AI and Consciousness

Advances in artificial intelligence are of interest because of what they may say about consciousness. If a machine can acquire human-like sentience, does that mean consciousness is entirely an emergent property of brain functioning? If so, it would arguably eliminate human consciousness as a phenomenon that proves God’s existence. All the more reason, then, that we […]

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“Artificial Intelligence”

What the words mean It seems like there’s a new article or book almost weekly on the coming impact of Artificial Intelligence. The phrase, “artificial intelligence,” has always been puzzling to me, however, and I think we should stop and consider it, the more so if the phenomenon it denotes is actually introducing a disruptive […]

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Chappie

You know the word “chap” as a British-ism, like “bloke” or “mate,” a casual reference to a male acquaintance. The diminutive form, “chappie,” would suggest an added level of bonhomie. The words (“chap” and “chappie”) have currency in South Africa, which, in futuristic vision, is the setting of a 2015 movie titled Chappie. In the movie, the sobriquet is […]

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Review (Part Four): The Experience of God—Being Consciousness Bliss, by David Bentley Hart

Consciousness The mechanistic vision of reality holds that material forces are inherently mindless; intrinsically devoid of purpose.  Consciousness, on the other hand, is everything that matter is not:  directed, purposive, essentially rational.  Materialism and the fact of consciousness cannot be reconciled. The materialist point of view means making no accommodation for any spiritual reality.  But […]

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