Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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young-caucasian-male-comedian-performing-his-stand-up-monologue-on-a-stage-of-a-small-venue-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young Caucasian male comedian performing his stand-up monologue on a stage of a small venue
Type
post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
May 12, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Funny ChatGPT: a Solution to Striking Joke Writers?

Even if ChatGPT can mimic humor, it doesn't care if you laugh at the jokes
Robert J. Marks
May 12, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence

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
Type
post
Author
News
Date
May 9, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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AI is Closer Than You Think

Most of us carry powerful AI in our pockets every single day
News
May 9, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

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 ›

allure of the metaverse
Moving Forward to Metaverse, New Technology, Web3.0, Blockchain and the Next Layer of the Internet Concepts. Man Steps into Future Door. Futuristic Tone.
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
April 17, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism
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For BitHeaven’s Sake

A satirical short story on the transhumanist quest (and failure) to achieve immortality
Eric Holloway
April 17, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism

Bob and Sue were on their way to church one morning. On their way they ran into their friend Fred. Fred was very wealthy, a billionaire in fact. Fred waved hi. Bob and Sue waved back. They asked Fred to come with them to church.  Fred said no, he had more important things to do. “What is so important,” asked Sue. “I’m off to the real deal,” beamed Fred. Bob looked confused. “Real deal about what?” “You have a fake promise of eternal life. I’m about to get the real thing.” “You can’t be serious. Start talking some sense.” “Seriously. Here’s my voucher, see it right here.” Sue grabbed the piece of paper from Fred and read it aloud. “Good for one digital immortalization Read More ›

hands-stockpack-adobe-stock
hands
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 10, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Observing and Communing

What human art and literature do that AI can't
Peter Biles
March 10, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

AI image generators like Midjourney or DALL-E are generally adept at capturing the accuracy of the human form. The concerns over copyright, job infringement, and general degradation of the visual arts via such AI are ongoing concerns for many artists and practitioners. However, a new New Yorker article by Kyle Chayka identifies a noticeable flaw in AI artwork: human hands. Missing the Big Picture Chayka begins by recalling an art class where he was asked to draw his own hand. It’s an assignment for beginners, and as behooves a novice, tempts the artist to focus more on the specific contours of the hand instead of the overall structure and form. The forest gets lost in the trees, so to speak. Read More ›

conceptual-art-concept-of-problem-mind-psychology-freedom-and-solution-surreal-painting-jigsaw-puzzle-on-human-head-stockpack-adobe-stock
Conceptual art, concept of problem mind psychology freedom and solution, surreal painting, jigsaw puzzle on human head.
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
March 8, 2023
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind
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Kenneth Miller on Consciousness and Evolution

Despite Miller's claims, neither human reason nor free will evolved because neither are generated by material processes
Michael Egnor
March 8, 2023
8
Philosophy of Mind

Kenneth Miller is a biologist at Brown University who has been very active in his written and vocal support for Darwin’s theory of evolution. He’s neither a materialist nor an atheist – he is a Catholic, and in being one of the rare Darwinists who doesn’t subscribe wholeheartedly to the materialist/atheist paradigm, he allows himself to be used as a token theist by the Darwinists. It helps his career, no doubt, but doesn’t advance the truth. Not an admirable place to be. Miller’s New Book and What it Misses In his 2018 book The Human Instinct: How We Evolved To Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will, Miller manages a feat uncommon even for Darwinists – even the title of the Read More ›

aristotle
Sculpture portrait of Aristotle
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
March 6, 2023
Categorized
Free will
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Sean Carroll: “How Could an Immaterial Mind Affect the Body?”

The well known physicist thinks free will is nonsense. But has he investigated the classical understanding of causation?
Michael Egnor
March 6, 2023
5
Free will

Sean Carroll is a theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins University who takes an atheist and materialist philosophical perspective on nature and on science. I have disagreed with him often — I’m in no position to judge his scientific acumen, but his philosophical acumen leaves a lot to be desired. An example of this is a question he asks in a recent documentary about free will (which I haven’t watched yet). In the trailer for the movie, Carroll asks, How in the world does the immaterial mind affect the physical body? Carroll’s denial of libertarian free will is based on this question, and of course, he believes that the immaterial mind does not exist and, if it did exist, could not Read More ›

isaac newton and the apple
Law of Universal Gravitation education funny concept. Isaac Newton under an apple tree
Type
post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
January 31, 2023
Categorized
Physics
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Blinded by a Defunct Theory

The "interaction problem" is everywhere we look in physics, but the dogma of materialism remains
Eric Holloway
January 31, 2023
5
Physics

Materialism. What a weird word. It sounds like a ghost, materializing in front of me. And it is sort of like a ghost, one that has mysteriously taken over the minds of many intelligent people. Because they believe in materialism, these smart people don’t believe in ghosts. Especially the ghost in the machine. The problem is there is no way for the ghost to interact with the machine. This is known as the “mind-body interaction problem”.  The great thing about materialism is at least that theory doesn’t have an interaction problem. Any material thing can interact with any other material thing. Yet there is a deep irony. Let’s explore the idea of materialism to see why. Materialism is the idea that reality only consists of matter. Read More ›

memory-and-brain-upgrade-stockpack-adobe-stock
Memory and brain upgrade
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 19, 2023
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Is The Mind an Illusion?

Robert J. Marks
January 19, 2023
1

Perhaps you’ve heard of the “mind-body problem,” but what about the relationship between the mind and the brain? Is the mind just an illusion produced by the brain or is it something totally separate? Robert Marks talks with neurologist Andrew Knox on these topics and more in this week’s Mind Matters podcast episode. Additional Resources

top-mark-on-essay-stockpack-adobe-stock
Top mark on essay
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
January 4, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Students Depend on ChatGPT for Final Exams

The new bot will only get better from here, but it won’t help students become better thinkers
Peter Biles
January 4, 2023
4
Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s new artificial intelligence chatbot, has made headlines for over a month now, and for good reason. It’s an advanced bot designed to problem solve. It can “converse” with people on a range of topics. A problem for us to solve now is how to deal with ChatGPT’s invasion into the sphere of education. Students report using ChatGPT on final exams and papers according to a recent write-up from The College Fix. One College of Staten Island student used the bot on both final exams and “got As on both.” He commented that “half the kids in my class used it.” The student also noted that he used the chatbot to complete a multiple-choice exam, on which he got Read More ›

two human figures art
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
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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 ›

3d-rendering-of-human-brain-on-technology-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendering of human brain on technology background
Type
podcast
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
December 9, 2021
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Neurotheology: Spirituality and the Brain

Michael Egnor
December 9, 2021
1

Neurotheology is the study of the relationship of our religious and spiritual selves and our brains. How can studying our brains give us insight into our minds? Dr. Michael Egnor interviews Dr. Andrew Newberg on neuroscience, methods of studying the brain, and how our minds and brains are related. Show Notes 00:08 | Introducing Andrew Newberg 05:17 | Methods to Read More ›

silhouette-of-virtual-human-on-abstract-technology-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
silhouette of virtual human on abstract technology 3d illustration
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
September 30, 2021
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George Gilder: An Economic Genius Talks About Gaming AI

Robert J. Marks
September 30, 2021
1

George Gilder talks to Robert J. Marks about his book Gaming AI: Why AI Can’t Think but Can Transform Jobs. Show Notes 00:00:45 | Introducing George Gilder 00:03:30 | Is AI a new demotion of the human race? 00:04:59 | The AI movement 00:06:39 | DeepMind and protein folding 00:11:42 | Code-breaking in World War II 00:13:50 | Interpreting between Read More ›

electrocardiogram-in-hospital-surgery-operating-emergency-room-showing-patient-heart-rate-with-blur-team-of-surgeons-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Electrocardiogram in hospital surgery operating emergency room showing patient heart rate with blur team of surgeons background
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 3, 2021
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Why Some Scientists Think Consciousness Persists After Death

We should not assume that people who are near death do not know what we are saying
News
September 3, 2021
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

A very significant change that happened in the last century or so has been the ability of science professionals to see what happens when people are thinking, especially under traumatic conditions. It was not a good moment for materialist theories. Here is one finding (there are many others): Death is a process, usually, not simply an event. Consciousness can persists after clinical death. A more accurate way of putting things might be that the brain is able to host consciousness for a short period after clinical death. Some notes on recent findings: The short answer is, probably, yes: Recent studies have shown that animals experience a surge in brain activity in the minutes after death. And people in the first Read More ›

beautiful-night-sky-the-milky-way-moon-and-the-trees-elements-of-this-image-furnished-by-nasa-stockpack-adobe-stock
Beautiful night sky, the Milky Way, moon and the trees. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.
Type
podcast
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
August 26, 2021
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“If Nobody Looks at the Moon, Does It Exist?” and Other Metaphysical Questions

Michael Egnor
August 26, 2021
2

If no one is looking at the moon, does it exist? Why has materialism been around for so long? Will computers ever be conscious? What happens to our consciousness after we die? Bernardo Kastrup tackles these questions and more with Michael Egnor in another bingecast! Show Notes 0:00:28 | Introducing Dr. Bernardo Kastrup 0:01:22 | How quantum mechanics points to Read More ›

x-ray-of-the-head-and-brain-of-a-person-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
X-ray of the head and brain of a person
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
May 27, 2021
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Bingecast: Michael Egnor on the Human Brain

Robert J. Marks
May 27, 2021
3

In this Bingecast episode, Dr. Robert J. Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor explore the human brain and its relationship to the mind. Is the mind an emergent property of the brain? Is there neurological evidence for the soul? What have brain experiments taught us about free will and the human person? Can you still think in a coma? Show Notes Read More ›

double-multiply-exposure-abstract-portrait-of-a-dreamy-cute-young-woman-face-with-galaxy-universe-space-inside-head-human-spirit-astronomy-life-zen-concept-elements-of-this-image-furnished-by-nasa-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Double multiply exposure abstract portrait of a dreamy cute young woman face with galaxy universe space inside head. Human spirit, astronomy, life zen concept Elements of this image furnished by NASA.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
May 6, 2021
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind
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How Do We Know We Are Not Just Physical Bodies?

The mind–body problem is one of the most difficult issues in modern philosophy
News
May 6, 2021
8
Philosophy of Mind

In this week’s podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews Concordia University philosopher Angus Menuge on the notoriously difficult mind–body problem. Dr. Marks asks, “Is there a part of you that is not physical? Are we meat puppets limited to scientific analysis described totally by the laws of nature? “ That’s the mind–body problem! It’s more complex today because some claim we will build computers that have minds like humans (but not bodies like humans). But first, how do we know we are not just bodies? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-133-Angus-Menuge.mp3 This portion begins at 04:06 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Angus Menuge (pictured): Well, the real question is how two such different realms can relate. If Read More ›

woman-experiencing-sad-emotions-and-evaluate-their-emotions-from-the-side-emotional-intelligence-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Woman experiencing sad emotions and evaluate their emotions from the side. Emotional Intelligence Concept
Type
post
Author
News
Date
May 1, 2021
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Neuroscientist: We Are Closing In On the Secret of Self-Awareness

But then he turns around and admits that we are frustratingly far from understanding how it all works. His frustration is understandable.
News
May 1, 2021
4
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Cognitive neuroscientist Stephen M. Fleming, author of Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness (2021), offers an excerpt at Slate in which he implies that we have made some headway in understanding self-awareness. Size alone is not the key to intellectual capacity, he says, but rather the “brain soup,” the number of neurons that can be packed into the brain. Primates of all types (monkeys, apes, and humans) are much more efficient at packing neurons into the brain than rodents are: “Regardless of their position on the tree, it seems that primates are evolutionary outliers—but, relative to other primates, humans are not.” He points to a portion of the prefrontal cortex, the “association cortex” which is “particularly well-developed” in humans, relative Read More ›

xray of brain.jpg
X-ray.
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
April 5, 2021
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Why a “Budding” Neuroscientist Is Skeptical of Brain Scans

After reading her perceptive essay about the problems in fMRI imaging in neuroscience, I’m sad that a gifted student has doubts about a career in the field
Michael Egnor
April 5, 2021
8
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Kelsey Ichikawa has just published a superb essay about the pitfalls of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain. Ms. Ichikawa (pictured), who describes herself as a ”budding” neuroscientist who graduated last year from Harvard, discusses the snares into which misinterpretation can lead us. fMRI brain scanning is a relatively new technology in which researchers and clinicians use magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brain to detect brain activity almost as it happens. The technique is widely used, both for clinical care of patients (neurosurgeons use it to map sensitive parts of the brain prior to surgery) and for research purposes. A major thrust of neuroscience research in the last couple of decades has been the use of fMRI Read More ›

near-death-experience-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Near death experience
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 7, 2021
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Physician Explains Why He Takes Near-Death Experiences Seriously

Near-death experiences don’t fit easily into traditional science categories because they occur — often with life-changing effects — when the brain is damaged or unconscious
News
March 7, 2021
6
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Health and science writer Markham Heid recounts a story from psychiatrist Bruce Greyson’s book After (2021) that typifies the near-death experiences (NDEs) that have excited research interest: The truck driver’s story sounded far-fetched. The man claimed that in the middle of his quadruple bypass heart surgery — during which he was fully anesthetized and his eyes were taped shut — he had “come to” and found that he was looking down at his own body and the doctors preparing to operate on it. He described the scene in detail, and he recalled that his surgeon had waved his elbows in the air as if he were mimicking a bird flapping its wings. Later, when asked about his patient’s peculiar account, Read More ›

black-hole-eye-of-consciousness-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 19, 2020
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Psychologist: Consciousness Is Not a Thing But a Point of View

Mark Solms attempts to explain consciousness in his new book, Hidden Spring
News
December 19, 2020
3
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Anyone who thinks about consciousness soon realizes that it is a Hard Problem. It means being a subject of experience, rather than an object to which experiences happen. A dog has consciousness. He yelps when in pain. But a rock does not care about becoming sand. In an interesting article in Psychology Today, neuropsychologist Mark Solms outlines some thoughts from a book he has written on the subject, The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness (Norton, 2021): Physiological processes do not produce consciousness in the sense that the liver produces bile. Consciousness is not a thing but rather a point of view. What we perceive objectively as physiological processes in the brain we perceive subjectively as conscious Read More ›