The presumption of materialism lies at the root of much of today's journalism and speculation about the future of artificial intelligence. Indeed, it has generated volumes and volumes of hype. A materialistic understanding of human abilities like consciousness, creativity, love, and freedom produce two corollary errors: an overestimation of the potential of algorithms and a downgrading of those qualities in humans. In this episode of Great Minds, Michael Medved discusses these inherent limitations of artificial intelligence and the prospects that AI will evolve into something like ourselves.

Thinking Outside the Materialist Box | Robert J. Marks II

News comes and news goes, but there are some questions that never go away. On Great Minds with Michael Medved, Discovery Institute brings conversations about perennial, ultimate issues that go to the core of our shared values. Each show features a particularly deep and original thinker, a great mind to help us explore great ideas.

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To be a conservative, says Yale polymath David Gelernter, is to “give due credit to the ideas that created the civilization we live within.” A simple and beautiful summary. In a new podcast episode of Great Mind with Michael Medved, Dr. Gelernter talks with our host Mr. Medved about the shocking irresponsibility in the failure to introduce young people to the best achievements in thought. They also, however, discuss evidence that our civilization is due for a healthy correction as we “snap out” of the torpor that suppresses consideration of great ideas. If Gelernter is right, there’s reason for optimism.

Conserving Great Ideas | David Gelernter

Human intelligence sits between fundamental, unbridgeable chasms on either side: animal and artificial intelligence. The capacity for creativity, for one thing, stands permanently outside the reach of algorithms. In a wide-ranging conversation, Robert Marks and Michael Medved tackle questions like what it means for something to be not just unknown but “unknowable.”

Animals, Computers, and Distinctly Human Intelligence | Robert J. Marks II

Join Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and nationally-recognized talk show host Michael Medved for a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Israel from September 8-17, 2019. Visit the sites of both modern and ancient Israel as you explore the relationship between faith and science, discover the archeological evidence for Biblical history, investigate the role of entrepreneurship in the development of new technologies, and learn the amazing behind-the-scenes story of how modern Israel has survived against all odds.

Israel Tour with Michael Medved, Stephen Meyer, and George Gilder

Addressing one of today's most acclaimed technological frontiers, Michael Medved and professor of electrical and computer engineering Robert Marks discuss the limits of artificial intelligence. They begin with definitions — What is a computer? What is an algorithm? — before tackling some pervasive media myths. Can a computer innovate or only imitate? Can computers now really do anything different from the Turing Machine, devised as a model by Alan Turing in the 1930s? Could a computer be programmed to interact with humans like the sinister HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey? The answer is yes, says Bob Marks, and whatever flaws such a machine displayed would be the faults inadvertently woven into it by its human programmers.

Thinking Outside the Materialist Box | Robert J. Marks II

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