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TED Tech

The TED AI Show: Could AI really achieve consciousness? w/ neuroscientist Anil Seth

Dec 10, 2024
Anil Seth, a leading professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience at the University of Oxford, explores the mind-boggling issue of AI and consciousness. He discusses the fundamental differences between human intelligence and AI, warning against the risks of attributing human-like qualities to these technologies. Seth delves into how AI can aid our understanding of the brain while emphasizing the importance of treating AI as a tool. He raises thought-provoking questions about the future of conscious AI and the ethical implications of our relationship with machine intelligence.
56:51

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • AI's limitations stem from a lack of quality data and exhaustion of scaling laws, delaying breakthroughs like consciousness.
  • The distinction between intelligence and consciousness underscores AI's inability to experience life qualitatively like humans do.

Deep dives

Limitations of Current AI Development

AI models are facing significant limitations in their current development trajectory, as reports from researchers indicate a slowdown in improvements due to the exhaustion of scaling laws related to pre-training. The growth of AI systems relies heavily on the availability of quality data, and there is a growing concern that the data pool is becoming less useful over time. This indicates that achieving a breakthrough in AI, such as self-awareness or consciousness, is likely to take much longer than previously anticipated. Consequently, the narrative around rapidly advancing AI capabilities must shift to a more realistic understanding of its technological boundaries.

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