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Human-Chimp Gene Comparison Hints at Roots of Language | Wired Science | Wired.com
By comparing how a gene critical for language works in humans and chimpanzees, researchers have identified an entire network of genes involved in the incredible linguistic powers of Homo sapiens.
Darwin's Robots | h+ Magazine
This experiment in swarm robotics shows both the coordination of multi-robot systems consisting of large numbers of simple physical robots and the evolution of collective communication behaviors. The study of artificial swarm intelligence as well as the biological studies of insects, ants, and other swarms in nature provides insight into the nature of intelligence in general, and offers an interesting perspective on the nature of Darwinian selection, competition, and cooperation.
Do you read me HAL? Robot wars, moral machines and silicon that cares - Part 2
The theatre of war is changing, radically. With a push towards autonomous, robotic devices capable of killing - should the Laws of War change? One artificial intelligence leader argues machines could be more ethical and humane than humans in the battlefield. But, with thousands of robotic devices already being deployed, is robotics keeping up with ethics? (All In The Mind - 8 August 2009)
Do you read me HAL? Robot wars, moral machines and silicon that cares - Part 1
Robots are among us. They might be on their way in to childcare and aged care as silicon carers too. Will the 'digital natives' born today be more comfortable with that prospect? And, many thousands have now been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, with billions being invested in the development of fully autonomous killing agents. Will they fight fairly? Could they be more ethical and humane than humans? Over a series of shows, Natasha Mitchell speaks to leading roboticists and thinkers about the brave new now. (All In The Mind - 1 August 2009)
A debate in Nature on Darwin and the mind
Last April, Johan J. Bolhuis and Clive D. L. Wynne published in Nature (458(7240), 832-833) a paper entitled "Can evolution explain how minds work?" doubting the use and usefulness of evolutionary analysis in understanding cognitive mechanisms. In response, Lewis Wolpert ("Cognition: evolution does help to explain how minds work" in Nature, 459(7246), 506-50), Sara J. Shettleworth ("Cognition: theories of mind in animals and humans." in Nature, 459(7246), 506-506) and Frans B. M. de Waal ("Darwin's last laugh." in Nature 460, 175 (9 July 2009) freely available here) separately defended the use of evolutionary theory, and in particular comparative analysis, in the study of cognition.
Robots evolve to deceive one another
In a Swiss laboratory, a group of ten robots is competing for food. Prowling around a small arena, the machines are part of an innovative study looking at the evolution of communication
The Origin of the Mind
The first step in figuring out how the human mind arose is determining what distinguishes our mental processes from those of other creatures
FIVE PROBLEMS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MIND By Stuart Kauffman
I have presented the mind-brain identity theory in the context of two physical theories: first one in which a multiparticle quantum-classical system is capable of decohering reversibly to classicity, or classicity for all practical purposes. This allows mind to have consequences for brain without having to act by efficient cause on brain. This appears to resolve two outstanding problems in the philosophy of mind that have plagued us since Descartes: how the mind 'acts on' matter - it does so acausally via decoherence. How does mind act on mind - via the quantum decohering-recohering dynamical behavior of the mind-brain identity system. (Edge)
The Mysterious Downfall of the Neandertals
Scientists have long debated what led to their disappearance. The latest extinction theories focus on climate change and subtle differences in behavior and biology that might have given modern humans an advantage over the Neandertals. (Scientific American)
Ray Kurzweil Wants to Be a Robot
Ray Kurzweil can't wait to be a Cyborg—a human mind inside an everlasting machine. But is this the next great leap in human evolution, or just one man's midlife crisis writ large?
Distributing/Disturbing the Chinese Room
I think the Chinese Room is worth a second look not for the force of its argument but for what it reveals about contemporary ideas on what constitutes the essence of the human, especially intelligence, consciousness, and meaning. Excavating these and juxtaposing them with current controversies over the boundaries of the human will enable us to see what has changed, why it has changed, and what the change signifies in the decade and a half that has passed since Searle delivered the coup de grace that failed to deliver.
Did Morality Really Evolve?
That morality evolved is a commonplace among evolutionary biologists, psychologists, and anthropologists. In this talk, I will however argue that biologists, psychologists, and anthropologists have failed to pay enough attention to the differences between three distinct interpretations of the hypothesis that morality evolved: (1) some components of moral cognition (e.g., some particular emotions, concepts, or norms) evolved, (2) a capacity to grasp and be motivated by norms in general evolved, and (3) a capacity to grasp and be motivated by a distinctive type of norms evolved. Under the first two interpretations, it is fairly uncontroversial that morality evolved, while under the third and most interesting interpretation, the hypothesis that morality evolved is empirically unsupported. Edouard Machery (1), 4/20/09
In search of the conscious will
Studying how people form a conscious intention to move is troublesome for at least two reasons. First, as soon as you instruct a participant that now is the time for them to move freely, of their own volition, you've already undermined the idea that they're making up their own minds. Second, there's no room in materialist science for a conscious will, separate from the electro-chemical workings of brain. (BPS RESEARCH DIGEST)
What Makes Us Human?
Comparisons of the genomes of humans and chimpanzees are revealing those rare stretches of DNA that are ours alone.
Transhumanism and the Limits of Democracy: A paper presented at the Workshop on Transhumanism and Democracy
What is transhumanism? A pretty good definition is offered by bioethicist and transhumanist James Hughes who states that transhumanism is "the idea that humans can use reason to transcend the limitation of the human condition."[i] Specifically, transhumanists welcome the development of intimate technologies that will enable people to boost their life spans, enhance their intellectual capacities, augment their athletic abilities, and choose their preferred emotional states. What's particularly noteworthy is that Hughes argues that democratic decision-making is central to the task of guiding humanity into the transhuman future.
Can evolution explain how minds work?
Biologists have tended to assume that closely related species will have similar cognitive abilities. (Nature)
Curious: Robots
How can what we learn about the brain teach us to teach robots? Can we build a machine that can make learn and make decisions? If we mirror the brain's neural hardware, can we create a machine with a soul? (YouTube)
Our flexible friend (the brain)
There is growing evidence that the brain can be trained to compensate for dead or damaged areas. As Ian Sample reports, this could benefit those suffering anything from a stroke to depression or relationship problems
Are Minds Really Like Computers?
Some people use the metaphor of the mind as a computer in promoting the idea that a mind can be replicated on a computer. It’s a dubious comparison, a writer says.
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