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.
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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.
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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.
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In 'Being You: A New Science of Consciousness,' Anil Seth presents a radical new theory of consciousness, arguing that we are 'prediction machines' constantly inventing and correcting our perception of the world. The book delves into the biological mechanisms of the brain, exploring how billions of neurons create our conscious experience. Seth discusses the 'controlled hallucination' viewpoint, active inference, and the 'beast machine' theory, which views consciousness as a process of regulating the body's essential variables through interoceptive signals. The book is a synthesis of philosophy, science, literature, and personal experience, making complex science accessible and engaging[1][3][5].
"In that famous example of the dress, half of the people in the world saw [blue and black], half saw [white and gold]. It turns out there’s individual differences in how brains take into account ambient light. Colour is one example where it’s pretty clear that what we experience is a kind of inference: it’s the brain’s best guess about what’s going on in some way out there in the world. And that’s the claim that I’ve taken on board as a general hypothesis for consciousness: that all our perceptual experiences are inferences about something we don’t and cannot have direct access to." —Anil Seth
80,000 Hours Podcast 
