred to do — they’re excellent at doing those things, and in some cases even better than other species we think are intelligent, such as chimps and bonobos,” Zachary Silver, a PhD student from the Comparative Cognitive Lab at Read More ›

candy-stripe-flatworm-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Candy stripe flatworm
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 27, 2020
Categorized
Natural Intelligence
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How Can Life Forms Show Intelligence With No Brain?

A Wall Street Journal piece points to the flatworm as an example
News
July 27, 2020
4
Natural Intelligence

At the Wall Street Journal this weekend, Alison Gopnik a developmental psychologist and author of a number of books on child and infant learning, pointed to the learning skills of life forms without a brain and offers some insights: It might seem obvious that you need a brain to be intelligent, but a new area of research called “basal cognition” explores whether there are kinds of intelligence that don’t require neurons and synapses. Alison Gopnik, “Learning Without a Brain” at Wall Street Journal (July 26, 2020) If we look at the behavior of slime molds and the blob at the Paris Zoo, it’s not at all obvious that a life form needs a brain to be “intelligent.” Not if all Read More ›

wurfel-mit-hashtag-symbol-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Würfel mit Hashtag-Symbol
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 22, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Multiverse Physicist Max Tegmark Seeks AI That Checks News Bias

Naive people who truthfully claim to be acting only “for good” in trying to address bias in the news via AI are kidding themselves
Denyse O'Leary
July 22, 2020
7
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Max Tegmark (right) is probably better known as a multiverse cosmologist than as an AI specialist. The MIT physics professor told New Scientist in 1998 that “All possible universes exist, even triangular ones.” He also informed Scientific American in 2003 that “Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication of cosmological observations”: Is there a copy of you reading this article? A person who is not you but who lives on a planet called Earth, with misty mountains, fertile fields and sprawling cities, in a solar system with eight other planets? The life of this person has been identical to yours in every respect. But perhaps he or she now decides to put down this Read More ›