Jack Roycroft-Sherry

Alicia Juarrero is a philosopher focused on reductionism in science and complex systems. Science today has become focused on reducing phenomena to their most basic components, like atoms. But it's an open question whether this approach can truly explain everything. What if non-reductionistic concepts such as context, timing and purpose were just as important? In this podcast, expect to learn about the origins of materialism, whether materialism is truly sufficient for understanding the world, the role of complexity and holistic approaches in explaining phenomena, how science is evolving to incorporate higher-level, non-materialist perspectives, and more... 00:00 What are Are The Origins of Materialism? 02:13 The Loss of Purpose and Goal Directedness in Science 05:55 Emergence and the Complexity of Living Systems 11:18 The Dynamic Nature of Equilibrium in Biological Systems 18:05 Identity and the Challenges of Reductionism 24:23 Understanding Relations and Processes 33:06 Understanding Network Dynamics 37:41 Challenging Universal Essences 47:23 The Future of Science and Reductionism 53:23 AI and Context-Dependance

Andrew Richmond: Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher of Mind In recent decades, brain scientists have modeled and studied the mind as if it were a computer, yielding significant results. But does the usefulness of these scientific models justify calling the brain a literal computer? In this podcast, explore what computation truly means, whether it makes sense to describe the brain as a computer, the implications of large language models (LLMs) and AI, the future of neuroscience, and much more. Timestamps: 00:00 The Brain as a Computer In Cognitive Science 01:35 What Is a Computer? 04:19 How We Model the Brain As A Computer Complexity of the Brain and Modeling Challenges 07:23 Complexity in the Brain 15:38 The Utility of Computational Models 18:49 Philosophical Implications of Computational Models 22:28 AI, Computation, and the Mind 26:09 Understanding LLMs and Their Implications 31:03 Future Directions in Neuroscience and AI Research Find Andrew: -Referenced Paper on The Mind and Computation: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mila.12521

Gašper Beguš Is a researcher in AI, cognition and linguistics We are far from fully understanding cognition and language. But what if studying cognition in other animals, like whales, and even in AI—such as how artificial "babies" learn—could help us better unravel the mystery of cognition and language in humans? In this podcast, expect to learn about the origins of language, whether language is unique to humans, whether we can build AI babies that learn like biological agents, how to interpret what is going on within AI systems and their intelligence, the future of AI, and more... TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Where Does Language Come From? 03:47 Can Thought Be Separated From Language? 05:50 AI, Language & Evolution 09:43 Building Artificial Language Learners 12:39 Interpreting AI's Inner World 17:09 Inside AI's Cognition 22:13 Using AI to Understand Animal Language 27:45 What is World of Whales Like? 32:31 AI Can Have New Kinds of Intelligences 36:01 The Path Forward in AI and Language Research Find Gasper: -https://www.gasperbegus.com/ -X @begusgasper

Mazviita is a philosopher specializing in the philosophy of mind and neuroscience. Some say the brain is the most complex object in the universe. If so, is it possible for the brain and mind to be fully understood by science? In this podcast, expect to learn about: the frontiers of neuroscience, the distinction between mere prediction and scientific understanding, the differences between human and artificial intelligence, the true complexity of nature and whether it is possible to fully comprehend it, purpose in nature, and more.... Podcast Timeline: 00:00 - When Was Neuroscience Created? 05:41 - Are There Brain Areas for Specific Tasks? 09:05 - The True Complexity of Neurons 11:04 - Are Neural Networks Enough to Model the Mind? 16:07 - Is There Understanding in Language Models? 20:30 - Brain-like AI 23:45 - Prediction vs. Scientific Understanding 31:40 - What Really Is Science? 37:04 - How Complex Is the World? 39:31 - Is the World Mechanistic? 44:48 - Cognition at Low Levels 52:10 - AI vs. Life 54:00 - Souls ​ ​ Find Mazviita: -Latest Book: "The Brain Abstracted: Simplification in the History and Philosophy of Neuroscience", which has just won the Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize from The Royal Institute of Philosophy. Find it here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548045/the-brain-abstracted/ -2015 Book: "Outside Color: Perceptual Science and the Puzzle of Color in Philosophy"

Hugo Mercier is a cognitive scientist and evolutionary psychologist. Cognitive science has revealed that human cognition is rife with biases and what are often perceived as "flaws." But why would evolution lead to the development of such traits? This podcast explores how these so-called flaws may not actually be flaws at all, but rather adaptations that serve specific purposes, whose true evolutionary functions we have failed to see. In this podcast, discover what we often misunderstand about cognitive biases, what cognition actually evolved for, how the faculty of reason and higher-order intelligence developed, the power of intuitive reasoning, why we use all of our brain rather than just 10%, and more... TIMESTAMPS 00:00 What We Get Wrong About Reason 03:18 Why Did Reason Evolved if Its Flawed? 07:4 Reason Evolved To Convice Others and Communicate 15:50 Reason as Distributed Cognition For Civilization 20:38 When Reasoning Goes Wrong 25:10 "Intuitive" vs "Rational" dichotomy 31:17 Its Hard to Correct Our Intuition Brain 35:48 Intuitions About Who To Trust 42:35 How Has Science Evolved?

Andreas Wagner is a biologist studying the mechanisms of evolution. Evolution not only generates novel innovations but does so repeatedly. For example, the eye has evolved independently around 50 times across different species throughout evolutionary history. How does evolution consistently discover such innovations? Andreas Wagner's research group explores the underlying structure of genotype spaces to map out the possible innovations that can arise. By examining how evolution navigates this space through genetic mutations, they aim to understand how valuable traits emerge. In this podcast, expect to learn whether evolution operates solely through DNA, how evolution is being studied through lab experiments, the mathematical structure of genotype spaces that evolution explores, whether DNA is the only medium for evolutionary processes, and more... Podcast Timestamps: 00:00 The Current View of How Evolution Works 04:06 How Mutations Create Variation 09:24 Male vs Female Mutation Accumulation 11:33 Evolution Before We Understood DNA 15:10 How Evolution Creates Complexity 17:58 Genotype-Phenotype Mapping 23:48 How Does Evolution Avoid Dead Ends? 28:20 How Does Evolution Explore Genotype Space to Innovate? 33:35 Scientists Exploring Genotype Space in the Lab 39:20 Why Do Genotype Spaces Exist? Find Andreas' Books: - Sleeping Beauties: The mystery of dormant innovations in evolution - Arrival of the Fittest: solving evolution's greatest puzzle

lliot R. Wolfson is a theologian, philosopher, and historian. The prominent tradition in theology known as negative theology (or apophasis) holds that one cannot speak of God directly or positively because God is beyond all concepts and things. For example, Meister Eckhart viewed the Christian Trinity as a path to the true Godhead beyond. Similarly, Ibn Arabi considered Allah as a means of reaching the truth (al-Haqq) that transcends even Allah. In this podcast, expect to learn why this tradition emerged, how it is has been incorpated in Christianity and Islam, why it has been successful, as well as about dreams and mystical experiences, the nature of the infinite, Heidegger and the unveiling of reality, and more... Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction to Negative Theology 03:05 – When Did This View of God Emerge? 07:50 – Why Negative Theology? 15:30 – The Emptiness of Being 17:50 – Elliot Reads Jack Some Heidegger 25:00 – The Strange Nature of Dreams 34:14 – Talmud's Interpretation of Dreams 40:00 – Negative Theology in Islam 42:50 – The Infinite Related Books By Elliot Wolfson: - A Dream Interpreted Within a Dream - Heidegger and Kabbalah: Hidden Gnosis and the Path of Poiēsis -Giving Beyond the Gift: Apophasis and Overcoming Theomania

Alexander Ororbia is a computer scientist and neuroscientist. AI today is built upon silicon-based computers, but what would artificial intelligence look like if it were based on biological materials and principles? In this podcast, expect to learn how biological intelligence differs from silicon-based intelligence, the concept of "mortal computers" (computers that die), how cognition extends beyond neurons, examples of mortal computers such as anthrobots and xenobots, and more... 00:00 Biological vs Silicon; Mortal vs Immortal 05:06 Mortal Computers vs Standard Computers 09:52 The Importance of Death in Intelligence 18:23 Embodiment and Inactivism in Biological Intelligence 26:16 Limits of Current AI 36:35 Benefits of Mortal Computers Over Standard AI 39:50 Mortal Compter Examples: Anthrobots and Xenobots 45:50 How Good are ChatGPT and LLMs? Efficiency of Mortal Computers 50:50 Will LLMs Ever Get to AGI? Find Alexander's work: -Mortal Computation paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09589 -Survey on brain-inspired learning: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.09257 -Review of neuroscience machine learning: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.18929 -Survey on predictive coding / biomimetic learning: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.07870

Jamie Ward is a cognitive scientist and an expert on why people's brains and cognition differ across individuals. Roughly 3% of the world experiences synesthesia—the mixing of senses where you might taste words, smell colors, and other such phenomena. In this discussion, expect to learn about the range of experiences among synesthetes, the types of people who have synesthesia, the relationship between psychedelics and synesthesia, why people have synesthesia, and much more. Timestamps: 00:00 What is Synesthesia? 01:24 The Range of Experiences 03:01 Personality Traits and Abilities 05:19 Improved Memory Among Synesthetes 07:35 Differences in Pattern Recognition 12:05 Living With Synesthesia 14:29 Synesthesia and Psychedelics 18:49 Expectations, Perception, Cognition