Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagFuturism

data-reflecting-on-eyeglasses-on-mans-face-computrer-programmer-big-data-and-ux-designer-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Data reflecting on eyeglasses on man's face. Computrer programmer big data and ux designer concept
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post
Author
Jeffrey Funk
Date
April 22, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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AI’s Illusion of Rapid Progress

It always seems to be on the verge of perfection
Jeffrey Funk
April 22, 2024
6
Artificial Intelligence

The media loves to report on everything Elon Musk says, particularly when it is one of his very optimistic forecasts. Two weeks ago he said: “If you define AGI (artificial general intelligence) as smarter than the smartest human, I think it’s probably next year, within two years.” In 2019, he predicted there would be a million robo-taxis by 2020 and in 2016, he said about Mars, “If things go according to plan, we should be able to launch people probably in 2024 with arrival in 2025.” On the other hand, the media places less emphasis on negative news such as announcements that Amazon would abandon its cashier-less technology called “Just Walk Out,” because it wasn’t working properly. Introduced three years Read More ›

FTF3-125-2-P022
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post
Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
April 9, 2024
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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COSM 2023 Now on YouTube!

COSM 2023 explored the nature of artificial intelligence, as well as its future potential and risks.
Caitlin Cory
April 9, 2024
3
Artificial Intelligence

You can now watch the 2023 COSM Technology Summit on YouTube. If you weren’t able to attend, or perhaps you want to revisit some of your favorite speakers, we are now releasing the second tranche of videos for your enjoyment. Click here to go to the COSM 2023 Playlist on YouTube! COSM 2023 explored the nature of artificial intelligence, as well as its future potential and risks. Stephen Wolfram spoke about his efforts to make the world more computable so that computers can help us understand the world. Afterward, George Gilder and Bob Metcalfe joined him in a fascinating discussion about Turing machines, neural networks, and AI-driven language models. A panel featuring William Dembski, Robert Marks, and George Montanez offered Read More ›

businessman-touching-on-smart-mobile-phone-for-input-wording-and-searching-from-web-browser-technology-with-copy-space-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Businessman touching on smart mobile phone for input wording and searching from web browser. Technology with copy space concept.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 1, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Google + AI Feature = Chaos

Google SGE is producing nonsensical word salads. Is this really supposed to replace traditional search engines?
Peter Biles
September 1, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence

“Even with access to all the information in the digital world, AI can still be very, very stupid,” writes Maggie Harrison at Futurism. She’s referencing Google’s AI search feature, Google SGE, that “doesn’t understand geography” or the alphabet. When Harrison and her peers noticed someone complain about a glitch in the AI search feature, which purported that there were no countries in Africa that started with the letter “K” (ahem, Kenya, anyone?) they decided to test it out for themselves. Sure enough, the verdict is in. Google’s AI doesn’t know how to parse out blatantly false information. Harrison writes, When asked to provide a list of “countries in North America that start with the letter M,” for instance, Google SGE Read More ›

a-digital-avatar-or-artificial-intelligence-with-an-asian-female-face-surrounded-by-software-code-in-cyberspace-blurring-the-line-between-real-world-and-virtual-reality-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
A digital avatar or artificial intelligence with an Asian female face surrounded by software code in cyberspace. Blurring the line between real world and virtual reality. Generative AI
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 4, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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AI Influencers Are Starting to Explode

Seeing how artificial and impersonal the influencer lifestyle already is, maybe it was inevitable.
Peter Biles
August 4, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

AI avatars are starting to flood the social media “influencing” sphere. Seeing how artificial and impersonal the influencer lifestyle already is, maybe it was inevitable. The “Instagram influencer” is a relatively new phenom: an attractive, usually young, person flaunts certain brands on social media for revenue. The phrase “digital creator” is a common tag on bios, and countless young women have made a living off of selling their looks on Instagram. So how might AI play into all this? Well, there are now hundreds of AI internet personalities flooding social media. And they look pretty convincing. Victor Tangermann reports, Thanks to the advent of AI-powered image generators like Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, some are now fabricating entire feeds of internet Read More ›

futuristic-rendering-of-a-human-face-concept-of-artificial-intelligence-3d-render-stockpack-adobe-stock
Futuristic rendering of a human face. Concept of artificial intelligence. 3D render.
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post
Author
News
Date
July 11, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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AI 2041: Ten Visions of Our Future

What will our world look like in 20 years?
News
July 11, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

Former president of Google China, Kai-Fu Lee, imagines our world in 2041 and how it will be shaped by AI. By gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, Lee offers urgent insights into our collective future — while reminding readers that, ultimately, humankind remains the author of its destiny. This video is taken from COSM 2021 conference. You can find much more similar content at the Center for Intelligence YouTube page.

illustration-of-abstract-blue-pink-wireframe-sound-waves-visualization-of-frequency-signals-audio-wavelengths-conceptual-futuristic-technology-waveform-background-with-copy-space-for-text-stockpack-adobe-stock
Illustration of abstract blue pink wireframe sound waves, visualization of frequency signals audio wavelengths, conceptual futuristic technology waveform background with copy space for text
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post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Meta’s Weird New Speech AI

Scammers have already capitalized on this kind of technology. Is it a mistake for Meta to push for it?
News
June 22, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence

Meta has announced a new AI system called Voicebox, a text to audio translator that can mimic the voice of loved ones. All you need is a mere two seconds of authentic audio and the bot will extrapolate whole sentences in that person’s voice. Meta noted the technology will be helpful for those who are visually impaired and who want to hear messages or texts read to them in a voice they know. A blog on the Meta site reads, Like generative systems for images and text, Voicebox creates outputs in a vast variety of styles, and it can create outputs from scratch as well as modify a sample it’s given. But instead of creating a picture or a passage Read More ›

ai-robot-tutor-reading-with-a-teenage-boy-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI robot tutor reading with a teenage boy
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post
Author
News
Date
June 6, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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The End of the Search Engine?

Bill Gates thinks AI will someday replace traditional search engines
News
June 6, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Bill Gates thinks AI will destroy search engines. In the wake of artificial assistants, searching the “traditional” way will get thrown out as the internet totally transforms; nonetheless, it might take a while for AI to fully replace search engines like Google or Microsoft’s Bing. Until then, tech companies will keep trying to implement GPT-like systems into their search systems. Microsoft is already aggressively pushing for this. When you search for something through Microsoft Edge, the chatbot’s response is the first thing to pop up. Victor Tangermann reports at Futurism, Gates has been bullish on the topic of AI for a while now. Just last month, he told an audience during a keynote speech that AI could eventually teach kids how Read More ›

man-walking-in-the-night-toward-the-light-stockpack-adobe-stock
man walking in the night toward the light
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 27, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Here Come the AI Companions

The Internet ushered in a wave of virtual living and connectivity. Is this the next inevitable step?
Peter Biles
May 27, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

The popular social media influencer Caryn Marjorie recently launched “CarynAI,” an artificially intelligent companion that her millions of followers can interact with every day. Marjorie told the Washington Post that she doesn’t have the bandwidth to respond to all the requests she gets from her predominantly male fanbase, however much she wishes to. She furthermore wants to cure them all of their loneliness. She’s on track to make 5 million dollars a month from CarynAI. The bot makes it possible for fans to have a “relationship” with a simulated version of Caryn. Conversations are designed to “wind down” after an hour, but there’s no time limit. One of Caryn’s reps said users are spending hours interacting with CarynAI. The project Read More ›

schreibmaschine-alt-jahrgang-retro-schriftsteller-stockpack-adobe-stock
schreibmaschine alt jahrgang retro schriftsteller
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
May 25, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Hollywood Writers vs. AI

The Writers Guild of America doesn't want AI stealing their jobs
Peter Biles
May 25, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

I smell something rotten in the heart of Hollywood. So do a lot of screenwriters, actors, and directors. And you probably already have seen the headlines about the Writers Guild of America (WGA) going on strike, largely due to Hollywood studios’ apparent openness to using AI to generate scripts. It feels inevitable looking back, with the introduction and consequent explosion of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, that we would quickly arrive at a place where people like screenwriters are demanding job security. New AI systems have challenged a lot of different sectors, from visual art to journalism, but right now, the WGA strike is at the forefront of the conversation and continues to rage. Maggie Harrison of Futurism reports that a good many Read More ›

phone-call-from-unknown-number-late-at-night-scam-fraud-or-phishing-with-smartphone-concept-prank-caller-scammer-or-stranger-man-answering-to-incoming-call-hoax-person-with-fake-identity-stockpack-adobe-stock
Phone call from unknown number late at night. Scam, fraud or phishing with smartphone concept. Prank caller, scammer or stranger. Man answering to incoming call. Hoax person with fake identity.
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post
Author
News
Date
April 19, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Criminals Fake a Kidnapping Using AI

It hasn't taken long for criminals to capitalize on the AI boom
News
April 19, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

It hasn’t taken long for criminals to capitalize on the AI boom. Unfortunately, the more potential a certain technology has as a tool, the more it can be leveraged for harm. In the case of generative AI, a mother recently said that criminals used AI to mimic her daughter’s voice, fake a kidnapping, and seek ransom money for it. After answering the phone, she heard her daughter’s sobbing voice, followed by a man demanding funds for a ransom. The hoax didn’t get too far, luckily. The mother was able to soon verify her daughter’s safety, but nonetheless, the scam was convincing and was understandably terrifying while it lasted. Victor Tangermann reported on the incident at Futurism, writing, The fake kidnapping 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
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
April 17, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Free will
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Escape from Spiderhead and the Question of Love

Is love more than a chemical reaction and are humans more than machines made of meat?
Peter Biles
April 17, 2023
4
Arts & Culture, Free will

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 ›

Daft Punk headset
Illustration of a Futuristic cyber helmet inspired by music group Daft Punk . Cyberspace Augmented Reality. , Generative AI
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post
Author
News
Date
April 6, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Daft Punk and Being Human After All

Former member said AI concerns contributed in part to the band's breakup
News
April 6, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Legendary electronic pop duo Daft Punk split ways two years ago after decades of collaboration and are esteemed as pioneers in the creative ways they infused their music with cutting edge sonic technology. However, in a recent interview, ex-member Thomas Bangalter said that artificial intelligence contributed in part to the band’s separation. Per a report from Futurism, Bangalter said, We tried to use these machines to express something extremely moving that a machine cannot feel, but a human can. We were always on the side of humanity and not on the side of technology. -NOOR AL-SIBAI, Daft Punk Says They Broke Up Partially Over Fear of AI (futurism.com) The pop duo notoriously dressed up in robotic garb during their musical Read More ›

hiking
Hiking team people helping each other friend giving a helping hand while climbing up on the mountain rock adventure travel concept of friendship support trust teamwork success.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
March 24, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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GPT-4: Signs of Human-Level Intelligence?

Competence and understanding matter just as much if not more than mere "intelligence"
Peter Biles
March 24, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence

You’ve heard about GPT-3, but how about GPT-4? OpenAI has publicly released the new AI program, and researchers have already claimed that it shows “sparks” of human intelligence, or artificial general intelligence (AGI). Maggie Harrison writes at Futurism, Emphasis on the “sparks.” The researchers are careful in the paper to characterize GPT-4’s prowess as “only a first step towards a series of increasingly generally intelligent systems” rather than fully-hatched, human-level AI. They also repeatedly highlighted the fact that this paper is based on an “early version” of GPT-4, which they studied while it was “still in active development by OpenAI,” and not necessarily the version that’s been wrangled into product-applicable formation. -Maggie Harrison, Microsoft Researchers Claim GPT-4 Is Showing “Sparks” Read More ›

lightbult brain
Brain Flourescent Light Bulb
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post
Author
News
Date
February 14, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Will AI Ever Achieve Consciousness?

A former Facebook executive thinks so, assuming progress will eventually get us there
News
February 14, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

John Carmack, a former Facebook executive who famously expressed doubts over Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious metaverse project, thinks AI is “on the cusp” of simulating the human brain. Per a report from Futurism, Carmack sat down with Dallas Innovates and talked about the possibilities of AI, as well as its prime obstacle: an inconvenient thing called consciousness. Carmack said, The thing we don’t yet have is sort of the consciousness, the associative memory, the things that have a life and goals and planning. I mean, forget human brains; we don’t even have things that can act like a mouse or a cat.” Despite the far-off dream of developing consciousness in AI, Carmack thinks it’s plausible, given the great strides we’ve seen Read More ›

dino eye
Dinosaur eye, Closeup yellow eye of the dinosaurs with terrifying. Dinosaur hunters are staring with horrible yellow eye. Generative AI
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post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
February 11, 2023
Categorized
Science Fiction
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Jurassic World: Dominion Review Part 2

Incorporating characters from the original movies gives continuity to the franchise
Gary Varner
February 11, 2023
7
Science Fiction

In the previous review, the clone daughter of one of the engineers from the first Jurassic Park, who was being protected by Claire and Owen from the first two movies of the second trilogy, was kidnapped, and her surrogate parents enlisted the help of the CIA to track her down. At the same time, Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant, our heroes from the first trilogy, suspect the international cooperation, Biosyn, of creating genetically altered locusts to eat their competition’s crops. Another survivor of the first Jurassic Park incident, Ian Malcolm, is working for Biosyn, and he has offered to allow them access to the cooperation’s secret lab. Ellie and Alan fly to Biosyn, where they find that many of the Read More ›

robot at typewriter
A robot typing on a rypewritter, generating text, artificial intelligence illustration, generative ai
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post
Author
News
Date
February 1, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Tech Journal CNET Used AI to Write Articles

A writer laments CNET's reckless embrace of AI generated content
News
February 1, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

The prominent technology journal CNET has used AI to generate some of its articles, although the results have been embarrassing. Apart from general outrage from critics, who claim this maneuver will obliterate the need for entry-level writers, the unspecified AI system made lots of errors. Jon Christian gives an example of the AI’s “boneheaded” work in a Futurism report, To calculate compound interest, use the following formula: Initial balance (1+ interest rate / number of compounding periods) ^ number of compoundings per period x number of periods  For example, if you deposit $10,000 into a savings account that earns 3% interest compounding annually, you’ll earn $10,300 at the end of the first year.“ It sounds authoritative, but it’s wrong. In reality, Read More ›

getting laid off
Unemployed hold cardboard box and laptop bag, dossier and drawing tube in box. Quiting a job, businessman fired or leave a job concpet.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
November 23, 2022
Categorized
Social Media
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Twitter Gets Blasted While Meta Struggles

While Musk’s every move is being scrutinized, Zuckerberg’s struggles fall to the wayside
Peter Biles
November 23, 2022
4
Social Media

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and founder of PayPal, radically reorganized Twitter in October and November, and now, is the subject of much criticism from the media. He has laid off hundreds of employees and fired the advisory board. In addition, he reinstated the formerly suspended accounts of Jordan Peterson, parody news site The Babylon Bee, and most outrageously, former president Donald Trump. A few days ago, somehow it was assumed across the Twitter sphere that the entire platform was about to implode. I started seeing people post things like, “If this is my last tweet, I’m okay with that…” Not sure what was happening, I experienced a sudden flood of similar tweets prophesying the Twitter era’s impending Read More ›

beautiful-young-woman-looking-through-binoculars-at-the-sea-on-a-bright-sunny-day-stockpack-adobe-stock
Beautiful Young Woman Looking Through Binoculars At The Sea On A Bright Sunny Day
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post
Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
August 5, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Science
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Peering Into the Future with Nikola Danaylov

In a new online series, futurist Danaylov shares both wisdom and folly about future expectations for science and technology
Caitlin Cory
August 5, 2021
3
Artificial Intelligence, Science

Is our future determined? And if so, what is it determined by? These are the questions Nikola Danaylov is discussing at Singularity Weblog, an online format the futurist author and podcaster uses for addressing topics of science, technology, humanity, and the future. In his latest series, Danaylov – who playfully addresses himself as “Socrates” – posits that humanity’s future is, indeed, determined – determined by the stories we tell ourselves.  Before we jump into his fascinating analyses, let’s take a look at Danaylov himself to understand the worldview from which he writes. Danaylov is a futurist author and speaker based in Toronto, Canada. As a futurist, Danaylov is optimistic about the future of technology and the possibility of an age Read More ›

robot-playing-chess
Robot Playing Chess
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
June 1, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence
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Chicken Little AI Dystopians: Is the Sky Really Falling?

Futurist claims about human-destroying superintelligence are uninformed and irresponsible
Robert J. Marks
June 1, 2021
5
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence

The article “How an Artificial Superintelligence Might Actually Destroy Humanity” is one of the most irresponsible pieces about AI I have read in the last five years. The author, transhumanist George Dvorsky, builds his argument on a foundation of easily popped balloons. AI is and will remain a tool. Computers can crunch numbers faster than you or me. Alexa saves a lot of time looking up results on the web or playing a selected tune from Spotify. A car – even a bicycle – can go a lot faster than I can run. AI is a tool like fire or electricity used to enhance human performance and improve lifestyles. Like fire and electricity, AI can be used for evil or Read More ›

flying-car-future-air-car-3d-concept-futuristic-vehicle-in-the-city-car-concept-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Flying Car, Future Air Car 3d Concept, Futuristic Vehicle In The City, Car Concept - 3D Rendering
Type
post
Author
News
Date
April 10, 2021
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science
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Sci-fi Saturday: What If Futurism Doesn’t Mean Smarter People?

Comic scenes would dot the aerial landscape, dispelling the usual earnestness of sci-fi films
News
April 10, 2021
10
Arts & Culture, Science

“Floaters” at DUST by Karl Poyzer and Joseph Roberts (March 25, 2021, 4:03 min) “High in the sky of a sci-fi metropolis a lone spaceship is confronted by a much larger and more intimidating vessel. When the bigger ship asks the small one why they share the same identification number a strange quandary forms and a mile-high debate ensues.” This comic short (4 min) makes clear that a futurist landscape need not be inhabited by evolved superheroes or philosophical aliens. It could be inhabited by the same sort of people the traffic cop stops every day. Or denser. This animated film uses architectural rather than cartoon style. It also uses a technique too often neglected these days*: We hear the Read More ›