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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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“Ultimately, I think we'll be able to pop a pill and reset our body's age. It takes us about 4-8 weeks currently to reset the age of a mouse, it shouldn't be any different for humans.”
— David Sinclair Longevity researcher & Harvard Medical School professor studying aging and lifespan extension
“We believe that by being open, honest and transparent with communities- they are more likely to protect, respect and patronise our projects. Our primary responsibility is to make money for our investors. That however, is not mutually exclusive to making positive change.”
— K. Robert “Bobby” Turner
“There are various forms of hostage-taking, each with distinct characteristics. Broadly speaking, one can categorise them into political and criminal hostage-takings. Political hostage-taking involves abducting someone to gain a political leverage—this is the first type. The second type is criminal hostage-taking, where the motive is ransom. Both types are illegal, as forcibly detaining someone is a criminal act, but the distinction helps clarify the underlying motives.”
— Terry Waite Envoy and Negotiator Who Was Held Hostage in Lebanon

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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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