Discovery Institute

The Latest

Irreducible Complexity in Ant Behavior Triggers a Recognition of Intelligent Design: David Klinghoffer; July 6, 2022

Miracle of Man: The Problem of Phosphorus: David Coppedge; July 6, 2022

How The Declaration Of Independence Inspired George Washington’s Underdog Army To Win: Scott S. Powell; July 5, 2022

The Hidden Crisis in the Woods: Part 2: Jonathan Choe; June 28, 2022

Republicans Could Lead on Mental Health Treatment: Bruce Chapman; June 27, 2022

More of the Latest …

This July 4th, I Will Gladly Take Billie Joe Armstrong’s American Citizenship

_{Andrew McDiarmid
July 4, 2022}

In reality, I don’t need to take Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong’s place as a citizen. There’s room in America for anyone who is willing to love this country and respect the values on which it was built.

Video

The Hidden Crisis in the Woods: Part 2: Jonathan Choe; June 28, 2022

The Hidden Crisis in the Woods: Jonathan Choe; June 27, 2022

RV Recriminations in Seattle: Jonathan Choe; June 20, 2022

Artificial Intelligence, Cyberwarfare, and Military Preparedness: Robert J. Marks II; June 16, 2022

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Podcast

Evolution Challenge: The Harvester Ant Foraging Algorithm

_{Eric Cassell
July 6, 2022}

On this ID the Future, Animal Algorithms author Eric Cassell explores an algorithm in the brains of harvester ants that adjusts their foraging strategy based on how available food is in their environment, thereby guiding the harvester ants toward more efficient foraging. Cassell builds off a March 2022 article in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface to explain how the algorithm in the ant’s tiny brain involves a sophisticated feedback control mechanism that includes both positive and negative feedback systems. As he further notes in the episode and in an article at Evolution News, a mathematical model of the harvester ants’ foraging behavior by Stanford University scientists confirms the control algorithm is largely optimized. Cassell’s recent book, Animal Algorithms, …

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor: Humans Have Free Will

_{Michael Egnor
July 1, 2022}

On this ID the Future from the vault, professor of neurosurgery Michael Egnor and host Casey Luskin continue their conversation, here discussing Dr. Egnor’s experience in an online debate on free will with evolutionary biologist Dr. Jerry Coyne. Listen in as Dr. Egnor explains why the argument against free will is self-refuting and why he’s concluded that determinism as a theory in physics is …

AI: The Potential and the Problems

_{Samuel Haug
June 30, 2022}

Despite the hype regarding the seemingly infinite possibilities surrounding AI technology, artificial intelligence still has a number of humbling hurtles to overcome. Justin Bui and Samuel Haug join Robert J. Marks to discuss the latest developments in artificial intelligence. Show Notes 00:00:56 | The Homunculus 00:04:09 | Introducing Justin Bui 00:06:54 | Fast AI 00:13:45 | Deepfake Technology 00:21:40 | Transfer Learning 00:24:13 | Rapture of the Nerds 00:31:27 | Little Faith in AGI 00:33:32 | Introducing Samuel Haug 00:33:57 | The Rest of the Story 00:35:36 | Could AI Win at Jeopardy? 00:38:33 | IBM’s Deep Blue 00:40:46 | Deep Convolutional Neural Network 00:43:25 | Self-Driving Cars 00:44:08 | Unexpected Contingencies 00:49:19 | Exponential Explosion of …

Events

^{Date
July
07
Jul
7
07
2022}

Rediscovering America

_{How the National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story About Who We Are}_{Jackson Meyer
Date
July
07
Jul
7
07
2022
Mercer Island Community Center
Mercer Island, WA}

Ever wonder why everyone wants to immigrate to America? Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Scott Powell’s new book Rediscovering America: How the national holidays tell an amazing story about who we are answers that question. Please join us on Thursday, July 7 for a reception and lecture as Powell dives into a history that you have probably never read. More than an account of people, dates, and events, this book is about the hidden hand of a purposeful historical development where the main actors are colorful characters, participating in an American drama of little known but remarkable events where overcoming incredible odds of failure is more unbelievable and engaging than fiction. Rediscovering America is for people who seek truth and want to better understand the …

^{Date
August
08
Aug
12
12
2022}

18th Annual Insiders Briefing on Intelligent Design: Uniquely Human

_{Private event for members of the Discovery Society}_{The Center for Science and Culture
Date
August
08
Aug
12
12
2022
Marriott Tacoma Downtown
Tacoma, WA}

We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.Pope Benedict Discovery Society members should make plans now to attend the 18th Annual Insiders Briefing on Intelligent Design, to be held on August 12-13, 2022, in Tacoma, WA. At this year’s Insiders Briefing, you will get to explore how science is revealing the amazing design of human beings as never before. Topics will include how nature was prepared beforehand for the flourishing of humans, how the human body displays exquisite intelligent design, why the human mind can’t be duplicated by a computer, and much more. We’ll also examine what happens when some people wrongly promote dehumanization in …

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