Piltdown Superman

The word Luddite  has been misappropriated to simply mean people who fear change brought about by computers, robots, and the like. It was a movement early in the Industrial Revolution because people were afraid of losing their jobs to machines. Today, there are many speculations about Artificial Intelligence and what will happen. Will robots and AI take over and either destroy or enslave humanity? Not hardly! There has been a spate of material on this subject recently, and I have assembled some of it for your education. Human, robot, and artificial intelligence, Pixabay /  Gerd Altmann A very old joke involves people in an airplane hearing an announcement informing the passengers that the flight was completely automated. The computer recited how wonderful it was, then the announcement ended with the reassurance, "Nothing can go wrong <click> go wrong <click> go wrong <click>..." The joke shows that people are suspicious of computers, robots, and AI. Fears an

Since the beginning, humans have been using implements to improve their existence. Adam probably fashioned a rake and a hoe to tend the garden. Jump forward to advanced technology with computers and artificial intelligence, and there are some startling things going on. The quest for making self-aware artificial intelligence continues, merging humanity and machines in transhumanism , and even the possibility of mind cloning . Man tries to displace God in creation with evolution as well as with technology. The idea of brain-computer interfaces is both exciting and alarming. Network, Pixabay / Gerd Altmann The exciting part is medical, providing people with handicaps or damage to connect with the outside world. Such applications are no more along the lines of playing God as a physician treating an injury or illness. Science fiction writers have provided speculative and even cautionary stories that involve computers, androids, robots, and so on getting control of our minds through hardware

Replacing limbs and such that are the results of birth defects or injuries goes back centuries. The image of a pirate with a pegleg comes to mind. It was a budget prothesis. There are countless other applications throughout history. Advanced forms of prosthesis are from the field of bionics . They are medical biological electronics, popularized by Martin Caidin in his Cyborg  novels and The Six Million Dollar Man television shows. (That much money would only be a down payment today.) Bionic limbs use existing nerves and muscles to operate. Some bionics can even involve robotics and artificial intelligence. Bionic eye, Pixabay / intographics Bionics are used in many ways, and people may not associate their implants and such with that word. What about taking it further? While there's no defying God's creation by mitigating damag caused through defects and mutations (originating in the Fall of Man), some folks with a worldview rooted in naturalism want to help evolution along thro

We have discussed AI before, including how people get obsessed with it ( see the links in " The Worship of Artificial Intelligence ") Now we consider if electrical things can be considered alive. Philosophers have debated what constitutes life in the first place, now AI is added to the discussion. Credit: Pixabay /  David Bruyland Materialists only take a mechanistic view of life based on certain criteria, while biblical creationists know that biblically, life has the breath of life —  nephesh chayyāh , (נפש חיה). There are different ways of considering if something is alive. When a houseplant dies, it is discarded because it does not have that breath of life. Animals have it, and so do people. Those with a materialistic bent will deny that we have a soul. Ironically, secularists search for a physical location of the soul in the body, but it is more than body and brain . We like our robots, simple or intricate. They do dangerous things such as bomb removal , working in radioa

Many advances have been made in the development of AI, and such non-human intelligence is usually based on the particles-to-programmer worldviews of the designers. They even tie evolution into ethics (see " Artificial Intelligence and Evolving Morality "). It is possible to have AI that is, well, disturbing (see " Artificial Psychotic Intelligence "). Despite the obvious possibilities of disaster, some owlhoots want to design a church based on artificial intelligence. Credit: Pixabay / Gerd Altmann Although science fiction stories have been written about people with good intentions making a powerful intelligence for the good of humanity, disaster usually ensues. Have you ever heard the old Emerson, Lake and Palmer song, " Karn Evil 9, Third Impression "? It involves a futuristic war and a computer. At the end, the man says that he is all there is. The computer argues with him, "I let you live". He objects, "But I gave you life!" T

A new expression that I have picked up on is fake news. In many cases, it is an accurate description of how some media outlets will omit important details or even lie outright in order to persuade people. Unfortunately, it also is growing in the secular science industry. Now we have to contend with fake news and artificial intelligence. Pixabay / Garik Barseghyan AI can be used to generate fake news as well as to determine which news is false. This can be both good and bad, depending on who is doing the programming. The results have been a bit unnerving because they are difficult to discern from actual news reports, complete with references.  Any kind of computer or AI depends on the programming it receives, which reflects the biases and worldviews of the programmers (see " Artificial Intelligence and Evolving Morality " and " Artificial Psychotic Intelligence "). Imagine if some sidewinders promote new pharmaceutical products that are not actually cleared

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen The first part of this article will be short and, I think, amusing. I wrote " Artificial Intelligence and Evolving Morality " and then followed up with " Artificial Psychotic Intelligence ". These addressed how some scientists and others want to use AI to discern morality, but AI is determined by the programmers, their biases, and the quality of the programming itself. Robots and other forms of artificial intelligence lack creativity. A couple of researchers at Google attempted to make a machine that would generate lyrics. The results were unimpressive , perhaps only suitable for the hands at the Darwin Ranch after boozing it up on payday or for 21st century pop songs. Not only do machines lack creativity, they don't properly deal with language itself. Language books, Freeimages / dog madic Now we're coming to the main part of this here article. Language evolves. Yes, you heard me right. But I used the word evolves very deli

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen A spell back, I was motivated to write about artificial intelligence and how it cannot compete with the Creator-designed abilities of human children . Another inspiration was given to me for the subject of evolving morality and AI , where some concept of morality must be programmed into a system based on the biases of the programmer. I reckon this is the third in the series. Most of these AI people would conceivably omit Christian ethics and biblical creation science, and probably include leftist opinions. They are likely to include atheistic materialist philosophies. The rest of us have to live with the choices of AI designers. Unfortunately, some foolishly believe that Darwinian processes are related to code, see " Evolution and Software – A Fundamental Misunderstanding – or an Outright Fraud? " Credit: Pixabay / Lukas Computers, robots, AI, whatever — they can only do so much, and their actions are based on how they are programmed. Fears of

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen People have had a fear of machines for a long time, especially since the Industrial Revolution. The term Luddite has been applied to people who loathe technology, but the original protesters were okey-dokey with machinery per se, and instead protested unfair labor practices by destroying certain contraptions . In simpler terms, laborers have had a fear of being replaced by machines for many years. Credit: Pixabay / Gerd Altmann Suspicion of machines naturally extended to robots. While science fiction media often portray robots with humanoid appearances (let's face it, many people don't cotton to dealing with a metal "person"), it depends on the application; robots used for police bomb disposal generally do not look all that human. Some robots can be considered mobile computers if they are sophisticated enough. The history of science fiction is replete with tales of computers having artificial intelligence, and even becoming self-awa

A recent article in The Guardian  discusses how Alex Beard and his wife wanted to study their newborn child's ability to learn. Various cameras were installed, and this interesting (but possibly utilitarian) study indicated that children have a high capacity for learning. This is not all that surprising, since scientists have learned that children begin learning even before they are born. Credit: Pixabay / Adelind Beard said that the best robots and forms of artificial intelligence are unable to compete with human learning. His naturalistic worldview does not allow for a rational explanation for human intelligence, nor does he consider the fact that we are made in God's image. He is right that robots cannot compete. via GIPHY Credit was erroneously given to evolution, and not the Creator who designed us with the capacity for intellectual development and abstract thinking, and created us in his image. His naturalistic worldview would not allow for such things.  To re