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Could Machines Be Conscious? A Conversation with Dr Tom McClelland on Minds, Machines and the Hard Problem of Consciousness

Cambridge philosopher Dr Tom McClelland argues we should be agnostic about AI consciousness. He explains why language models have broken humanity’s tools for detecting minds, why our judgments about machine minds are motivated, whether AI can…

Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL 26 min read

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“What truly captured my imagination was his audacious courage to accept the universe as it truly was, despite the daunting consequences that loomed over him. This portrayal imbued in me a sense of science as a form of heroism.”
— Lawrence Krauss Theoretical Physicist & Public Advocate for Science and Atheism
“Most every decision that your team will make is independent of you as a leader. If those individuals and teams don't know what that end-game truly looks like, the odds of them making the right decision at any moment in time diminishes.”
— Chris Hadfield Canadian Astronaut & International Space Station Commander
“It is, in fact, what we call an enterogastrone hormone — an ileal brake hormone — that sends the signal that enough is enough, stop.”
— Jens Juul Holst

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Ten essays. Distilled from 600+ conversations.

Insights, themes and patterns from years of long-form interviews — organised around the questions that matter most.

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  1. 01 Business & Economics A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience 360 interviews
  2. 02 Culture, Society, Sports & Arts A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience 234 interviews
  3. 03 Politics & Policy Incorruptible: Eric Ries on Why Good Companies Go Bad — and How to Build Ones That Don’t 167 interviews
  4. 04 Science & Technology Could Machines Be Conscious? A Conversation with Dr Tom McClelland on Minds, Machines and the Hard Problem of Consciousness 135 interviews
  5. 05 Health & Medicine The Continuum of Mind: A Conversation with Professor Michael Levin on Cognition, Bioelectricity and the Future of Being 74 interviews
  6. 06 Nobel Laureates Markets, Morals and the Road Ahead: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Professor Alvin Roth 21 interviews

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