Mind Matters

Artificial intelligence already surrounds us and has made inroads into banking, accounting, and digital technology. It’s ubiquitous. In today’s episode, Robert J. Marks reminds us that AI is like fire: its benefits and value depend on how wisely (or foolishly) we use it. Additional Resources Source

How can we compassionately relate to those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease? Is the mind more than the brain? Dr. Stephen Post, an expert in the field and author of Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People, speaks with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on memory, consciousness, and whether the mind could have arisen from matter. Additional Resources Source

With the advent of social media, rates of teenage depression, suicides, and body image problems have skyrocketed. These are symptoms of digital addiction. How can we combat digital addiction and promote digital wellness especially in youth? Kent Marks talks about his departure from Boy Scouts and his transition to Trail Life USA, which seeks to offer an antidote to digital Read More › Source

The Boy Scouts of America used to enjoy a booming membership. But after some significant policy changes and a giant lawsuit, the organization is rapidly declining. In this episode, Robert Marks speaks with former Boy Scout leader Kent Marks on his experience in the organization and the enduring need to help boys navigate life in the digital age. Additional Resources Source

Will AI take us over? Will we ever reach a point where humans and machines will completely merge? In this episode, world-renowned Oxford mathematician John Lennox answers questions about artificial intelligence and the transhumanist claim that AI will turn humans into gods. Additional Resources Source

Dawn Wible, the founder of Talk More Tech Less, continues her conversation with Robert J. Marks on digital tech. How can we healthily use technology instead of being manipulated by Big Tech? In this episode, she lays out practical steps people can take to reclaim their time, relationships, and mental health. Additional Resources Source

Dawn Wible, founder of the digital wellness organization “Talk More Tech Less,” talks with Robert J. Marks about her advocacy for healthy screen time among children and young adults. Phone usage has dramatically increased in the last decade, especially during COVID-19. How can we be healthy and whole in a society so saturated with digital media? Additional Resources Source

In this week’s episode, Robert Marks resumes his conversation with tech consultant and expert Jeffrey Funk. They focus on ChatGPT, its value and limits, and the hype that often accompanies new developments in AI. Additional Resources Source

Humans have created technology for centuries. But what happens when we stop using tech and tech starts using us? In this episode, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Andrew McDiarmid sits down with Robert J. Marks to talk about the root meaning of technology, how it has developed, and the ways we can healthily navigate our highly technologized world. Additional Resources Source

In a continuation of last week’s conversation, technology experts Jeffrey Funk and Robert J. Marks explore the question of where today’s technological innovation is fostered. Academia? Private corporations? The military? Since many universities now prize publication over innovation, much of the real progress is being made elsewhere. Additional Resources Source

In this podcast episode, technology consultant and author Jeffrey Funk joins Robert J. Marks to talk about the artificial intelligence industry, how it’s used by Big Tech, and AI’s exaggerated hype. How do we respond to AI when technology is changing every year? Additional Resources Source

In this continuation of last week’s conversation, ex-Googler Blake Lemoine tells Robert J. Marks what originally got him interested in AI: reading the science fiction of Isaac Asimov as a boy in rural Louisiana. The two go on to discuss and debate sentience in AI, non-computable traits of human beings, and the question of the soul. Additional Resources Source

Former Google employee Blake Lemoine claimed that the Large Language Model LaMDA was a sentient being. The claim got him fired. In this episode, Lemoine sits down with Robert J. Marks to discuss AI, what he was doing at Google, and why he believes artificial intelligence can be sentient. Additional Resources Source

Can you beat casinos at their own game? Sometimes. Don Johnson beat Atlantic City casinos for over $15 million during a six-month period in 2011. Find out the ins and outs of casino gambling and card counting as Robert J. Marks interviews gambling expert Sal Cordova. In this intriguing podcast, you will discover how artificial intelligence plays poker, the strategies Read More › Source

Robert J. Marks and Charlie Crockett discuss how the normalization of online pornography is connected with sex trafficking and abuse. In fact, the two industries are inextricably linked. They also discuss how military communications are affected by the widespread use of porn because of the high demand for spectrum (a limited resource). Additional Resources Source

Robert J. Marks and Charlie Crockett continue their conversation on the sad reality of human trafficking. In this episode, they focus particularly on how social media has become a place where predators will search and highlight children’s vulnerabilities — which so many young people share online. Marks and Crockett encourage parents to develop relationships of trust with their children and Read More › Source

Robert Marks speaks on the difficult topic of human trafficking with his guest Charles Crockett, who works with the anti-trafficking advocacy organization Unbound Now. Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world and goes undetected all over the U.S. Marks and Crockett talk about the scope of the problem, common misconceptions about trafficking, and how to help victims in need. Read More › Source

In this episode, Robert J. Marks talks with Pat Flynn on the Philosophy for the People podcast. Together they discuss the benefits and limits of the GPT-3, the mind-body problem, and the unique, “non-computable” qualities of the human person. Source

Perhaps you’ve heard of the “mind-body problem,” but what about the relationship between the mind and the brain? Is the mind just an illusion produced by the brain or is it something totally separate? Robert Marks talks with neurologist Andrew Knox on these topics and more in this week’s Mind Matters podcast episode. Additional Resources Source

Robert Marks and Andrew Knox continue their conversation on neurology, epilepsy, and mental illness. In this episode, they focus on the medications and practices that can help restore proper brain function, from antidepressants to forms of surgery to Elon Musk’s potential “Neuralink.” Additional Resources Source