Monday, March 18, 2024

Should we worry about the potential of AI?




At the time when writing was primarily reserved for official and religious documents, philosophers polished their craft through meticulous oral arguments. The advent of papyrus expanded access to recorded knowledge, which raised concerns for Plato: "For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them." Plato feared that writing would supplant memorization, potentially leading to intellectual decline. Plato was right that writing made memorization of long passages redundant, but it preserved ancient knowledge, among them Plato's ideas.  

For a thousand years after Plato, writing remained the exclusive privilege of the aristocracy, priests, and clergy until Gutenberg invented the printing press. This marked a significant turning point in history, democratizing access to written knowledge and creating a demand for literacy. The widespread availability of the Bible fostered a new sense of brotherhood, equality, and human dignity, as expressed in the New Testament.

With the emergence of AI, we stand at the brink of another transformative era, with the potential to reshape society just as profoundly as the writing or the printing press did. AI offers myriad ways to expedite technological evolution, including task automation, data analysis, predictive modeling, revolutionary advancements in healthcare and drug discovery, optimization of manufacturing and supply chains, natural language processing, idea generation, simulation creation, and personalized user experiences on a global scale. 

On a personal level, the AI revolution promises to significantly increase our free time. Will we use this opportunity to access freely available knowledge or seek empty entertainment? The answer to this question determines the future of society. My upcoming book, Emotional Reasoning: Insight into the Conscious Experience, discusses the nature of consciousness and other fascinating questions about human behavior and the anticipation of artificial consciousness. 


The book is slated for publication by CRC publisher in August of 2024.



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Tuesday, February 20, 2024

My latest book, "Emotional Reasoning: Insight into the Conscious Experience"


 

Beginning with Pauli, exploring the physical world has inspired many physicists to contemplate the mind as a physical entity. Inversely, a broad range of scientific disciplines, including psychology and neuroscience, turned to physics for a deeper understanding.

Adept response to stimuli requires a profound grasp of the physical world's organizational principles and governing laws. Our intrinsic intuition facilitates our adaptation to the environment, enabling thinking and behavior. Remarkably, the operational structure observed in the physical world also appears to be part of our psychology.

In a thought-provoking journey, Emotional Reasoning pushes the boundaries of understanding the mind and emotions. The author turns to physics to formulate a new vision of consciousness as an irreducible entity (similar to particles, the fundamental units of energy or matter). The fermionic mind hypothesis emerges as a tour-de-force synthesis and framework of consciousness, the elemental unit of intellect. It highlights particle organization, a fundamental structure that cannot be understood as the sum of its parts, to be the essential analogy between fermions and consciousness. 

Engaging and penetrating, Emotional Reasoning represents a groundbreaking perspective that will surprise you at every turn. It will enhance your confidence through understanding yourself and your place in the cosmic order. Beyond neuroscience, the book holds profound implications for artificial intelligence research. It reveals the intricate link between consciousness and the physical universe, echoing the philosophical insight of John Wheeler. "The physical world is, in some deep sense, tied to the human being." 


The book will be published by CRC publisher in a few months. 




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Copyright © 2024 by Eva Deli

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

The Shifting Dynamics of Gender Power: Does it threaten male dominance?

 


Recent high-profile sexual abuse cases have brought issues of power, gender dynamics, and societal transformations to the forefront. For example, E. Jean Carroll filed and won a lawsuit against Donald Trump for sexual assault. In another similar case, Prince Andrew reached a settlement that included a "substantial donation" to a charity led by Virginia Giuffre, the alleged victim. Other downfalls of powerful men due to sexual accusations exemplify a significant cultural shift.

The #MeToo movement, born out of the widespread revelation of sexual misconduct allegations across various industries, gave voice to survivors and challenged entrenched power structures. This movement has empowered women beyond mere abuse and harassment to challenge traditional gender roles and gain a more significant role in every facet of society.

Nevertheless, the fear of false accusations and the potential misuse of claims of sexual harassment have led to apprehension among some men. Women's empowerment also threatens traditional gender roles. The gradual disappearance of the domineering male role has triggered anxiety, highlighting the complexity of navigating a cultural transformation that challenges long-standing norms and power structures. 

In the past, the lack of a social net made individual welfare and often survival dependent on the family, making the traditional family structure and unity crucial. Due to their greater strength, men took on roles perceived as external and protective. At the same time, women, due to the biology of childbirth and nursing, assumed nurturing and caregiving responsibilities. Wars and outside conflicts reinforced the division of responsibilities. The male inheritance of property, titles, and wealth sealed the inferior role of women in society. 

The twenty-first century has witnessed significant social transformations, including the global spread of democracy, increasing women's participation in the workforce, and a sexual revolution. Women's contributions are increasingly necessary in the economy. These monumental changes occurred parallel with a decline in total testosterone levels among men. Science cannot account for the cause of this significant change. Our more democratic social environment at work and home may be behind this hormonal change. Greater participation for men in child-rearing and housework, on the one hand, and uninhibited professional career opportunities for women, on the other hand, transform interpersonal relationships and power structures.

As we navigate this era of change, fostering open dialogue and promoting understanding is essential to build an inclusive and respectful society for both sexes. 


Picture credit: E. Jean Carroll by Julieannes MO, via Wikimedia 




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Sunday, December 3, 2023

What Is Psychological Spin?

 


My manuscript, "What Is Psychological Spin? A Thermodynamic Framework for Emotions and Social Behavior," was published in Psych last week. It explores how individualistic motivations form the root causes of social inequality. 

Consciousness science seeks to explain how the neural system produces psychology and social phenomena. A prominent example is quantum cognition. In this vein, the perception cycle is a reversible energy-information exchange with the environment with rapid shifts in orientation that can give rise to the dynamic and probabilistic features of perception and decision-making. 

Homeostatic regulation, occurring on many levels, is vital to life. Emotional regulation, centered on the resting state, sits at the top of this hierarchy and maintains a genetically, culturally, and personally determined cognitive comfort. While the cortical library creates multidimensional emotional experiences, emotional regulatory power originates from their energy nature, consisting of only positive and negative motivation. Thus, the reversible cycle's emotional polarities are endothermic or exothermic conditions analogous to particle spin. The endothermic process increases intellect due to energy input from the environment. This is a psychological up spin, promoting openness and creativity.

In contrast, the exothermic process, which expels energy into the environment, corresponds to down spin. The fear-based and insecure orientation causes polarization and divergence. As fermions' half-spin shapes matter via the Pauli exclusion principle, it also leads to social animals' territorial or personal space needs. Contradictory and competitive tendencies generate hierarchic social structures and inequality.


Want to learn more? what my video: https://youtu.be/Jq118Y7iYBI



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Thursday, October 26, 2023

Characterizing Consciousness Using Mathematical Tools





What is consciousness? It's a question that has philosophers and scientists baffled for centuries. But now, a new study has used the Yoneda lemma, a mathematical concept, to characterize consciousness based on its similarities to fermions, which make up matter.

What is the Yoneda lemma? The Yoneda lemma is a mathematical concept that characterizes relationships between concepts by looking at categories of objects. The Yoneda lemma states that the relationship between two categories is entirely determined by how object maps in the first category are mapped to object maps in the second category.

What are fermions? Fermions are elementary particles with half-integer spin, which provides their space-filling properties to form matter. Some examples of fermions are electrons, protons, and neutrons.

The mathematical model of the Yoneda lemma showed that consciousness and fermions have identical connection maps, proving their near-identic structures and operations (Shown below). The finding that consciousness and fermions are similar is significant because it provides a new way to think about consciousness. It suggests that consciousness is not something separate from the physical world but rather a fundamental part of it.

The findings could lead to new ways to understand and treat consciousness-related disorders, such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, the work provides a new way to think about consciousness and its relationship to the physical world.

The hypothesis is supported by many neuroscience, psychology, and social sciences findings. 

Ways to test the hypothesis:

  1. The neural systems energy relationships, particularly neural computation, can be studied in dish brains.
  2. Computer simulation can test the validity of the hypothesis. 
  3. Analysis of time series from electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data permits quantifying brain activity states and their corresponding transitions.




The connection maps of consciousness and fermions according to the Yoneda lemma. 

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Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Positive Psychology; is it Possible to Strive for Long-term Wellbeing?

 



The contemporary interpretation of karma has paved the way for positive psychology, a field dedicated to investigating the advantages of optimistic thinking and improving the quality of life. It is defined by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as the study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels, including personal and cultural dimensions of life. It offers evidence-based interventions to boost well-being and enhance life satisfaction by exploring concepts like flow, gratitude, resilience, and hope. It provides tools to lead more fulfilling lives and for societies to foster more thriving citizens.

The Minnesota Nun Study is a longitudinal study of Catholic sisters belonging to the School Sisters of Notre Dame congregation. The study delves into the life trajectories of these nuns, revealing that complexity, fluency, and imagination in youth protect against later cognitive impairments like Alzheimer's. Positive thought processes, a sense of dignity, and forward-looking anticipation foster well-being and healing and can contribute to longevity. Traits like faith, love, and courage catalyze enduring enthusiasm, generosity, and cooperation. Even in broken relationships or loss, one can find transcendence and closure through emotional healing.

In today's rapidly evolving society, psychological well-being is closely linked to personal growth and expanding possibilities. While happiness serves as a motivator for striving toward a brighter future, the mere act of feigning happiness proves ineffective. Deceiving our employers, friends, or partners might be possible, but deceiving our own minds remains an impossible challenge. 

The principles of positive psychology extend to communities as well. Physical proximity, touch, and embracing signify group unity, cohesion, and mutual trust.




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Thursday, September 21, 2023

Newly Discovered Pattern of Brain Waves can Signal Depression's Presence

 




A new report in "Nature" reveals a neural code that connects to the presence or absence of depression in the brain. This is a significant step forward in our understanding of this widely-spread condition. 

– A Hub for Depression is discovered: - Subcallosal Cingulate, also known as "Brodmann area 25," is a region located deep in the brain intersecting with four major nerve fiber tracts. These pathways are closely involved in functions often affected by depression, such as emotional regulation, sleep, appetite, reward, motivation, and memory. This location is crucial to the onset and progression of depression. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) effectiveness targeting this area has increased over the years, thanks to refined techniques that enable precision.

- Promising Biomarker found: The neural code researchers found within the subcallosal cingulate could indicate relapses in depressive episodes, which can help clinicians provide more targeted interventions.

- Brain Scans & Their Revelations: Pre-surgery scans of participants indicated a correlation between damage to specific nerve fiber tracts and the severity of their depressive symptoms. These insights might lead to more advanced imaging techniques for early detection.

- Facial Expressions as Indicators: Using artificial intelligence, facial changes were discovered that mirrored the brain's wellness signals. This suggests an external and visible indicator that connects to the internal neural changes related to depression. This combination of neurology and technology shows promise for early and non-invasive diagnostic methods. 

Abbott Laboratories, an American multinational medical devices and healthcare company, is now working with the FDA on a plan for a clinical trial based on these promising results.


Read the whole article: Implanted electrodes pick up a pattern of brain waves that can signal the presence or absence of depression.


Picture credit: Eva Deli: Depression



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