Artificial intelligence

Egnor - Will Machines
Why Machines Will Never Think

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor: Why Machines Will Never Think

At the official launch of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, July 11, 2018, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor offered some thoughts on artificial vs. natural intelligence. He sends us this piece, further developing some of his ideas: A cornerstone of the development of artificial intelligence is the pervasive assumption that machines can, or will, think. Watson, a question-answering computer, beats Read More ›

Religious Robots and Free Americans

Religious Robots and Free Americans

Of his many specialties, in this episode Michael inquires into David Gelernter’s professional preoccupation: artificial intelligence. Gelernter recalls the pioneering role of his father, warns of the perils of letting children be captive to flickering screens, and remarks on whether AI robots can be spiritual seekers. Gelernter also emphasizes the key role of the Judeo-Christian Western tradition in creating a free and idealistic context in which technology is primed to explode. Read More ›

I, for One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords

Should we fear the rise of ‘intelligent’ computers? In case you haven’t heard, the newest champion of “Jeopardy!,” the popular TV game show, is a computer. Watson, an enormous computer developed by researchers at IBM, was pitted against the two previous human champions, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. At the end of the first round, aired on Valentine’s Day, Jennings Read More ›

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Steve Meyer Discusses Craig Venter’s Engineered Cell

On the 700 Club, Stephen Meyer discusses the hype behind Dr. J. Craig Venter’s engineering of a new cell and why he did not create artificial life. He continues to talk about the information within DNA that could not have been generated apart from intelligence.

Are We Spiritual Machines?

For two hundred years materialist philosophers have argued that man is some sort of machine. The claim began with French materialists of the Enlightenment such as Pierre Cabanis, Julien La Mettrie, and Baron d’Holbach (La Mettrie even wrote a book titled Man the Machine). Likewise contemporary materialists like Marvin Minsky, Daniel Dennett, and Patricia Churchland claim that the motions and Read More ›

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Rethinking Deep Blue

The recent hysteria over the defeat of world chess champion Gary Kasparov by IBM computer Deep Blue has provided fresh fuel for the debate over whether computers can be intelligent and, yes, even exhibit the other qualities of mind — consciousness, sensation, emotion and the like. Read More ›

Conflating Matter and Mind

I’ve been asked to respond to criticisms of my paper “Converting Matter into Mind” (PSCS, Dec 90). My reaction to these criticisms is this: “Yes, I could have been more careful in some details and choice of terminology, but the substance of my position is unaffected.” The critics were guilty of two faults. First was a failure to read my Read More ›

Converting Matter into Mind

Introduction In the Foundations of Cognitive Science Herbert Simon and Craig Kaplan offer the following definition: Cognitive science is the study of intelligence and intelligent systems, with particular reference to intelligent behavior as computation. Since this definition hinges on the dual notions of intelligence and computation, it remains scientifically unobjectionable so long as one declines to prejudge the relation between Read More ›