80,000 Hours Podcast #206 – Anil Seth on the predictive brain and how to study consciousness
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Nov 1, 2024 
Anil Seth, a neuroscientist and director at the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, delves into what makes us conscious. He presents the idea that perception is a 'controlled hallucination' shaped by our brain's predictions. The discussion tackles intriguing topics like the phenomenon of blindsight and the implications of split-brain studies. Seth suggests that consciousness in animals—and even machines—may reflect our own. His excitement for future research reveals the mysteries still surrounding the nature of consciousness.
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Perception as Inference
- We experience the world indirectly; our perceptions are interpretations, not direct reflections of reality.
- This idea, dating back to Kant and Helmholtz, suggests our brains infer what's out there, like with color perception.
The Dress Illusion
- The dress illusion, where people perceive different colors, demonstrates individual differences in how brains interpret ambient light.
- This highlights how color perception is an inference, not an objective truth.
Controlled Hallucination
- Our brains generate perceptions by making predictions about the world and updating them with sensory data.
- This "controlled hallucination" is tightly coupled to reality, but still internally generated.
