Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagThe New Yorker

3d-rendering-scene-of-television-cartoon-mock-up-with-blank-empty-space-setting-on-colorful-room-and-lighting-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendering, Scene of television cartoon mock up with blank empty space, setting on colorful room and lighting background.

Famous Actress Wonders About AI, TV Culture, and Humanity

AI isn't like the printing press, Rashida Jones laments
We no longer talk about mainstream entertainment swallowing art. Now, distraction is swallowing both entertainment and art. Read More ›
lonely-man-in-red-jacket-standing-by-the-lake-in-winter-with-transparent-woman-figure-standing-next-to-him-stockpack-adobe-stock
Lonely man in red jacket standing by the lake in winter, with transparent woman figure standing next to him

Escape from Spiderhead and the Question of Love

Is love more than a chemical reaction and are humans more than machines made of meat?

Brave New World, a speculative work by British writer Aldous Huxley, explores a society where people are conditioned via drugs and genetic engineering to live stable, highly pleasurable, but totally meaningless lives. One pop of a pill, and negative feelings like sadness, anger, or envy vanish. In the brave new world, “everyone belongs to everyone else,” and pleasure supplants purpose. A Story for Our Age That book was written in 1932. Fast forward to the twenty-first century and another fictional work, albeit shorter, goes arguably even deeper than Huxley’s magnum opus. The short story Escape from Spiderhead by George Saunders is about a group of inmates being tested by mood-altering drugs in a facility nicknamed “Spiderhead” for its nebulous layout. Read More ›