Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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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

A Japanese writer, 33-year-old Rie Kudan, recently won one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the country for her novel Tokyo Sympathy Tower and admitted afterward that she had employed ChatGPT to write a portion of the text. And she wasn’t ashamed to admit it, instead advocating the use of Generative AI as a creative collaborator. She wants to “work with” generative AI to make the best use of her creativity, according to CyberNet. Meanwhile, authors in the United States are waging war against AI for copyright violation and intellectual property theft. Writers including Jonathan Franzen, Salman Rushdie, and George R.R. Martin are sounding the alarm against the unlawful intrusion of AI in the creative writing world. It is 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.

With all the discussion surrounding chatbots and consciousness, you might think there are good reasons to affirm that machines will someday be conscious in the way that you and I are conscious. To affirm this would be to deny that ancient belief that we, as persons, are souls or spirits that could exist apart from our bodies. This notion would certainly be out of place in our scientific discussions today as low-level animals and machines are perceived, by some, as meeting all the necessary conditions for becoming conscious, rational agents who can enter into deep and meaningful relationships upon rational deliberation. But this assumption would be too quick. If we humans are souls (or spirits) and the soul is the 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.

Editor’s note: In coming weeks, we will be featuring excerpts from the important new book Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science (Discovery Institute Press, 2023). In this excerpt, philosopher Angus Menuge explains why the practice of science relies on the reality of mental states. Any attempt to use science to discredit the existence of mental subjects is fatally flawed because the bedrock data for all science comes from observation, which presupposes the existence of conscious subjects. The idea that the findings of physical science are unproblematic but mental subjects are questionable ignores the fact that our only access to physical phenomena is via the minds of scientists. Thus, as Charles Taliaferro points out, one “cannot presume to 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

Atheists continue to advance exotic solutions to consciousness, but here’s what they all show us — in the same way that we need a pilot for ships, we need a pilot of the universe. Now, there’s Philip Goff, who promises the best of theism, yet without theism in his new book Why?.   But Goff advances the further claim, in the Wall Street Journal, that we can even be spiritually fulfilled surpassing the atheist, and yet without invoking what some scientists consider spooky entities — gods, spirits, angels and demons.  However, Goff offers us an even more exotic theory of consciousness than his atheistic competitors, and one that he and others think gives us all that we need without the baggage of actually having to believe 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.

By Joseph Green Editor’s note: In coming weeks, we will be featuring excerpts from the important new book Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science (Discovery Institute Press, 2023). In this excerpt, neuroscientist Joseph Green separates the hype from reality when it comes to current brain research. Neuroscience is one of the fastest growing scientific fields. Increasing our understanding of how the brain works is often regarded as one of the most significant challenges of the twenty-first century. Recent neuroscientific discoveries have been celebrated step by step in the media as a result of their significance. Yet, to this day, no major technology company has been able to turn scientific knowledge of the brain into profits. Engineering the Read More ›

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people in the art gallery center

Why AI Can’t Create Genuine Beauty

AI, though a helpful tool in certain contexts, cannot replace the intentionality and creativity of the human person.

Discussions about the encroachment of AI in the arts and humanities have soared in the last year, thanks primarily to the advent of technologies like ChatGPT and text-to-image tools like Midjourney and DALL-E. The conversation is surely merited. Everything from academic integrity in universities and copyright for artists is at stake here as “generative AI” only improves. While fighting for the human voice in a context where the instant and automated is preferred, maybe it’s necessary to also ask what developments in our cultural history made these technologies so welcome. Why is AI so quickly finding a cozy spot in our society? Why did our technological landscape seem to have already set the mold for AI to fill? A satisfying Read More ›

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Conceptual image of brain working. Brain in thought process with men working. Concept of mind generating ideas. Trapped brain. Brain taken prisoner. Generative ai.

How Could Human Consciousness “Evolve”?

Human consciousness entails a unique human ability to think abstractly .
According to Darwinian “science,” things changed, survivors survived, and the human ability to think abstractly materialized out of thin air. Read More ›
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Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway

When Science Points Beyond the Physical

The idea that science has somehow shown the irrelevance of the mind to explaining behavior is seriously confused. 
Any attempt to use science to discredit the existence of mental subjects is fatally flawed because the bedrock data for all science comes from observation. Read More ›
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Stump of tree felled - section of the trunk with annual rings. Slice wood.

An Introduction to Minding the Brain

Is your mind the same thing as your brain? Or are there aspects of mind that are external to the biology of the brain?

Editor’s note: We are delighted to welcome the new book from Discovery Institute Press, Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science, edited by Angus J. Menuge, Brian R. Krouse, and Robert J. Marks. Below is an excerpt from the Introduction. Look for more information at MindingtheBrain.org. Is your mind the same thing as your brain? Or are there aspects of mind that are external to the biology of the brain? This question, referred to as the mind-body problem or the mind-brain problem, has been debated for centuries and has captivated curious minds since the dawn of human contemplation. What is the relationship between our mental life and physical body? Intuition suggests our subjective experience of the world is tightly Read More ›

Minding the Brain

The Mind is More than the Brain

A new anthology, out today, features 25 philosophers with fresh insights on the mind-body problem.
Their provocative conclusion? The mind is indeed more than the brain. We will be offering brief excerpts here in weeks to come. Read More ›
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Beautiful woman looking at self reflection in mirror.

The Person as “Immaterial Substance”

Is there substantial evidence that we are more than our bodies? And does that point to the existence of God? Theological anthropologist Dr. Joshua Farris thinks so. In this podcast episode, Farris speaks with host and neurosurgeon Michael Egnor to talk about materialism, mind, and theism, as well as Farris’ new book: The Creation of Self.  Additional Resources

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Visualizatipon of human consciousness in artificial intelligence, process of thinking robot. Humanoid android on dark background with neurals connection. Created with Generative AI

Artificial Consciousness Remains Impossible (Part 2)

A machine no more “does things on its own” than a catapult flings by itself.
Randomness is a red herring when it comes to serving as an indicator of consciousness. Read More ›
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Feuer und Eis Adam und Gott

Westworld Episode 10 Review (Part Two)

Welcome to the dark end of the journey

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 ›

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Atom

Does Consciousness Defeat Materialism?

There is a re-emerging interest in consciousness and the mind

What would it take for “consciousness,” undoubtedly a nebulous and broad term, to defeat the idea that the mind is no more than the brain? For Dean Radin, a parapsychology researcher who was featured on the Closer to Truth program this month, it depends on what you mean by matter. “If you just look through history about the nature of matter, how has it changed historically, it has become more and more ephemeral. And I will imagine it will continue to become more ephemeral,” he said. For Radin, then, matter is complicated, and if you look closely enough, ends up being “mostly nothing.” If you’ve seen the new Oppenheimer movie, directed by Christopher Nolan, perhaps you’ll remember the scene in 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.

Neuroscience, the Mind, and Theism

What can modern neuroscience teach us about the immaterial mind? Can we ever know anything for certain? In this episode, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor talks with anthropologist Dr. Joshua Farris. They discuss the brain, Descartes, and the theological implications of the various philosophies of mind.  Additional Resources

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old man painting

Sparks and Flashes of Remembrance

An expert in memory-loss treatment recalls some tender stories about memory in the midst of forgetfulness

In a recent Mind Matters podcast episode, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor (Mike), a frequent contributor to the site, interviewed friend and colleague Stephen Post, an expert in memory-loss-related disorders. Here’s a snippet of their conversation, which you can enjoy in full by following this link. Mike Egnor: So to begin, your new book, Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People, why did you use that title and what do you mean by deeply forgetful people? Stephen Post: Well, that’s a fabulous question to begin with because the title doesn’t quite say it all, but it’s close. I’ve been working with deeply forgetful people and their caregivers since I went out to Case Medical School in 1988, and I have never felt comfortable with Read More ›

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Young Caucasian male comedian performing his stand-up monologue on a stage of a small venue

Funny ChatGPT: a Solution to Striking Joke Writers?

Even if ChatGPT can mimic humor, it doesn't care if you laugh at the jokes

Can ChatGPT write funny jokes? The answer is yes. To try and generate some short jokes, I went to ChatGPT and started all my queries with: “Complete the following to make it funny:” Doing so alerts ChatGPT about my end goal. Without this preamble, I could make queries all day and get no funny responses. I started with the beginnings of some well-known quotes.   To Be or Not to Be Consider for example the quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet:  “To be or not to be, that is the question.” I instructed ChatGPT with the following command: “Complete the following to make it funny: To be or not to be…” One of the better responses I got was “To be or Read More ›

Unlocking latest smartphone with biometric facial identification scan

AI is Closer Than You Think

Most of us carry powerful AI in our pockets every single day

Sometimes AI seems a bit of a niche idea, relegated to dystopian prophecies or sentient robots. But AI is much more pervasive and influential in our present world in more ways than we might assume. Oxford mathematician John Lennox reminds us in this recent podcast episode that our society teems with AI. Lennox commented, Now, the final example I would give you is the fact that we’re all involved in AI. That is any of us who own a smartphone, it’s tracking us all the time. What many of us don’t realize is that, for example, we make a purchase at Amazon. A few days later, we’ll get a pop-up saying, people that bought this book were interested in that Read More ›