The Giants Shoulder #44 Meet the Neuroscientist Using AI to Unlock the Secrets of Language! Dr Evelina Federenko
Jul 29, 2025
Dr. Evelina Fedorenko, a cognitive neuroscientist at MIT, is at the forefront of understanding how our brain processes language. In this conversation, she reveals that our inner monologue might be an illusion and discusses how AI models like GPT mimic human cerebral activity. The exploration covers the relationship between language and thought, the distinct regions in our brains responsible for them, and the process hyperpolyglots use to learn multiple languages. Lastly, the podcast dives into the philosophical questions around AI consciousness and its implications for neuroscience.
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You Don't Think in Words
- People do not literally think in words despite having an inner voice or inner speech.
- Language regions in the brain are not active during thinking, challenging common assumptions.
Model-Brain Representational Convergence
- Different language AI models and the human brain converge on similar representational spaces when processing language.
- This shows AI models approximate human brain responses, suggesting a shared reality representation.
LLMs Reshape Language Research
- Large language models (LLMs) unexpectedly matched or surpassed human language performance.
- This offers a new computational system to study language mechanistically beyond biological limits.