New blog post: The Hairball of Human Knowledge
What does the universe of human knowledge look like? A neat disk with the frontier at the edge? Nope, it's a porous hairball with the frontier sprinkled throughout. A mess, but a beautiful mess.
Under 6 minutes to read.
mtmason.com/the-hairball...
03.03.2026 14:59
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A dilettanteβs philosophy of mind - Matthew T. Mason
For 50 years I have tried to hide from the philosophy of mind. I failed. Time for a brain dump. Computationalism and the mind-body problem.
New blog post: A Dilettante's Philosophy of Mind. For fifty years I have tried and failed to ignore philosophers, especially the philosophers telling us that AI is destined for failure. Maybe a brain dump will alleviate the pressure.
Under 6 minutes to read.
mtmason.com/a-dilettante...
03.02.2026 12:16
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AI and Robotics: Scientific Revolution #3 - Matthew T. Mason
AI and robotics constitute a third scientific revolution, after the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions. And nobody has noticed!
Time for another blog post! AI and Robotics: Scientific Revolution #3. We are living through a third scientific revolution, after the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions. And almost nobody has noticed!
Under five minutes to read.
mtmason.com/ai-and-robot...
06.01.2026 11:22
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Don't trust smart people! - Matthew T. Mason
Some ideas about refining your ideas, starting with a chat with Jeff Schneider. Don't trust smart people's ideas, especially your own ideas!
I just added a new post: Don't trust smart people! Some ideas about refining your ideas, starting with a chat with Jeff Schneider, and featuring cameos by Marvin Minsky and Allen Newell. A seven-minute read. Hope you find it fun and/or enlightening!
mtmason.com/dont-trust-s...
05.11.2025 12:57
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Robo Exodus - Matthew T. Mason
A possible future, when we can build robots with true minds, consciousness, pain, joy, etc., and compare our work with evolution's work.
Time for blog post number nine -- "Robo Exodus." The question: What happens when we produce robots with true minds? Fifty years in the future, Professor Moses faces this challenge in a discussion with Evolution Personified.
An eight-minute read. Hope you like it.
mtmason.com/robo-exodus/
07.08.2025 10:12
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Vacuum grippers versus robot hands - Matthew T. Mason
Will robot hands one day replace vacuum grippers in the warehouse? No chance.
Blog post number eight -- "Vacuum grippers versus robot hands." Here's the question: when humanoids can do everything a human can, will they take over the warehouse? No! Vacuum is awesome! Vacuum grippers are the wheels of manipulation!
It is only an five-minute read. Hope you like it.
02.07.2025 13:57
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The Heart of Robotic Manipulation - Matthew T. Mason
Contact is the heart of robotic manipulation. To understand manipulation, you must understand contact.
I pushed out another blog post! How to close a drawer, how to do just about any manipulation, based on techniques described by Dan Whitney in a talk I attended about 50 years ago.
It is only an eight-minute read. Hope you like it.
mtmason.com/the-heart-of...
06.05.2025 14:59
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The Inner Robot - Matthew T. Mason
How our subconscious processes mislead us on the nature of human manipulation, by managing it brilliantly and quietly.
Time for another blog post -- "The Inner Robot" -- on how our subconscious processes mislead us on the nature of human manipulation, by managing it brilliantly and quietly. Hope you find it rewarding. It is a seven-minute read.
mtmason.com/the-inner-ro...
06.03.2025 14:27
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New blog post: Robo Genesis.
I was trying to think about robot design, from an evolutionary perspective, and it occurred to me I could have a character, Evolution Personified (EP) conversing with a roboticist. Moses, burning bush, ten commandments... sacrilegious? Not offensive I hope.
04.02.2025 11:23
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The forebot and the buttlebot - Matthew T. Mason
What happens when humanoids arrive to modernize a warehouse, or a home? What instructions do you give them? How much freedom do you give them?
I added a post to my blog:
The Forebot and the Buttlebotβ
mtmason.com/forebot-and-...
Here's the question. What happens when you deploy robots in a warehouse, or in a home? What instructions do you give them?
It is only a four-minute read. Hope you like it.
02.01.2025 16:49
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Watching this interview with Rodney Brooks. Great perspective from a deep thinker.
bsky.app/profile/rodn...
06.12.2024 18:26
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The Beetle Roboticists: A Parable - Matthew T. Mason
How do we assess ideas about humanoids, without our anthropocentric bias? Maybe if the ideas were being pushed by another species. Beetles?
I just posted my 2nd blog post.
Here's the idea: How do we assess ideas about humanoids, without our anthropocentric bias? Maybe if the ideas were being pushed by another species. Beetles?
It's only a four-minute read.
mtmason.com/the-beetle-r...
24.11.2024 22:14
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