239 - Ned Block: Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and the Philosophy of Mind

41 snips

Dec 29, 2024

Ned Block, a Silver Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at NYU, dives into the perplexities of consciousness and artificial intelligence. He critiques the Turing Test and discusses its shortcomings in assessing AI like ChatGPT. The conversation spans interesting concepts such as blindsight, the connection between seeing and thinking, and the provocative thought experiments that challenge our understanding of intelligence. Block also reflects on his own philosophical influences, making for a deeply engaging dialogue.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Chomsky on LLMs

Noam Chomsky didn't believe LLMs could teach us about the human mind or language learning.
He referenced impossible languages and the different functionality of LLMs compared to humans.

INSIGHT

Block on Chomsky and LLMs

Ned Block believes Chomsky underestimates the importance of AI models like LLMs.
Block argues LLMs reveal much about human thought and autocomplete's role in the mind.

ANECDOTE

Naive Turing Test Subjects

Naive subjects in early Turing tests were easily fooled by simple programs.
A 100-line program in BASIC convinced people they were talking to a person.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

The Story of Her Life

Autobiography

St Teresa of Avila

In "The Story of Her Life," St. Teresa of Avila recounts her spiritual journey with remarkable honesty and humor. She details her early life, struggles with worldly desires, and eventual profound conversion. The book offers insights into her mystical experiences, using relatable analogies to explain complex spiritual concepts. It's a testament to her unwavering faith and dedication to prayer, inspiring readers to deepen their own relationship with God. Her candid portrayal of her imperfections makes her a relatable figure for those struggling with spiritual dryness or doubt.

The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind

Julian Jaynes

Julian Jaynes's "The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" is a controversial but influential work that proposes a revolutionary theory about the evolution of human consciousness. Jaynes argues that consciousness as we know it emerged relatively recently in human history, and that earlier humans experienced the world differently, receiving instructions and guidance from internal voices they attributed to gods. This "bicameral mind," Jaynes suggests, was a state of consciousness where the left and right hemispheres of the brain functioned more independently. The book draws on evidence from ancient literature and mythology to support its claims, sparking considerable debate among scholars. While its central thesis remains highly contested, the book's imaginative approach to understanding consciousness continues to inspire discussion and further research.

A theory of justice

John Rawls

In 'A Theory of Justice,' John Rawls develops a moral theory of justice as fairness, which is an alternative to utilitarianism. The theory is based on the social contract approach and uses the concept of the original position and the veil of ignorance to derive two principles of justice. The first principle, the greatest equal liberty principle, ensures that each person has an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. The second principle, which includes the difference principle and the equal opportunity principle, states that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Rawls's theory aims to reconcile liberty and equality in a well-ordered society.