I’m behind on my blog-posting. So, while I struggle to get caught up, I thought I’d offer a recap of what’s come so far in this “Science, Mind, and God” series. I hope to post the next installment on Descartes soon, within the next few weeks. Part I: The New Atheists The series was motivated … Continue reading SCIENCE, MIND, AND GOD: Recap
The Mind Projection Fallacy, or: Do You Exist Before I Look at You?
In my humble opinion, one of the wackiest things about contemporary physics is the notion of indeterminacy, or the idea that (as a recent essay put it): “Reality Doesn’t Exist Until You Look at It.” This title is doubly silly, since it equates reality with what goes on at the subatomic level, and not with trees, dolphins, … Continue reading The Mind Projection Fallacy, or: Do You Exist Before I Look at You?
How We Got Duped into Believing Computers Can Think
I recently wrote a post, “Has A.I. Really Arrived?” in which I disputed claims that computers can or will think (click here to read the original post). In that essay I wasn’t articulating anything original. I was repeating the arguments of the philosopher John Searle. Searle calls the idea that programs are to computers as … Continue reading How We Got Duped into Believing Computers Can Think
Has A.I. Really Arrived?
In a recent article in Wired magazine, “The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally Unleashed AI on the World,” the author, Kevin Kelly, claims that artificial intelligence (AI) is here and here to stay. He understands AI, apparently, as machine (specifically, computer) intelligence that will become more and more a part of our lives. He claims … Continue reading Has A.I. Really Arrived?
Discussion of “When Science Gets Stupid”
A blogger by the name of Janet Kwasniak took issue with my piece on consciousness, “When Science Gets Stupid,” which was a reaction to an essay in the New York Times, “Are We Really Conscious?” by Michael Graziano. Kwasniak claims that I apparently didn’t understand Graziano’s piece, since I defined consciousness as awareness. Though she … Continue reading Discussion of “When Science Gets Stupid”
Mark T. Conard 