Artificial Intelligence and the Return of Behaviorism

Throughout the mid-twentieth century, social scientist B.F. Skinner developed a revolutionary theory of human psychology known as behaviorism. Skinner’s theory eschewed concepts such as the “mind” and “will” as psychic fictions and declared that all human behavior could be mechanistically explained as a series of stimuli and responses. Although Skinner’s theory was highly influential, it was ultimately sidelined, largely because it could not adequately explain the complex process of human language learning.

In an article for First Things, Nikolas Prassas connects Skinner’s theory of behaviorism to key breakthroughs in the development of artificial intelligence. While human language learning cannot be reduced to Skinner’s terms, AI systems learn in essentially the same way that Skinner described. The success of the behaviorist learning model in AI has prompted renewed efforts to reduce all human behavior—including language acquisition—to those same behaviorist categories.

Prassas warns that the ultimate goal of the behaviorist project is to control human behavior. Tech companies offer an alarming illustration of how manipulating stimuli can produce intended responses. Those who value transcendent ideals—the good, the true, and the beautiful—must resist attempts to reduce reality to behaviorist terms.

Read the rest of Prassas’ article here.

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An American Revival

This past Sunday, millions of Americans tuned in to the nine-hour memorial service for Charlie Kirk. The event featured speeches from President Trump, Vice President Vance, and many other high-profile conservative leaders. It was also unabashedly Christian in tone, with many speakers openly sharing the gospel and Erika Kirk publicly forgiving her husband’s killer, referencing Christ’s words on the cross.

In an essay on his Substack, Rod Dreher reflects on the power of Charlie Kirk’s memorial service. For Dreher, the event served as a stark contrast to the Left’s response to George Floyd’s death in 2020. Floyd’s death unleashed a storm of riots, looting, and burning in cities across America—while Kirk’s death ushered in a revival of faith and a recommitment to love of God and country.

Dreher recalls remarks he made during a roundtable discussion at ISI’s recent Homecoming Weekend, where he suggested that, in Europe, any Christian revival would ultimately result from young people’s desire for something real. The faith-filled Kirk memorial service, Dreher says, shows that young Americans are hungry for deeper meaning, too. This renewed emphasis on faith in times of darkness has the power to bring America back from the brink.

Read the rest of Dreher’s reflection on Charlie Kirk’s memorial service here.

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Compendium

Every article we feature here is available to read for free. Articles from paywalled publications are available through gift links.

1. Robert Draper on Erika Kirk’s poise in tragedy in The New York Times.

2. Michael Schaffer on Washington’s ICE shockwave in POLITICO.

3. Beth Akers on the college tuition crisis in The Dispatch.

4. Ted Gioia on vanishing classics in American culture in The Honest Broker.

5. Mary Townsend on digital abstinence in an age of AI in Plough Magazine.

6. Matthew Yglesias on student performance in the 21st-century classroom in Slow Boring.

7. Tony Badran on sectarian Catholicism in American politics in Tablet Magazine.

Upcoming ISI Events

If you enjoy what you’re reading here, we invite you to engage with ISI at one of our upcoming in-person events.

• American Politics and Government Summit | October 9–11 | Wilmington, DE
  This annual scholarly conference examines the theme Statesmanship and Leadership in the Age of Mass Society and draws on timeless thinkers to address modern challenges. The summit is open to the public, offering rigorous discussion across history, politics, literature, and related fields.

• An Evening with Calley Means | October 23 | Wilmington, DE
  Join ISI and the Brandywine Women’s Coalition for an evening with Calley Means, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health. Means will share insights on America’s rising chronic disease crisis and offer practical steps to reclaim lasting vitality.

• An Evening with Ann Coulter | November 8 | Wilmington, DE

  Join ISI for a reception and dinner with best-selling author and nationally renowned columnist Ann Coulter. Coulter will deliver an unforgettable keynote address on the role of conservative media in shaping the national conversation, drawing on her illustrious media career.

Visit our events page on our website to see all upcoming events.

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This week, from ISI’s Digital Media:

In this episode, Modern Age editor Dan McCarthy reflects on Kirk’s courage, the speech tax conservative groups now face, and the slow erosion of free expression in the name of safety. McCarthy explains how the Left and its institutions have weaponized fear to silence dissent.

Subscribe to Modern Age with Dan McCarthy here.

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This week, from the Collegiate Network:

ISI’s Collegiate Network supports over 80 student-run publications across the country, empowering students to run independent college newspapers, magazines, and journals that report on important issues ignored by the mainstream media.

• Has UChicago Lost Its Institutional Neutrality? via The Chicago Thinker
  When the ivory tower picks a side, what happens to ‘neutrality’ on campus?

• Chivalry and the Modern Man via The Brownson Record
  Modern manners and old virtues—a thoughtful case for bringing back chivalry.

• Freedom to Carry?: A Critique of North Carolina Senate Bill 50 via The Lemur
  North Carolina’s new bill allows 18-year-olds to carry concealed guns without a permit. Will this worsen the state’s gun violence crisis?

• Sigma Chi Coalition Sues Stanford Trustees for $50 Million via The Stanford Review
  Stanford is facing a $50 million lawsuit from Sigma Chi alumni who say the school broke its founding documents to seize their house.

• How Do We Heal a Broken Nation? via The New Guard Press
  After Charlie Kirk’s tragic death, a grieving nation is turning to faith, family, and freedom—igniting a spiritual revival across America.

Visit our Student Journalism section to read more from the Collegiate Network.

Pride, Prejudice, and Progressivism

Progressive activists use many popular denigrating terms to describe those on the right, but perhaps the most well-worn is “prejudiced.” Leftists often caricature conservatives as bigoted individuals harboring ancestral biases against various identity groups. But in doing so, they ignore the potential prejudices in their own beliefs.

In this week’s article from Modern Age, Craig F. Knoche reviews a new book by Anthony T. Kronman on this very topic. True Conservatism: Reclaiming Our Humanity in an Arrogant Age delves into the Western philosophical tradition to make the case for conservatism and highlight major problems with progressivism.

Knoche summarizes Kronman’s description of the three “prejudices” of progressive thought. First, progressives favor equality over every other societal good. Second, they are biased against the past, viewing it as a mere data point rather than an authoritative tradition. Finally, they favor “tolerance” while rejecting objective truths about God and eternity.

Kronman then points conservatives away from these prejudices. As Knoche writes, Kronman’s “true conservative” should see excellence as the highest good, respect the authority of tradition, and “revere transcendence as the hallmark of humanity.”

Read more of Knoche’s review here on the Modern Age website.

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Modern Age is ISI’s flagship publication. Visit modernagejournal.com and subscribe for a free daily newsletter.

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