It's been a while since I've had a chance to highlight Graziano's attention schema theory. This brief video is the very barest of sketches, but I think it gets the main idea across. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MASBIB7zPo4 Those of you who've known me for a while might remember that I was once quite taken with this theory of … Continue reading Michael Graziano’s attention schema theory
Tag: Consciousness
Are zombies conscious?
This is not a question about philosophical zombies. I did a post on them a while back. (The TL;DR is that I find that whole concept ranges from incoherent to dubious, depending on the exact version.) This post is on the zombies we see in fiction, such as Night of the Living Dead, the Resident … Continue reading Are zombies conscious?
Protecting AI welfare?
John Basl and Eric Schwitzgebel have a short article at Aeon arguing that AI (artificial intelligence) should enjoy the same protection as animals do for scientific research. They make the point that while AI is a long way off from achieving human level intelligence, it may achieve animal level intelligence, such as the intelligence of … Continue reading Protecting AI welfare?
Do boiling crawfish suffer?
Recently I visited one of my cousins and, as is tradition for a lot of people this time of year, we had a crawfish boil. Eating boiled crawfish (crayfish for you non-Cajuns) is an ever present activity in southern Louisiana, at least when they're in season, and I've had my share over the years. Although … Continue reading Do boiling crawfish suffer?
Frans de Waal on animal consciousness
Frans de Waal is a well known proponent of animals being much more like us than many people are comfortable admitting. In this short two minute video, he gives his reason for concluding that at least some non-human animals are conscious. (Note: there's also a transcript.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvehvv9ZOdQ de Waal is largely equating imagination and planning … Continue reading Frans de Waal on animal consciousness
Is superintelligence possible?
Daniel Dennett and David Chalmers sat down to "debate" the possibility of superintelligence. I quoted "debate" because this was a pretty congenial discussion. (Note: there's a transcript of this video on the Edge site, which might be more time efficient for some than watching a one hour video.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHN_o6RqrHY Usually for these types of discussions, … Continue reading Is superintelligence possible?
David Chalmers on the meta-problem of consciousness
David Chalmers is famous as the philosopher who coined the hard problem of consciousness, the idea that how and why consciousness is produced from a physical system, how phenomenal experience arises from such a system, is an intractably difficult issue. He contrasts the hard problem with what he calls "easy problems" such as discriminating between … Continue reading David Chalmers on the meta-problem of consciousness
Malcolm MacIver on imagination and consciousness
Sean Carroll's latest episode of his podcast, Mindscape, features an interview with neuroscientist Malcom MacIver, one that is well worth checking out for anyone interested in consciousness. Consciousness has many aspects, from experience to wakefulness to self-awareness. One aspect is imagination: our minds can conjure up multiple hypothetical futures to help us decide which choices … Continue reading Malcolm MacIver on imagination and consciousness
Kurzgesagt on the origin of consciousness
This video by Kurzgesagt is pretty interesting. A word of warning; it's funded by Templeton, which I know will bother some of you, but I found the content to be reasonably solid from a scientific perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6u0VBqNBQ8& The only real issues I might have are the mysterian overtones at the beginning, and the assertion that … Continue reading Kurzgesagt on the origin of consciousness
A neuroscience showdown on consciousness?
Apparently the Templeton Foundation is interested in seeing progress on consciousness science, and so is contemplating funding studies to test various theories. The stated idea is to at least winnow the field through “structured adversarial collaborations”. The first two theories proposed to be tested are Global Workspace Theory (GWT) and Integrated Information Theory (IIT). GWT … Continue reading A neuroscience showdown on consciousness?
SelfAwarePatterns 