219 - Joscha Bach: Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and the Threat of AI Apocalypse

Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7 Joscha Bach is a computer scientist and artificial intelligence researcher currently working with Liquid AI. He has previously done research at Harvard, MIT, Intel, and the AI Foundation. In this episode, Joscha and Robinson discuss the nature of consciousness—both in humans and synthetic—various theories of consciousness like panpsychism, physicalism, dualism, and Roger Penrose’s, the distinction between intelligence and artificial intelligence, the next developments of ChatGPT and other LLMs, OpenAI, and whether advances in AI will spell the end of humankind. Joscha’s X: https://x.com/Plinz OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 03:33 Why are Legos Like Computer Programs? 08:23 Philosophy and Mental Representation 11:17 Using Computer Science to Understand Reality 16:26 Could We Make Minds from Machines? 19:14 Is Reality a Simulation? 21:46 What Is the Mind? 24:27 What Do Mysterions Believe About Consciousness? 26:20 Does Roger Penrose’s Theory of Consciousness Make Sense? 35:15 Could Dualism Explain the Human Mind? 37:58 What Is Physicalism About the Human Mind? 41:03 What’s Wrong with Panpsychism? 47:58 On the Next Breakthrough in Consciousness 52:59 What Is Intelligence?  55:45 What’s Artificial Intelligence? 58:22 What Defines the Current Wave of AI? 01:00:57 On the First AI Winter 01:04:55 On Meaning, LLMs, and ChatGPT 01:08:18 Does ChatGPT Mirror the Human Mind? 01:13:18 Is ChatGPT Intelligent? 01:18:43 Will ChatGPT Become Smarter than Humans?  01:24:25 What Is the ARC Challenge for AI? 01:27:58 Will ChatGPT Philosophize Better than Philosophers? 01:35:04 Are Apple, Google, and Microsoft on the Cutting Edge of AI? 01:39:16 Shoulder We Fear AI? 01:45:34 Are We the Smartest Thing on Earth? 01:49:47 What’s More Dangerous: The Internet or AI? 01:54:20 Could AI Take Over the Planet?  01:59:22 Will AI Make Human Artists Obsolete? 02:04:10 Will AI Make Humankind Dependent on the One Percent? 02:11:28 Could AI Solve Climate Change? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-betwee