Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagRobert J. Marks

amateur-observatories-interior-views-vintage-engraving-stockpack-adobe-stock
Amateur observatories, Interior views, vintage engraving.
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post
Author
News
Date
September 22, 2023
Categorized
Science
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“Consensus” Doesn’t Always Mean Science

Real scientific discovery happens within a culture of free speech and open dialogue
News
September 22, 2023
1
Science

Robert J. Marks, host of the Mind Matters podcast, recently put out an article at Newsmax discussing “scientific consensus,” and how that term has been used to bully dissenting scientific viewpoints and even establish political and social policy. Marks writes, Consensus was used as a reason to stifle debate during the COVID crisis. Facebook and YouTube saw opposition to the government narrative as disinformation. Posts against consensus were censored and users were banned. Pre-Musk Twitter had a policy concerning tweets about climate change: “Misleading advertisements on #Twitter that contradict the scientific consensus on #climatechange are prohibited, in line with its inappropriate content policy.” The word pairing “scientific consensus” is a destructive science-stifling oxymoron. -Robert J. Marks, Consensus Doesn’t Equal Science | Newsmax.com Read More ›

Minding the Brain
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post
Author
News
Date
September 19, 2023
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind
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The Mind is More than the Brain

A new anthology, out today, features 25 philosophers with fresh insights on the mind-body problem.
News
September 19, 2023
4
Philosophy of Mind

An exciting new anthology from Discovery Institute Press is out today: Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science, in which 25 philosophers and scientists offer fresh insights into the mind-brain debate, drawing on psychology, neurology, philosophy, computer science, and neurosurgery. Their provocative conclusion? The mind is indeed more than the brain. We will be offering brief excerpts here in weeks to come. The Mind-Brain Problem The book is edited by Angus J. Menuge, Brian R. Krouse, and Robert J. Marks, who explain in the Introduction: 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 Read More ›

COSM2022-Nov10-174A0113-blake-lemoine-panel
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post
Author
News
Date
September 13, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Revisiting Marks, Lemoine, on AI and Consciousness

What is AI? In what sense can it be said to be "intelligent"? Could it ever be sentient, or conscious?
News
September 13, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

What is AI? In what sense can it be said to be “intelligent”? Could it ever be sentient, or conscious? In today’s video, a distinguished panel of artificial intelligence (AI) experts, include Blake Lemoine and Robert J. Marks, debates the meaning of artificial intelligence, what the future holds for its application (both positive and negative), and how far AI can be taken in terms of mimicking and even exceeding human capabilities. (REGISTER NOW FOR COSM 2023) COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it. From artificial intelligence to 5G and WiFi6, from tokenized time to blockchain, from cloud computing to the quantum revolution, and from biotech to the nanotech revolution, COSM brings Read More ›

big-radar-parabolic-radio-antenna-global-information-data-stream-stockpack-adobe-stock
Big radar parabolic radio antenna global information data stream
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post
Author
News
Date
September 12, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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A Google Engineer Talks to Mind Matters About the Radio Spectrum

The spectrum business goes to the highest bidder. But what problems does that pose in the long run?
News
September 12, 2023
2
Technology

The federal government determines how the radio spectrum is used and who can use it. Turns out, renting out the spectrum to private companies is a billion-dollar business. The spectrum business goes to the highest bidder. But what problems does that pose in the long run? Google engineer Andrew Clegg discusses this and more with Dr. Robert J. Marks and Austin Egbert in the latest episode of the Mind Matters podcast. Here’s Clegg speaking to some of these issues from the transcript: In the decades past, there were typically enough frequencies to go around for everybody. And so pretty much the first person who applied for a particular frequency or band or whatever, would be given that frequency. And that worked Read More ›

spectrum-analyzer-panel-with-hand-stockpack-adobe-stock
Spectrum Analyzer panel with hand
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
September 7, 2023
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When the Government Controls the Spectrum

Robert J. Marks
September 7, 2023
1

The federal government determines how the radio spectrum is used and who can use it. Turns out, renting out the spectrum to private companies is a billion-dollar business. The spectrum business goes to the highest bidder. But what problems does that pose in the long run? Google engineer Andrew Clegg discusses this and more with Dr. Robert J. Marks and Read More ›

Robert J. Marks with Michael Medved
Robert J. Marks on Great Minds with Michael Medved
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post
Author
News
Date
September 6, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Revisiting “Non-Computable You”

New podcast episode reviews the key ideas and insights of the book "Non-Computable You"
News
September 6, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

If you’re a regular reader of Mind Matters, you’ve probably heard us applaud and discuss the book by computer scientist and professor Robert J. Marks, Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will. The book is well worth reading and sheds much needed insights on our current technological moment where AI is either seen as the “greatest thing ever” or the tool that will enslave and destroy humanity, Terminator style. However, if you’re more of an audiobook kind of person, maybe you’ll just want to listen to a new podcast episode in which Dr. Marks discusses the key themes of his book with various hosts. You can listen to the podcast or download it for free here: Why Read More ›

ai-machine-learning-hands-of-robot-and-human-touch-on-big-data-network-brain-data-creative-in-light-bulb-science-and-artificial-intelligence-technology-innovation-for-futuristic-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI, Machine learning, Hands of robot and human touch on big data network, Brain data creative in light bulb, Science and artificial intelligence technology, innovation for futuristic.
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 31, 2023
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Why You Are Non-Computable

Robert J. Marks
August 31, 2023
1

Usually Robert Marks does the interviewing, but today, the script is flipped. In this episode, we revisit the press tour Dr. Marks went on to promote the seminal ideas of his 2022 book Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will, which is about artificial intelligence and the non-computable traits (like creativity and emotional sentience) that make human beings unique.  Additional Read More ›

audio-waveform-abstract-technology-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Audio waveform abstract technology background
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 24, 2023
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Can the Radio Spectrum Ever “Fill Up”? 

Robert J. Marks
August 24, 2023
1

Right now, there are electromagnetic signals bouncing off and passing through you. But what happens when the radio spectrum gets overused and starts filling up? That’s the question addressed in today’s episode with Robert J. Marks, research scientist Austin Egbert, and special guest, Google engineer Andrew Clegg.  Resources

voice-recognition-waveform-and-spectrum-stockpack-adobe-stock
voice recognition waveform and spectrum
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 17, 2023
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Defining and Discussing the Radio Spectrum

Robert J. Marks
August 17, 2023
1

So much of our modern technology depends on wireless “frequencies.” But how do electromagnetic frequencies actually work and how did engineers implement them into electronic devices? In this episode, Robert J. Marks and podcast director Austin Egbert talk with Google Engineer Andrew Clegg about the radio spectrum, how it has led to technological development, and the challenges of having too Read More ›

concert-view-of-saxophonist-a-saxophone-sax-player-with-musical-band-during-jazz-orchestra-show-performing-music-on-stage-in-the-scene-lights-generated-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Concert view of saxophonist, a saxophone sax player with musical band during jazz orchestra show performing music on stage in the scene lights. Generated AI.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
August 15, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Could AI Ever Master Jazz Music?

Jazz depends so much on spontaneity and improvisation.
News
August 15, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

In a new Mind Matters podcast, host Robert J. Marks sat down with James Hirsen, who performed as a musician for many years, to talk AI, deep fakes, and the possibility of artificially contrived music. Hirsen defended the human uniqueness of jazz music in particular, noting how in this musical genre, spontaneity and in-person experiences are essential. He says, And I’ve experienced it many, many times, but especially in intimate gatherings, when a musician is playing jazz or blues in a club and there’s a group of people interacting that, I believe, cannot be emulated by any AI that I’ve experienced. But on record, I think they can do it. So music’s unique in this sense. If jazz is being Read More ›

travelers-together-around-the-campfire-enjoying-the-fresh-air-near-the-tent-under-the-milky-way-in-the-evening-silhouettes-of-two-adventurous-people-camping-in-the-mountains-under-the-starry-sky-stockpack-adobe-stock
Travelers together around the campfire, enjoying the fresh air near the tent under the Milky Way in the evening. Silhouettes of two adventurous people camping in the mountains under the starry sky.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 13, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Literature and Personal Consciousness: Why AI Can’t Speak to You

AI can never intend meaning like a human author can
Peter Biles
August 13, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

One of the biggest contentions in the current debate over OpenAI’s new Large Language Model (LLM) ChatGPT is its purported ability to create a story, to speak and communicate narrative like a human storyteller. If you ask ChatGPT to write an Edgar Allen Poe-esque story, it will generate something spooky, gothic, and darkly poetic. Ask it to write a Shakespearean sonnet, and out comes a fourteen-lined poem about nature and romance. Need a horror thriller like The Shining or It by Stephen King? You got it. For all its scary impressiveness, and the guarantee that the technology will only get better, the chatbot extraordinaire fails and will always fail to tell a story. In fact, it can’t be expected to generate meaningful art and literature Read More ›

ai-android-robot-playing-piano-generative-ai-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI android robot playing piano. Generative AI illustration
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 10, 2023
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Can AI Mimic Spontaneous Jazz and the Blues?

Robert J. Marks
August 10, 2023
1

AI is getting better at imitating music and complex audio. But what are the limits, and what makes music like jazz and “the blues” unique? In this episode, Robert J. Marks sits down with musician James Hirsen to talk about AI deep fakes, its impact on the arts, and the personal aspect of music that makes it so special.  Additional Read More ›

cyber-security-ai-mind-network-management-modern-data-center-cloud-networking-ai-generated-art-stockpack-adobe-stock
Cyber security, AI Mind, Network Management, Modern Data Center, Cloud Networking, AI Generated Art
Type
post
Author
News
Date
August 8, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Evaluating Yuval Harari’s Dystopian Views on AI

Does AI spell the doom of democracy?
News
August 8, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

Will infotech and biotech erode human agency, subvert human desires, and render free-market economics obsolete? At first glance, there looks to be a wide gap between the future of AI and the destruction of democracy. Some futurists claim to have jumped that chasm. In a cheery little column published by The Atlantic, Yuval Noah Harari posits AI will ultimately destroy democracy and favor Digital Dictatorships. He notes that liberal democracies have been anomalies and that history tends to favor authoritarian governance. What is his argument and does it hold water? We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences and other videos. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There Read More ›

3d-illustration-concept-image-embossed-mesh-representing-internet-connections-in-cloud-computing-stockpack-adobe-stock
3D illustration, concept image. Embossed mesh representing internet connections in cloud computing.
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 4, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning
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The Secret Ingredient for AI: Ergodicity

If you don't know the term, you need to
Robert J. Marks
August 4, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning

Deep learning used to train AlphaGo data used to train neural networks must display ergodicity: The data to which the computer learning program is exposed must also characterize data that it has not seen. Before applying AI in deep convolutional neural networks, practitioners need to address whether the problem under consideration is “ergodic.” 1 We are rightly amazed when deep learning wins at Atari arcade games using only display pixels. But in doing so, the AI is exposed to the same game again and again (and again). The scenarios change, but the game and its rules remain static. The same is true with chess or GO. When trained and tested against a human opponent, we know that the AI will Read More ›

ocean-sunset-rays-stockpack-adobe-stock
Ocean Sunset Rays
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post
Author
News
Date
August 2, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Running from TikTok to Baptism and Truth

AI-powered social media is hurting kids, but look at the simultaneous revival happening, writes Robert J. Marks
News
August 2, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

“Digital fentanyl.” That’s the evocative term U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc. used to describe TikTok. In Robert J. Marks’ new Newsmax article, he decries the tragic effects of social media on teens. The data is in: social media makes kids depressed. Marks writes, Media-drenched teenage boys without girlfriends feel like social freaks. One in three teenage girls who use social have body image issues.Young adults who use social media are three times as likely to suffer from depression. Depression can lead to suicide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, female suicides aged 15-24 increased by 87 percent over the past 20 years and male suicides increased by 30 percent. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry says suicide is now the second leading Read More ›

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銀河
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 28, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality
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Of AI and Aliens: Two Philosophers Give Their Thoughts

These sound minds are great resources to draw from in the chaos of our times
Peter Biles
July 28, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality

Just when you thought our cultural moment couldn’t get any more outlandish, here comes a congressional hearing in which several high-profile individuals claim U.S. intelligence is in possession of “non-human biologics,” a euphemism for “alien stuff.” In a recent YouTube interview, Sean McDowell of Biola University asked philosophers William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland what they thought of extraterrestrial life and its implications. Craig, a philosopher and theologian, said it would have no bearing on his belief in God’s existence, but emotionally, that it would be remarkably unsettling, and would amount to the greatest discovery in the human history. McDowell pivoted from aliens and addressed the question of artificial intelligence, which Moreland, who specializes in the philosophy of mind, was Read More ›

victim-boy-with-hands-tied-up-with-rope-in-emotional-stress-and-pain-kidnapped-abused-hostage-stop-violence-against-children-and-trafficking-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Victim boy with hands tied up with rope in emotional stress and pain, kidnapped, abused, hostage, Stop violence against children and trafficking Concept.
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 27, 2023
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The Sound of Freedom: How Human Trafficking and Porn Compromises National Security

Robert J. Marks
July 27, 2023
1

Robert J. Marks and Charlie Crockett discuss how the normalization of online pornography is connected with sex trafficking and abuse. In fact, the two industries are inextricably linked. They also discuss how military communications are affected by the widespread use of porn because of the high demand for spectrum (a limited resource). Additional Resources

bitcoin-golden-coin-on-computer-circuit-board-stockpack-adobe-stock
Bitcoin golden coin on computer circuit board
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 25, 2023
Categorized
Cryptocurrency
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Is an Information-Based Currency Possible?

Two philosophers talk about the potential of digital, decentralized forms of money and exchange
News
July 25, 2023
1
Cryptocurrency

In today’s featured video, enjoy an older but essential interview on the topic of alternative forms of money like cryptocurrency. Philosopher Jay Richards interviews mathematician, entrepreneur, and philosopher Dr. Bill Dembski about his unique thought experiment regarding how one could create a decentralized, DIY, information-based currency. Richards also explores with Dembski the concepts of natural and artificial intelligence. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Institute Read More ›

cyborg-head-using-artificial-intelligence-to-create-digital-interface-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Cyborg head using artificial intelligence to create digital interface 3D rendering
Type
post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 20, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Mission Impossible: Don’t Bother Me With Facts

The Tom Cruise action movie is built on faulty AI assumptions, but it's still entertaining
Robert J. Marks
July 20, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Ever watch a movie with a movie-talker? That’s someone who ruins a show by talking out loud over the audio. More than once, my wife has asked me, “What did he just say?” I usually have no idea because I didn’t understand either. But her question talks over the next few lines of the movie so the interval of me not hearing the audio is prolonged. I occasionally watch a movie with a good friend Lou, a former police officer. Lou’s a movie-talker, especially when we watch police movies. He’ll interrupt the movie with nit-picky comments like: “That’s not a real shotgun. A real shotgun would kick back, and the barrel would angle up after each shot. There was no Read More ›

social-media-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Social media concept.
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 20, 2023
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The Sound of Freedom: Social Media and Human Trafficking

Robert J. Marks
July 20, 2023
1

Robert J. Marks and Charlie Crockett continue their conversation on the sad reality of human trafficking. In this episode, they focus particularly on how social media has become a place where predators will search and highlight children’s vulnerabilities — which so many young people share online. Marks and Crockett encourage parents to develop relationships of trust with their children and Read More ›