The (Terrifying) Theory That Your Thoughts Were Never Your Own
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal
Engaging Q&A and Exclusive Content Promotion
This chapter features an engaging Q&A session with listeners, showcasing the unique content available on Substack. The hosts conclude with acknowledgments, exclusive subscription offers from The Economist, and a call to connect further with the podcast.
As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe What if your thoughts aren’t your own? Professors Elan Barenholtz and William Hahn propose that language is not a tool we use but a self-generating organism that uses us. In this mind-bending live discussion at the University of Toronto, they argue that language installs itself in our minds like software, runs autonomously, and shapes behavior at a deeper level than we realize. Drawing on LLMs, autoregression, and cognitive science, they suggest your brain may function like a predictive engine and that “memory,” “self,” and even “God” may just be tokens in an informational system. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 05:28 The Nature of Autoregression 10:14 Memory and Cognition Redefined 11:28 The Role of Language Models 14:23 Exploring Consciousness and Software 26:22 The Evolution of Language 38:08 Language: A Cultural Artifact 54:19 The Power and Danger of Language 1:02:52 Embracing Uncertainty in Knowledge 1:04:59 Courage to Believe in Ideas 1:09:30 Support and Engagement with Content Links Mentioned: • Elan’s Substack: https://elanbarenholtz.substack.com/ • Elan’s Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2grAjZsAAAAJ&hl=en • William’s Blog: https://hahn.ai/blog/index.html • Ekkolapto’s Site: https://www.ekkolapto.org/ • Andrés Emilsson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/BBP8WZpYp0Y • Elan Barenholtz [TOE]: https://youtu.be/A36OumnSrWY • Anna Ciaunica & Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2aLhkm6QUgA • William Hahn [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3fkg0uTA3qU • Michael Levin’s Presentation [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Exdz2HKP7u0 • Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 • Geoffrey Hinton [TOE]: https://youtu.be/b_DUft-BdIE • Ai Panel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/abzXzPBW4_s • Joscha Bach & Ben Goertzel [TOE]: https://youtu.be/xw7omaQ8SgA • Noam Chomsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DQuiso493ro • Michael Levin Solo [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s • Consciousness Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/65yjqIDghEk • Joscha Bach [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3MNBxfrmfmI • Scott Aaronson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/gGsh0_-q7LI • Iain McGilchrist [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Q9sBKCd2HD0 • The Master and His Emissary [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Master-His-Emissary-Divided-Western/dp/0300188374 • Michael Levin & Karl Friston [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0yOV9Pzk2zw • Shape Rotators vs Wordcels [Article]: https://sasamilic.medium.com/some-thoughts-on-the-shape-rotator-vs-worcel-meme-f320261a21cd SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The AI-powered Podcast Player
