Mary Martin

sensationalist headlines conjuring fears of a techno-dystopian near-future overshadow more material issues over AI ethics that already exist – including how they reflect human biases, and the many ways in which they’re capable of manipulating users.

intelligence has inadvertently become a ‘human success’-shaped cookie cutter we squish onto other species. Switching from baking to sports metaphors, we could say that everyone else – animals, amoebas, AIs and aliens – has to play the game on a field that we have laid out, according to rules that we have established and proven ourselves extremely... See more

The picture of the mind that most people have is still one in which passion and reason are separate, and emotions get in the way of clear thinking. But metacognitive feelings show the constant interaction of ‘reason’ and ‘passion’ in our mental processes. Moreover – as we’ll explain – these feelings are consequential. In fact, cognitive prowess... See more

One problem is that consciousness means different things to different people. For example, some researchers focus on the subjective experience — what it is like to be you or me. Others study its function — cognitive processes and behaviours enabled by being conscious. These differences muddy attempts to compare ideas.

Human beings simply aren’t wired for longitudinally taking care of themselves; we engage with the things that we find interesting and intrinsically motivating. Simply knowing that something is “good for us” isn’t a catalyst for changing our behavior. An effective therapy must be something a patient wants to do because it is compelling, and not... See more

new study examines the potential of artificial intelligence to shift chronic pain treatment from opioids to mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Utilizing machine learning to analyze extensive patient data, the study aims to predict which patients will benefit most from MBSR, a critical step towards personalized medicine.