Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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Are We Experiencing a Universal Cognitive Decline?

People are increasingly having trouble reading, focusing, and solving complex problems.

A new study shows that people are struggling more than ever to read, concentrate, and solve problems. The research comes just a few months after Oxford’s indicative decision to make “Brain Rot” its 2024 “Word of the Year.” Common experience itself lends itself to the conclusion that we are struggling to focus, that our attention is fragmented, and that simply thinking about one issue for more than a few seconds is difficult. The Financial Times reported that intelligence and reasoning capacities have declined since the early 2010s. While the COVID-19 pandemic is commonly blamed for the plummet and is indeed responsible for much of the cognitive decline, the downward trend preceded the crisis according to the study. John Burn-Murdoch reports: Read More ›

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Futuristic meeting between humans and a robot at a glowing digital table symbolizing the collaboration between humanity and technology in decision making

John Stuart Mill: Humans Are Not Automatons

Making rational decisions takes a lot of thought and hard work, says Mill.
Mill uses a beautiful contrast in metaphor to show how human nature is qualitatively different from machines. Read More ›
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Deep meditation can create a spiritual bond between two people through telepathic communication. Concept Spiritual Bond, Deep Meditation, Telepathic Communication, Mind-Body Connection

The Impact of Descartes on the Philosophy of Mind

On this episode out of the vault, neuroscientist Dr. Michael Egnor welcomes Dr. Joshua Farris for a discussion about his recent published paper “Descartes’ New Clothes: Cartesian Thought in Philosophy, Neuroscience and Theism.” Descartes is famous for his dictum “I think, therefore I am.” Farris and Egnor discuss this statement and its implications for the mind-body debate. They also talk Read More ›

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Two human profiles with a green abstract design, symbolizing concepts of nature, growth, and interconnectedness.

The Science of Mind: Debunking Materialism, with Dr. Michael Egnor

On this episode, host Pat Flynn begins a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Michael Egnor about topics such as mind, brain, dualism, the nature of the human person, neuroscience, and the soul. Dr. Egnor argues for dualism, stating that there are aspects of the mind that are not generated by the brain. They also discuss research on split-brain patients and its Read More ›

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hand of woman holding pen with writing on paper report in office

Study: Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain. What Does that Say About ChatGPT?

Nothing can replace pen and paper

It might be time to get the pens and notebooks back out and shut off the keyboard for a while. Just pretend you’re back in the first grade and don’t have a minicomputer in your back pocket. Writing by hand can help stimulate the whole brain and stave off cognitive decline, according to a study by Van der Weel and Van der Meer (2024), as reported by Pamela B. Rutledge in Psychology Today. Using a more personal note, she writes, I’ve never been one to keep a journal, but I now wonder if the exclusive use of computers and the lack of handwriting practice is doing my brain a disservice by decreasing the activity of cortico-subcortical components of the writing Read More ›

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Bottom view, along the trunk, of the fresh green foliage of a beech tree in the spring, with the branches clearly visible as veins for the life juices.

Dembski: Information is the Basic Stuff of Reality

It's information all the way down, says mathematician and philosopher William Dembski

If information, not matter, is the basic stuff of reality, how would this change the way we look at the world? On a classic episode of ID the Future, Center for Science and Culture Managing Director John West sits down with mathematician and philosopher William Dembski to discuss his 2014 book Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information. Building on his previous books making a case for intelligent design, Being as Communion presents a metaphysical framework for an informational world that can accommodate intelligent design.  One of Dembski’s key arguments is that matter isn’t the fundamental unit of reality. “Everything that we call matter reveals itself through patterns, through information,” says Dr. Dembski. To get to the heart of the matter, we must look Read More ›

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System Artificial intelligence ChatGPT Chat Bot AI , Technology smart robot Ai Chat GPT application software , robot application Chat GPT. Generative AI

Does ChatGPT Think?

Are Large Language Models like ChatGPT capable of legitimate thought?

It’s one of the hot topic questions and will almost certainly continue to be. Are Large Language Models like ChatGPT capable of legitimate thought? And what counts as “thinking”? Is there a quality to the concept that makes it distinctly human, or are the tech futurists right? Can AI computation be considered a type of cognitive activity? Stephen Wolfram, George Gilder, and Bob Metcalfe spoke on the possibilities and limits of AI at last year’s star-studded COSM conference. We are experiencing watershed moments in technology, with lots of hype to go along with it, but are we putting the cart before the horse in some cases? Discover more in this special recording on YouTube.

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Glowing mind image . Mixed media

No, Chatbots Are Not Conscious 

The arguments in favor of computer consciousness remain weak

In the midst of all the chatter surrounding AI and chatbots, one might be led to believe that the concepts of consciousness or even the soul, let alone the afterlife, are simply relics of outdated beliefs. This sentiment is often echoed by some scientists, raising the question: Is this truly the case? And should we readily accept this perspective? In a recent episode of Mindscape, renowned philosopher and cognitive scientist Raphael Millerie, who boasts an Oxford education and is now a fellow at the Center of Science and Society, teamed up with Sean Carroll, a prominent theoretical physicist known for debunking notions of the soul and the afterlife, to delve into the world of chatbots and AI (see episode 230). Read More ›

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Mind Burst

Could Consciousness Have Evolved?

Michael Egnor takes a hard look at the evidence in this classic podcast episode.

On a classic episode of ID the Future, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews Bernardo Kastrup, a philosopher with a background in computer engineering, about consciousness, evolution, and intelligent design. Did consciousness evolve? What does the evidence suggest? And how do materialists deal with the seemingly immaterial reality that is consciousness?  Enjoy this guest episode from Mind Matters, a podcast of Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. Dig Deeper Cross-posted at Evolution News.

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ai technology, robotic technology system, molecule of chemical, atom cell plexus and science, abstract futuristic universe cyber network server online, background illustration 3d rendering

Meta AI Scientist: AGI is a Pipe Dream

Human intelligence still can't be matched by a soulless algorithm

Predictions on AI’s ever-developing complexity have tech optimists counting the days until the machine replaces the human mind. Artificial general intelligence is the term they use to describe the point in which AI will officially overtake human intelligence. However, certain experts in the field, among them Robert J. Marks, host of the Mind Matters podcast, protest the assumption. AI researcher and scientist Yann LeCun, the AI chief at Meta, said recently that the current AI systems are nowhere close to achieving human-like intelligence. LeCun said, “We’re easily fooled into thinking they are intelligent because of their fluency with language, but really, their understanding of reality is very superficial,” he said. “They’re useful, there’s no question about that. But on the Read More ›

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Student, anxiety and woman in busy college campus with depression, sad and mental health problems. Burnout, stress and tired girl thinking about exam, assignment or project deadline at university

Thinking of the “Bigger Picture”

New study on how transcendent thinking enhances and improves the brain in adolescents
Going beyond worksheets and standardized tests to grapple with "the bigger picture" looks to be the sort of education we all need the most. Read More ›
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Glowing mind image . Mixed media

Doesn’t Methodological Naturalism Refute Itself?

Listen to the new podcast episode discussing this question

Get caught up with the Mind Matters podcast by listening to this special episode featuring hosts Angus Menuge and Robert J. Marks and their guest, Dr. Robert Larmer. Dr. Larmer wrote a fascinating chapter in last year’s groundbreaking book Minding the Brain, and sat down with Mind Matters to discuss the limits of “methodological naturalism.” For Larmer, this approach to getting knowledge is limited because it rules out non-physical causes, even if they exist. In addition, holding to naturalism at all costs can undermine our self-understanding as rational agents. How can we trust our brains? Does the physical activity in our brains correlate with non-physical mental states? Find out more by listening to Part One of the conversation here. Be Read More ›

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Artificial neuron in concept of artificial intelligence. Wall-shaped binary codes make transmission lines of pulses and/or information in an analogy to a microchip.

Wrestling with AI: Making More and Better Disciples

AI may have "knowledge," but it lacks wisdom.
Even if it were possible that AI reaches consciousness — it will never have the mind of Christ. Read More ›
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selective focus of robotic arm holding glass of water and person taking notes at wooden table

Japanese Novelist Who Won Prestigious Literary Award Unabashedly Used ChatGPT

Meanwhile, authors in the United States are waging war against AI for copyright violation
While stylistically, the prose AI "created" for Karan's novel might be "flawless," it lacks credibility because it lacks the human voice. Read More ›
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Big data and artificial intelligence concept. Machine learning and cyber mind domination concept in form of women face on dark blue technology background, 3d illustration.

Defending Why We’re More than Machines

We need to look beyond materialism to understand what it means to be human.
If something like dualism is true, then it goes a long way to showing the implausibility of the idea that we are solely meat machines, robots, etc. Read More ›
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Composite image of 3d image of human brain

You Can’t Always Be Happy

Our dopamine system both excites and tames pleasure
Humans cannot achieve permanent happiness. Earthly pleasures do not ultimately satisfy us. The Bible said it. The neuroscientists have proved it. Read More ›
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A meteor streaks across the Milky Way during the Perseid meteor shower of 2016.

Science Needs a Mind to Work

The use of science to discredit the existence of mental subjects is fatally flawed.
The idea that science has somehow shown the irrelevance of the mind to explaining behavior is seriously confused. Read More ›
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Brain activity

Philip Goff’s “Why” and Inflated Success

We are still nowhere closer to arriving at a science of consciousness
There’s little of substance favoring this new theory of consciousness. We still need something like a god piloting the universe.  Read More ›
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Two Scientists in the Brain Research Laboratory work on a Project, Using Personal Computer with MRI Scans Show Brain Anomalies. Neuroscientists at Work.

On the Limitations of Cutting-Edge Neuroscience

Neuroscientist Joseph Green separates the hype from reality when it comes to current brain research.
The current dogma that pervades neuroscience is established by intellectual pressure rather than solid scientific evidence. Read More ›