Mind Matters
Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
Latest Articles
Legacy Media is at a Crossroads. Can They Regain Public Trust?
Unless journalists recognize the ways they've fallen short, people will continue to distrust mainstream media
Settled Science Is a Contradiction in Terms
The consensus of science has often turned out to be incorrect and we often get closer to truth when it is challenged
Humans Aren’t That Biased — and Machines Aren’t That Smart
Part 1: At an upcoming conference on AI, I will be puncturing that particular AI enthusiast’s fantasy
Micro Softy 27: Diamond in the Rough
Why did the mathematician want all the diamond rings — hundreds of fake ones, plus a real one — divided into two bags?
How Google Can Control and Manipulate Public Opinion
In Part 7, Robert Epstein, former editor of Psychology Today, offers some disturbing information on how search engines can be manipulated for political purposes
The Last Humanist: What the Digital Age Can’t Replace
My review of Superbloom by Nicholas Carr, perhaps the last critic standing, with thoughts on some of his earlier books
AI Ascends — But Not Above Its Teachers
LLMs are tools, able to augment human accomplishment in extraordinary ways. But to call them intelligent in the same way we describe human minds is a mistake
Why Smart Cities Are a Dumb Idea
Seattle, in its current state, feels like the ghost of a promise — an uncanny blend of technological optimism and visible collapse
Physicist: “Bad Philosophy” May Spur Search for New Physics
Carlo Rovelli points out that revolutions’ in the history of fundamental physics are more conservative than they are often depicted
Terminator: Dark Fate: Welcome to the New Future
Which turns out to be the same as the old one. Here’s Part 2 of my review
Why the Human Mind Is Not and Cannot Be a Meat Computer
On this week’s podcast, Robert J. Marks and Eric Holloway explain why that claim — sometimes called computationalism — is not even mathematically possible
How Google Search Rank Disrupted the Alternative Health Industry
Part 6: Google’s bias is as real as ever, but the firm has deflected it to an impersonal policy that gives an air of objectivity
The Lies in New York’s Assisted Suicide Bill
New York is close to passing a bill to legalize assisted suicide. Having passed the assembly, it is currently being considered in the senate
Google’s Power Over Online Business: Monopolistic and Extravagant
Part 5: To help people understand Google’s power over online businesses, I ask. What if the road on which the local Walmart is located suddenly became a dirt trail?
Does AI Expose Colleges’ Underlying Problem?
AI could be a symptom of a deeper issue in higher education
Group Founded by Francis Collins Starts PR Campaign for “Science”
The answer to lack of public trust in science does not lie in PR. It lies rather in addressing the attitudes and practices that lead to loss of trust
Becoming a Slave to Google: How It Happens
Part 4: After an update, you always have to second guess what Google did. You become a reverse engineer who never sees under the hood
Companies Spending A Lot on AI Are Not Seeing A Big Return
Target and WalMart are reversing course, cutting back on self-checkout
How a Split Brain Enables a Unified Mind Still Baffles Us
In the comments following Sean McDowell’s interview with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, a viewer asked, are the parts of a split brain still really connected?
Dead Man “Returns” via Deepfake to Testify Against Killer
An eerie deepfake video was allowed to impersonate a manslaughter victim talking about his thoughts and feelings in the courtroom
Briefs
AI is booming in every way except in productivity
OpenAI announces that it will remain a non-profit — sort of
AI developer wants to try to translate animal languages
Study: Another crow first — crows can detect geometric shapes
Why chatbots commonly make so many false statements
Study: Neanderthals invented their own tech, didn’t copy others
Hero rat finds 109 landmines, breaking record
Insights into why chatbots hallucinate, spewing false information
AI “friends” promote disturbing delusions in vulnerable users
AI researchers: Chatbot companions are a no-no for kids
Videos
Science Uprising 10: Asking the Impolite Questions About AI
Is It Really the End for Silicon Valley or Just a Reboot?
COSM 2021: Kai-Fu Lee Tries His Hand at Future Casting
