PODCAST

Mind Matters

Discovery Institute Center on Natural and Artificial Intelligence

On the Mind Matters podcast, Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence considers the implications and misconceptions, the opportunities and limitations, and the applications and challenges presented by intelligent agents and their algorithms. Episode notes and archives available at mindmatters.ai/podcast.

technology philosophy

All Episodes

43 minutes, 33 secon

From Dairy Farm to Fighter Pilot: More With Veteran...

Mind Matters ·

2024/12/19

Major General Bobby Hollingsworth discusses his life journey from growing up on a dairy farm to becoming a fighter pilot in the U.S. Marines. He describes how he was inspired to pursue aviation from a young age after seeing his uncle, a WWII Hellcat pilot. Hollingsworth discusses the discipline and work ethic he developed from growing up on a farm, Read More ›Source

en-US

46 minutes, 34 secon

Military Preparedness and the Path to Peace: An...

Mind Matters ·

2024/12/12

Major General Bobby Hollingsworth had a distinguished 38-year career as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot and in leadership roles including commanding the Marine Corps Reserve Support Command and serving as vice commander of Marine forces in the Pacific. After retiring, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Read More ›Source

en-US

1 hour, 20 minutes,

Flashes of Genius: An Interview with Touch Screen...

Mind Matters ·

2024/12/05

On this episode of Mind Matters News out of the archive, we share a memorable conversation with Hal Philipp, an inventor and entrepreneur who pioneered the capacitive touch screen technology that is now used in billions of devices worldwide. Philipp shares the story of his early work on optical sensors for automatic doors and faucets and how it led to Read More ›Source

en-US

1 hour, 24 minutes,

A Case for the Soul: An Interview with Joshua Farris

Mind Matters ·

2024/11/28

Is the mind the same thing as the brain? Recently, we’ve been tackling this question known as the mind-brain problem with several of the contributing authors to our recent book Minding the Brain. In a similar fashion, we can also ask if there’s more to the human person than just our bodies. This week we have neurosurgeon Michael Egnor talking about Read More ›Source

en-US

45 minutes, 49 secon

The Significance of Mirror Neurons: More With Dr....

Mind Matters ·

2024/11/21

On this episode, host Dr. Robert J. Marks continues his chat with Dr. Mihretu Guta about exploring the philosophical challenges surrounding the neuroscientific research on mirror neurons. What the heck is a mirror neuron you ask? As described in Part 1, it’s a type of brain cell that fires when a person observes an action being performed, as well as Read More ›Source

en-US

47 minutes, 17 secon

Mirror Neurons, Consciousness, and the Bearer Question

Mind Matters ·

2024/11/14

For the last several months, we’ve been interviewing authors featured in the recent Bradley Center volume Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science. The book delves into the age-old question: is the mind more than the brain? What was once solely a philosophical and metaphysical discussion has attracted the attention of science and is a much more Read More ›Source

en-US

26 minutes, 15 secon

Consciousness, Materialism, and the Limits of...

Mind Matters ·

2024/11/07

On this episode, host Pat Flynn concludes a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 3, Flynn and Bringsjord summarize their points about integrated information theory and an alternative view, cognitive consciousness. The discussion explores the challenges of explaining consciousness from a materialist or physicalist perspective, noting the apparent qualitative Read More ›Source

en-US

1 hour, 7 minutes, 4

How Human Trafficking Flourishes in the Age of Social...

Mind Matters ·

2024/10/31

It’s tempting to think that human trafficking is a problem in a far-away land. Unfortunately, it’s much closer. Like in our back yard closer. On this episode, host Robert J. Marks speaks with Charlie Crockett, head educational trainer with Unbound Now, an organization that works to combat human trafficking through education, training, victim services, and partnerships with law enforcement. The Read More ›Source

en-US

24 minutes, 57 secon

Consciousness Conundrum: Integrated Information...

Mind Matters ·

2024/10/24

On this episode, host Pat Flynn continues a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 2, the discussion turns to Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and its claims about consciousness. IIT proposes that consciousness arises from the degree of informational integration in a system, so more integrated systems would have higher Read More ›Source

en-US

23 minutes, 34 secon

Exploring the Capabilities and Limitations of AI with...

Mind Matters ·

2024/10/17

On this episode, host Pat Flynn begins a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. Dr. Bringsjord has been studying and debating issues related to AI and the nature of consciousness for decades, and he shares his predictions about the capabilities and limitations of AI systems. He believes that while AI systems Read More ›Source

en-US

43 minutes, 15 secon

The Unique Relationship Between Consciousness and Its...

Mind Matters ·

2024/10/10

What kind of being must exist for consciousness to exist? On this episode, hosts Robert J. Marks and Angus Menuge conclude their discussion with Dr. Mihretu Guta about his contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. The first half of this conversation centered on the amazing nature of consciousness and how it really doesn’t reduce to anything physical. In Part Read More ›Source

en-US

46 minutes, 32 secon

In What Sense is Consciousness a Property?

Mind Matters ·

2024/10/03

On this episode, hosts Robert J. Marks and Angus Menuge welcome Dr. Mihretu Guta to discuss his contribution to the recent volume Minding the Brain. Dr. Guta discusses the nature of consciousness and the challenges in understanding it from a philosophical perspective. He argues that consciousness is a unique property that is deeply subjective and personal, making it difficult to study Read More ›Source

en-US

1 hour, 20 minutes,

The Impact of Descartes on the Philosophy of Mind

Mind Matters ·

2024/09/26

On this episode out of the vault, neuroscientist Dr. Michael Egnor welcomes Dr. Joshua Farris for a discussion about his recent published paper “Descartes’ New Clothes: Cartesian Thought in Philosophy, Neuroscience and Theism.” Descartes is famous for his dictum “I think, therefore I am.” Farris and Egnor discuss this statement and its implications for the mind-body debate. They also talk Read More ›Source

en-US

8 minutes, 40 second

Dr. Robert J. Marks Reads From Minding the Brain

Mind Matters ·

2024/09/19

Is your mind the same thing as your brain? Or are there aspects of mind that are external to the biology of the brain? This is the mind-body problem, and it has captivated curious minds since the dawn of human contemplation. Today many insist that the mind is completely reducible to the brain. But is that claim justified? On this Read More ›Source

en-US

27 minutes, 10 secon

AI’s Boundaries and Human Creativity: A Conversation...

Mind Matters ·

2024/09/12

In this recent radio interview, prefaced by a brief introduction from Discovery Institute representative Dr. Tom Winkler, host Mark Davis speaks with Dr. Robert Marks, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University and director of the Discovery Institute’s Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. Marks discusses his book Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Read More ›Source

en-US