Lex Fridman Podcast

#101 – Joscha Bach: Artificial Consciousness and the Nature of Reality

465 snips
Jun 13, 2020
Joscha Bach, VP of Research at the AI Foundation and a former researcher at MIT and Harvard, dives deep into artificial consciousness and reality's nature. He explores the intricacies of human cognition, pondering the distinctions between sentience and intelligence. Bach discusses the challenges of understanding consciousness, the implications of a possibly simulated universe, and how narrative influences our perception of self and existence. He also raises concerns about humanity's future amidst technological advances and ecological crises.
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ANECDOTE

Joscha's Upbringing

  • Joscha Bach grew up in East Germany, in a valley full of books, raised by artist parents.
  • Feeling like an outsider, he found solace in reading, devouring everything from children's books to science fiction.
INSIGHT

Nature of Truth

  • Objective truth requires understanding the nature of truth itself, which the brain defines through predictive models.
  • Mathematical truth and model correspondence are types of truth, but a fundamental truth lies in the fact that something exists.
INSIGHT

Untethered Thinking

  • Joscha's upbringing detached him from mainstream ideas, allowing unique intellectual development.
  • He prioritizes asking new questions and designing new methods over established, potentially unproductive ones.
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