Mind Matters | Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Latest Articles

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 3, 2026

Categorized
Evolution, Human exceptionalism, Language

Tagged
Ape laughter, Consciousness, hard problem of consciousness, Primate laughter, Primitive language concept}

A Case for the Special Creation of Human Language

_{A widely publicized thesis around ape and human laughter falls so woefully short that it forces an evaluation of other possibilities} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 3, 2026

5

Evolution, Human exceptionalism, Language}

Portrait of a cheerful adult chimpanzee showcasing biodiversity and wildlife conservation

^{Type
post

Jeffrey Funk
Date
July 2, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI Slop, Hallucinations, Low success rates, Management, Products}

Is AI’s Low Success Rate a Management or AI Failure?

_{Cory Doctorow’s new book sheds light on AI’s failure} _{Jeffrey Funk
July 2, 2026

7

Artificial Intelligence}

Caution warning sign indicates a potential error danger in the digital technology system. Symbol exclamation, system failure or trouble. Notice important website maintenance and available on internet

^{Type
post

Gary Smith
Date
July 1, 2026

Categorized
Business and Finance, Large Language Models (LLMs), Law

Tagged
Anthropic settlement, Carriers vs. publishers, Hallucination in Large Language Models (LLMs), Munich Google AI Overview decision (2026)}

Plagiarism and Defamation—Two More Bad Things LLMs Are Good At

_{The authors’ and publishers’ copyright claims against the chatbot developers are only one of the legal problems the industry faces} _{Gary Smith
July 1, 2026

5

Business and Finance, Large Language Models (LLMs), Law}

Concept image to explain how AI hallucinations occur when an AI model generates false or illogical information that isn't based on real data or events, but is presented as fact.

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
June 30, 2026

Categorized
Law

Tagged
Activists, Canada, Rights for trees, Subversive ideology}

Canadian Town Grants Rights to Trees

_{As usual in these cases, the argument supporting such nonsense is irrational} _{Wesley J. Smith
June 30, 2026

4

Law}

Road among the trees. Corresponds to the seasons of the year: autumn, winter, spring. Day, tree branches close the road, forming a tunnel. Water, ice, and frost form a dangerous slippery slope.

^{Type
post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
June 30, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Privacy

Tagged
Daniel Solove, Mercy (film 2026), Officer-involved shooting (OIS), On Privacy and Technology (book 2025), Privacy rights}

Privacy Rights: Innermost Thoughts Can Smash Your Life

_{As I have discovered, justice can depend upon how adverse people view your private thoughts} _{Richard W. Stevens
June 30, 2026

8

Artificial Intelligence, Law, Privacy}

Police officer chases a suspect down a narrow, dark city alleyway.

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
June 30, 2026

Categorized
Ethics

Tagged
Euthanasia, Mental ilness, Minors, Netherlands, teenagers}

Twelve-Year-Old Euthanized in the Netherlands: Not a First

_{Dutch teenagers have also been euthanized over the years, including some with mental illnesses} _{Wesley J. Smith
June 30, 2026

3

Ethics}

^{Type
post

Georgios Mappouras
Date
June 29, 2026

Categorized
Artificial general intelligence (AGI), Information Theory, Probability

Tagged
Algorithmic novelty, functional information, Georgios Mappouras, Infinite monkeys theorem}

That Monkey Cannot Even Find Shakespeare!

_{When it comes to randomly typing out the complete works of Shakespeare, time is not the monkey’s problem; information is} _{Georgios Mappouras
June 29, 2026

5

Artificial general intelligence (AGI), Information Theory, Probability}

Monkey wearing glasses is sitting at a desk with a laptop. The monkey appears to be working on the laptop, possibly typing or browsing the internet. Concept of humor and playfulness

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
June 29, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Military

Tagged
Featured, Human cannonball, Weapons}

Monday Micro Softy 85: Are You Up To Caliber?

_{There is a serious question here: Why might small differences in caliber matter?} _{Robert J. Marks
June 29, 2026

7

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Military}

A realistic depiction of a human cannonball mid-air, soaring through the circus tent as the crowd gasps in awe

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 28, 2026

Categorized
Politics, Science

Tagged
Andrea Gawrylewski, Colin Wright, Featured, H. Winet, Science funding, Vitomir Kovanovic}

Is Government’s Relationship with Science “Crumbling”?

_{There are many issues out there on which science disciplines are not earning our trust and we can't properly evaluate the scene without confronting that} _{Denyse O'Leary
June 28, 2026

6

Politics, Science}

3d illustration of Science background molecule and atom model.

^{Type
post

David Klinghoffer
Date
June 27, 2026

Categorized
Cosmology

Tagged
David Klinghoffer, Peter Stanford, The Story of Everything (film)}

An Unusual Story of Everything Review from the UK

_{David Klinghoffer
June 27, 2026

3

Cosmology}

Night sky, swirling nebulae, distant galaxies , astrophysics, cosmology

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
June 27, 2026

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
George Lucas, JJ Abrams, Memberberries, review, Star Wars}

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 1

_{Gary Varner
June 27, 2026

6

Science Fiction}

Stars nebula in space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 26, 2026

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
A Cleermans et al., Consciousness research, Copernican Principle of Consciousness, Degenerating paradigm, Hans Busstra, Imre Lakatos, Imre Lakatos (1922–1974), Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Tim McMillan, Wiliam Hunter}

Science Can Fully Explain Consciousness? By 326 Theories…

_{To call consciousness studies a degenerating paradigm might be too charitable. How much of it rises to the level of falsification?} _{Denyse O'Leary
June 26, 2026

5

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

consciousness intelligence, brain neuron generative ai

^{Type
post

Andrew McDiarmid
Date
June 25, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, education, Essays, human mind, LLMs, Reading}

How to Think Clearly in the Age of AI

_{AI isn’t really artificial intelligence, but simulated intelligence} _{Andrew McDiarmid
June 25, 2026

16

Artificial Intelligence}

^{Type
post

Michael Egnor
Date
June 24, 2026

Categorized
Ethics, Free will, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990), Jerry Coyne (on free will), Noam Chomsky, Robert Sapolsky, Sam Harris}

On Free Will and Morality, Jerry Coyne Doesn’t Walk His Talk

_{This is part of my response to his critique of a talk I gave in March at the 2026 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith} _{Michael Egnor
June 24, 2026

8

Ethics, Free will, Philosophy of Mind}

Dented car wing and fender with scratches and bumps after crash and car accident with hit-and-run driving and absconding shows need for car insurance and safety protection and mechanics garage service

^{Type
post

Andrew McDiarmid
Date
June 23, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Carl Sagan, Chatbot Claude, Dawkins, human brain}

Skynet Goes Live

_{The most amazing computer in the universe is still your own brain} _{Andrew McDiarmid
June 23, 2026

4

Artificial Intelligence}

Ai chatbot with educational icons connected to a person using a laptop

^{Type
post

Peter Biles
Date
June 22, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, ChatGPT, Consciousness, Technology}

New Study Finds Many Pastors Use AI in Various Ways

_{It's not just schools. AI is in the churches, too} _{Peter Biles
June 22, 2026

3

Artificial Intelligence}

A robot is reading a book in a church. The robot is white and has a book in its hand. The church is empty and the robot is standing in the middle of the room

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
June 22, 2026

Categorized
Probability

Tagged
Emergent behavior, Featured, Monday Microsofties, Swarm intelligence}

Monday Micro Softy 84: Meet the Followers

_{What happens when everyone in the swarm is a follower?} _{Robert J. Marks
June 22, 2026

6

Probability}

A line of ants marching across a sandy surface with a large area of empty sky above for text.

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 21, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy, Physics

Tagged
Dean Rickles, Graham Phillips, John Archibald Wheeler (1911–2008), Leonard Susskind, Multiverse (proponents), Paul Davies, Quantum Mechanics}

Science Writer Takes Aim at Many Universes Theory

_{Phillips sees it as a materialist dodge. But a proposed alternative is definitely not your everyday theory either} _{Denyse O'Leary
June 21, 2026

5

Philosophy, Physics}

^{Type
post

Kenneth Francis
Date
June 21, 2026

Categorized
Psychology

Tagged
Case studies, Demons, Evil, Killers, Sexual abuse}

What Makes an Ostensibly Normal Person Evil

_{How is it possible for these monsters to live ordinary lives in public view?} _{Kenneth Francis
June 21, 2026

6

Psychology}

Conceptual art of think, brain mind, mental health, spiritual, soul and psychology. concept idea art. surreal drawing illustration. isolated on a white background.

^{Type
post

Casey Luskin
Date
June 20, 2026

Categorized
Extraterrestrial life, Technology

Tagged
Bipedalism, Casey Luskin, Extraterrestrials (ET), Fire, Homo Erectus, Metallurgy, Michael Denton, Miracle of Man (book 2022), Technology (humans as adapted)}

ETs in UFOs Would Not Exist in a Purposeless Universe

_{Biologist Michael Denton’s work shows that human technology is not an accident of humans simply adapting to our environment} _{Casey Luskin
June 20, 2026

9

Extraterrestrial life, Technology}

Podcast