Spiral Stream
Sparks in spiraling nautilus
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Mission

The mission of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Discovery Institute is to explore the benefits as well as the challenges raised by artificial intelligence (AI) in light of the enduring truth of human exceptionalism.

People know at a fundamental level that they are not machines. But faulty thinking can cause people to assent to views that in their heart of hearts they know to be untrue. The Bradley Center seeks to help individuals—and our society at large—to realize that we are not machines while at the same time helping to put machines (especially computers and AI) in proper perspective. In place of an idolatry that would make machines our masters, we are working for a society that will regard machines as our servants and helps us to understand the best ways for machines to enhance life and the human experience.

The Bradley Center aims to investigate, critically examine, and apply the conceptual foundations, theoretical findings, technological breakthroughs, practical applications, and philosophical implications connected to the distinction between natural and artificial intelligence, and notably between human versus machine intelligence.

Our areas of focus include:

  • Research to delineate the fundamental differences between natural and artificial intelligence.
  • Analysis of the limits of AI.
  • Development of effective educational modalities for helping humans to learn and interact effectively with machines.
  • Applied research on how humans can enhance their knowledge and skills so that they can lead meaningful and productive working lives, with special emphasis on how augmenting human capabilities via AI impacts society.
  • Exploration of entrepreneurial opportunities that arise from the nonalgorithmic aspects of human creativity. Computers are incapable of nonalgorithmic operations.
  • Digital wellness, outlining the healthy ways for humans to interact positively with machines and the unhealthy ways to be avoided.
  • Support for appropriate technologies and entrepreneurship to promote human flourishing in developing countries.

The Bradley Center encourages cross-disciplinary interactions. Core disciplines underpinning our activities include computer science, business, neuroscience, education, and philosophy.

To better understand the relevance of our work, we encourage you to read our briefing paper, “What’s at Stake in the Debate over AI.”