Dr. Chris Summerfield is a neuroscientist, cognitive scientist, and author of These Strange New Minds — a groundbreaking exploration of whether machines like ChatGPT are starting to think, and what that reveals about human intelligence itself.

Summerfield has spent his career studying how the brain perceives, predicts, abstracts, and decides — and now he's using that knowledge to decode how artificial systems are learning to do the same, often without being told how.

Expect to learn why your brain might just be doing autocomplete on reality, how AI systems are starting to mirror human thought through pure prediction, why large language models can form meaning without understanding, how intelligence might just be compression, why abstraction is the secret weapon of both humans and machines, how AIs trained on language are learning the structure of the world, what it means that they’re beginning to talk to each other, whether these systems could develop agency, and why the most profound insights about our own minds may come from the machines we’ve built — and no longer fully understand.

Timestamps:

01:40 The Evolution of Deep Learning

04:41 Language Generation Breakthroughs

07:43 Human vs AI Language Production

10:49 Neuroscience and Language Models

13:45 The Journey to Computational Neuroscience

16:26 Neuro-AI: Bridging Two Fields

19:52 Understanding Neural Networks and the Brain

22:46 Neural Manifolds and Their Significance

25:36 The Impact of AI on Neuroscience

28:43 Future Directions in Neuro-AI

32:31 Exploring Foundation Models in Behavioral Science

37:49 Understanding and Misunderstanding AI Outputs

42:42 The Rise of Multimodal AI Models

46:36 AI Safety and Ethical Considerations

59:11 Aligning AI with Human Values

...

📚 RECOMMENDED READING

These Strange New Minds: https://amzn.to/4jKowBO

...

_Follow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder_

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

_Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)_

Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )

Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)

Consensus.AI: AI Powered Research (Use Code GIANTSSHOULDER for 1 Year Free Premium Sub)

“The Family Is Ordained of God” | Ronald A. Rasband | 2025

BYU Speeches

Family Roles and Responsibilities

The AI-powered Podcast Player