WILL AI ROBOTS BE SENTIENT & THE QUANTUM FOUNDATIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS - Suzanne Gildert PhD #82

Nov 1, 2025

In this discussion, Suzanne Gildert, a quantum engineer and AI researcher, delves into the intriguing intersection of AI and consciousness. She shares her journey from quantum computing to exploring sentient robots, raising ethical questions about their potential experiences. Suzanne also touches on the ties between quantum physics and consciousness, advocating for experimental approaches to test these links. The conversation highlights the need for careful regulation as technology advances, questioning what consciousness truly means in a robotic context.

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INSIGHT

Materialism Misses Consciousness

Suzanne Gildert found materialism lacking after eight years trying to build conscious humanoid robots.
She concluded consciousness may require something missing from current scientific/materialist accounts.

insights

INSIGHT

Three Pillars Of Consciousness

Gildert separates consciousness into what, how, and why questions.
She defines consciousness primarily as phenomenal subjective experience — it feels like something to be a system.

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INSIGHT

Classical Worlds From Quantum Fields

Gildert agrees the classical world should be built up from quantum fields.
She views particles as pinched-off excitations still connected via classical boundaries.

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Childhood Curiosity and Visual Thinking

02:38 • 2min

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Why Shift from Quantum Computing to AI and Robotics

04:32 • 2min

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Losing Faith in Materialism After Failing to Build Conscious Robots

06:54 • 3min

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What Working with Qubits Taught About Matter

09:32 • 1min

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Defining Consciousness: What, How, and Why

10:46 • 2min

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Why Build Physics From Quantum First

12:34 • 3min

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Quantum Biology Examples Challenging 'Too Hot, Too Wet'

15:54 • 2min

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Protecting Quantum States in Biology and Labs

18:16 • 2min

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Penrose–Hameroff Overview and Microtubule Evidence

20:12 • 5min

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Testing Quantum–Consciousness Links Versus Two Mysteries

25:23 • 2min

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Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave Function?

27:45 • 3min

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Why Build Sentient Robots: Curiosity and Understanding Minds

30:17 • 2min

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Turing Test Limits and Philosophical Zombies

32:19 • 2min

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Where Goals Come From in AI vs. Life

34:10 • 2min

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Hardware, Sensing, and the Generalization Problem

36:19 • 3min

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Consciousness as Frontier Learning Versus Muscle Memory

39:17 • 2min

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Embodiment Differences: Human Brains vs. Current AI

41:38 • 1min

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Will AI Become Conscious or Merely Imitate It?

43:00 • 5min

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Anthropomorphism Risks and Cultural Reliance on Non-Conscious AI

47:53 • 2min

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Ethics, Rights, and Regulating Consciousness in Robots

50:11 • 3min

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Survival Instinct Reports and Training Data Explanations

53:23 • 4min

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Brain Decoding Studies and Correlations vs. Causation

57:27 • 2min

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Biological Substrates, Organoids, and Higher Consciousness Likelihood

59:26 • 2min

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Using Anesthetics on Neural Tissues as Consciousness Tests

01:01:50 • 2min

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Is the Biosphere a Technology or Teleological System?

01:03:57 • 5min

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Quantum Conscious Agent Theory: Inspirations and Ingredients

01:09:14 • 1min

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Why Quantum Theories Are Testable: A/B Quantum vs Classical

01:10:18 • 1min

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Building Quantum Conscious Agents and Connecting Outputs to Robots

01:11:27 • 3min

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Quantum Annealing and Optimization Models

01:14:11 • 2min

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Agency at the Quantum Level: Pinched-Off Excitations and Bubbles

01:16:23 • 4min

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Experimental Progress, Controls, and Noise Elimination

01:20:50 • 3min

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Would Quantum Evidence Prove Panpsychism?

01:23:54 • 2min

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Buddhism, Individuation, and Larger Conscious Systems

01:25:54 • 4min

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Next Steps: Understanding Quantum Agents Before Robotic Integration

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Will artificial intelligence robots have subjective experience? What are the ethical and safety implications of such entities? Which quantum physics theory can accommodate consciousness?

In this episode we have the extraordinary possibility of subjective experience and feelings in artificial intelligence robotic systems to think about. So we look at experiments to try and prove if it’s even possible; the quantum building blocks from which both living and artificial systems are made up; the ethical and safety implications of advanced intelligence instantiated in robots, and we get into the controversial search for a quantum physics theory that can accommodate consciousness.

Fortunately, my guest today is not only one of the first pioneering scientists to really devote themselves to the creation of sentient human-similar robot minds and bodies, but is also an experimental physicist working with quantum computing systems. She is of course the quantum engineer, consciousness researcher and AI computer scientist Suzanne Gildert. She has written over 80 scientific papers, founded several successful AI companies and has dozens of US patents for her inventions.

What we discuss:

00:00 Intro.

04:25 Her move to AI & robotics from quantum computing.

06:45 Something missing from materialism.

11:00 The what, how and why of consciousness.

12:20 Remembering quantum fields are the base level of reality.

15:50 Quantum Biology - John Joe McFadden.

18:20 ‘Protecting’ quantum coherence environments.

20:00 The Penrose-Hameroff microtubules quantum consciousness theory.

24:40 The risks of the “two mysteries” argument.

30:10 Looking for subjective experience in AI robots.

33:55 “Reward function”, purpose led, agential behaviour doesn’t emerge naturally in AI.