The Giants Shoulder

Terrence Deacon, a neuro-anthropologist and author, explores the intricate relationship between thermodynamics, evolution, and consciousness. He discusses how the brain isn't just a computer, and why meaning emerges from information. Deacon dives into the origins of life, considering alternative chemistry and the evolution of genetic codes. He tackles concepts like normativity and agency, explaining how language shapes human experience. Finally, he challenges the notion of sentient AI, emphasizing the dynamic nature of life and consciousness.

Dr. William B. Miller Jr. is a physician, evolutionary biologist, and author of The Microcosm Within, Bioverse, and The Sentient Cell — books redefining how we understand life, evolution, and consciousness itself.He believes every cell is intelligent — sensing, deciding, and creating information from within. His groundbreaking theory of Cognition-Based Evolution reframes evolution not as a blind process of random mutations, but as a self-organizing, information-driven system guided by cellular minds.Expect to learn why cells—not genes—are the true engines of evolution, how microbes shaped the origins of consciousness, why cancer is a breakdown of cellular cooperation, how bioelectric communication could unlock regeneration, what makes Michael Levin’s living “Xenobots” so revolutionary, why AI can’t be conscious without boundaries or self-made information, and how this new understanding of life may reveal genuine purpose in the universe.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:20 Exploring Life's Biggest Questions04:55 The Consciousness of Cells07:39 Understanding Consciousness and Doubt10:30 Cells and Their Preferences13:21 The Self-Generated Nature of Information16:11 The Continuum of Consciousness19:13 Collaboration and Competition Among Cells22:01 Cancer: A Disease of the Self24:58 Understanding Cancer Through Niche Construction27:39 Therapeutic Avenues in Cancer Research30:23 The Role of the Brain in Consciousness33:20 Conscious Cells and Space Exploration36:05 The Implications of Sending Life into Space47:35 Understanding Consciousness and Its Boundaries52:28 Cells as Problem Solving Entities55:27 The Variance of Human Experience59:14 The Senome and Sensory Capacity01:05:13 Cognition-Based Evolution Explained01:10:45 The Role of Cognition in Evolution01:16:31 Cognition Before Cells: A Debate01:19:11 AI and Consciousness: A Distinction01:26:19 The Future of Consciousness and AI...Buy His Great Books The Sentient Cell: The Cellular Foundations of Consciousness: https://amzn.to/431VoQfNeuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Gualtiero Piccinini, a philosopher and consciousness researcher, dives into the nuances of inner experience. He reveals that many people lack inner speech, experiencing instead unsymbolized thought. Through Descriptive Experience Sampling, he discusses how consciousness doesn't exist in a single stream but as multiple independent spotlights. Gualtiero also explores how sleep can produce conscious thoughts, the challenges of aphantasia, and why introspection can be misleading without rigorous methodology. His insights reshape our understanding of how we think and perceive our inner lives.

Dr. Anna Ciaunica is a philosopher and cognitive scientist, Principal Investigator at the University of Lisbon’s Centre for Philosophy of Science and Research Associate at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. She leads INTERSELF, a project on how interactions with humans and artificial agents reshape our self-model, and collaborates with Michael Levin on “From Cells to Selves.”Consciousness isn’t just in your head—**biology is cognition the whole way down**. From co-embodiment in the womb to the immune system’s quiet influence on mood and meaning, Anna reframes mind as a body-wide process and the self as something we enact with our nerves, guts, skin and others.Expect to learn why the “self” may begin before birth, how co-embodiment and maternal–fetal synchrony shape first-person experience, why “the brain is not mental” reframes cognition as a cell-level, body-wide system, how depersonalisation differs from psychedelic ego dissolution, how interoception and precision weighting tune the felt boundary between “me” and “not-me,” why inflammation and sickness behaviour can alter mood, agency and reality-feel, what a Markov blanket is in human terms, how avatars, robots and social media recalibrate the self, whether single cells display proto-cognition and what neurons uniquely add, how to build a minimum viable self in AI (body, homeostasis, immune-like error correction and development), practical ways to stay embodied in a digital world, what this lens means for therapy (vagus, gut–brain, immune), and much more…Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:50 Cognition and Biological Systems08:36 The Evolution of Intelligence15:50 Challenging Traditional Definitions29:08 The Ingredients of Cognition39:53 The Balance of Inner and Outer Worlds51:42 The Development of Self-Awareness56:57 Sickness Behavior and Disconnection from Self01:03:17 The Cell's Plan for Survival01:09:33 The Nature of Self-Organizing Systems01:16:44 Collective Intelligence and Self-Preservation01:22:15 Conscious AI: The Quest for Understanding01:33:53 The Developmental Turn in Understanding Human Mind…Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

In this engaging conversation, Adam Safron, a cognitive neuroscientist and former research fellow at Johns Hopkins, dives into the intricate connections between consciousness, psychedelics, and the Free Energy Principle. He explains how psychedelics can alter our high-level assumptions, offering insights into personal transformation. Adam discusses the role of brain rhythms in unity of experience and shares fascinating DMT encounters that challenge beliefs. Expect to explore the effects of psychedelics on synaptogenesis, compassion in therapy, and the nature of ultimate reality!

Philip Ball is one of the world’s most brilliant science writers and the author of over 30 books, including How Life Works, The Book of Minds, and Beyond Weird — a radical rethinking of quantum mechanics that has become a modern classic.A former editor at Nature, Philip has spent decades translating the frontiers of biology, physics, and consciousness into ideas that challenge our deepest intuitions about life, mind, and reality.Expect to learn how quantum mechanics might shape the behavior of living systems, why genes are not blueprints and biology isn’t a machine, how brain organoids are raising ethical and philosophical dilemmas, what quantum biology really means, why the brain isn’t just a prediction engine, how science misunderstands minds (including alien and artificial ones), what makes consciousness so slippery, and how the stories we tell about science shape what we believe is real — and what we believe is possible.Timestamps:03:40 The Prolific Writer: Philip Ball's Journey 06:29 The Art of Science Communication 09:36 The Process of Writing: From Research to Publication 12:33 Exploring Quantum Mechanics: A New Perspective 15:49 Understanding Quantum Features: Superposition and Entanglement 18:31 Quantum Computing: The Role of Observation 21:46 The Nature of Information in Quantum Mechanics 40:38 The Nature of Information in Quantum Particles 42:40 Exploring Quantum Biology 49:36 Quantum Effects in Consciousness 56:18 Defining Minds and Consciousness 01:01:46 Agency and Cognition in Living Beings 01:14:59 Evolution of Cognition and Mindedness 01:17:33 Understanding Agency Across Species 01:20:40 The Concept of Umwelt and Perception 01:25:11 The Future of Biotech and Consciousness 01:31:43 Ethics of Brain Organoids and Consciousness 01:42:23 The Controversy of Genetic Manipulation 01:44:59 The Complexity of Genetic Screening 01:51:59 Navigating Genetic Research and Regulation 02:07:49 The Future of Biology and Genetic Understanding ...📚 RECOMMENDED READINGHow Life Works: A User’s Guide to the New Biology: https://amzn.to/4lPLyaGBeyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different: https://amzn.to/4lOS3uAThe Book of Minds: How to Understand Ourselves and Other Beings, from Animals to AI to Aliens: https://amzn.to/4oVTMAZ…Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Jon Perry is a science animator and educator, creator of Stated Clearly — the YouTube channel that turns messy biology into crisp, visual explanations, with more than fifty million views and a devoted audience of curious skeptics.StatedClearly Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@StatedClearlyJon’s mission is simple and radical: fix our definitions. When we call cells “intelligent,” or label xenobots “robots,” we smuggle minds into places they don’t belong. From a slime-mold maze rebuilt with LEGO and gravity to de-extinction hype and NASA’s search for life, Jon shows how precise language changes the experiments we run, the technologies we build, and the stories we tell about nature.Jon's original slime mold video: https://youtu.be/2Thytf95wGU?si=_K1YDwL8TbrF4YQ8Expect to learn why slime-mold “maze solving” might not be evidence of cognition, how simple physics can mimic problem-solving, the crucial difference between adaptation, learning, and intelligence, why some definitions would make tap water look smart, how to test for learning without minds, what xenobots really are (and aren’t), why “de-extinction” is mostly marketing, how NASA’s definition of life misled search strategies, how operational definitions steer funding and ethics, and how getting the words right can reboot entire fields of biology....Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction02:30 Michael Levin Slime Mold Debate05:20 Intelligence vs. Instinct08:20 The Role of Language in Science11:12 Rethinking Intelligence as a Spectrum14:05 Xenobots and Anthrobots: A New Frontier17:25 Defining Life: The Challenge of Boundaries20:10 Observational Science vs. Hypothesis Testing39:59 Exploring Bioelectricity and Cell Behavior43:49 The Impact of Michael Levin's Research48:34 Understanding Gene Expression in Cells55:51 The Emergence of Adaptive Behaviors in Cells01:03:17 Ethical Considerations in Synthetic Life01:03:48 The Controversy of De-Extinction and Colossal Biosciences01:10:16 The Science of De-Extinction01:13:03 Genetic Editing and Its Implications01:18:58 The Marketing of De-Extinction01:24:55 The Reality of Recreating Extinct Species01:30:39 Future of Genetic Research and Funding01:35:48 Funding Science: Challenges and Opportunities01:45:27 The Future of Gene Editing and Ethical Considerations...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits:https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

In this enlightening discussion, David Papineau, a philosopher of mind from King’s College London, challenges traditional notions of consciousness. He argues that consciousness is not a mystical entity but a product of brain processes. Papineau critiques the hard problem of consciousness as a conceptual trap and discusses its implications for ethics and AI. He explores the consciousness of various life forms and whether AI could ever truly care. Expect a provocative debate that reshapes our understanding of what it means to be conscious.

Get 10% off your Genetics Test and screen for over 2000+ conditions (Use Code EVAN10): https://nucleusgenomics.sjv.io/LKE9EaDr. Robert Plomin is one of the world’s leading behavioural geneticists and the author of Blueprint, a game-changing book that argues your DNA isn’t just important — it’s the blueprint of who you are.Plomin’s groundbreaking twin studies revealed that nearly every psychological trait — from intelligence and personality to mental illness and addiction — is significantly heritable. Now, he’s at the forefront of a new revolution: polygenic scores that can predict your future from birth… or even before.Expect to learn how polygenic scores are reshaping psychology and medicine, what your genome can reveal about your intelligence, mental health, and personality, why traditional ideas about nurture are collapsing, the shocking truth about educational inequality, how gene editing and embryo selection are becoming real-world tools, what role companies like Orchid play in designing future generations, why Elon Musk might be building babies in Gattaca labs, and whether free will can survive in a world where your genes know you better than you know yourself....Timestamps: 00:00 Intro3:00 Introduction to Nucleus Genomics and Genetic Testing9:06 In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Screening14:52 The Role of Polygenic Scores in Decision Making20:47 Screening for Monogenic Disorders26:49 The Transition from SNP Chips to Whole Genome Sequencing33:37 The Evolution of Genetic Testing39:50 Navigating Parental Choices in IVF45:55 Probabilistic Nature of Genetic Traits53:54 The Future of Genetic Predictions1:02:17 Capitalism and Ethical Dilemmas in Gene Editing1:07:25 Gene Editing: Possibilities and Concerns1:14:05 CRISPR Babies and Ethical Boundaries1:22:26 Recreational Drugs and Genetic Insights1:30:49 Neurodivergence and Genetic Selection1:36:16 Exploring the Low End of Polygenic Scores1:41:39 AI's Role in Genetics1:48:30 Understanding Genetic Risks and Carrier Genes1:54:32 The Intersection of Genetics and Athleticism2:04:59 Genetic Diversity and Predictive Power2:14:50 Understanding Non-Shared Environment2:22:37 The Impact of Randomness in Life2:34:40 Concluding Thoughts on Genetics and Environment...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Ryota Kanai is a neuroscientist, AI entrepreneur, and CEO of Araya—lead investigator in Japan’s Moonshot to free humans from the limits of body and brain by 2050. He’s a pioneer of non-invasive brain–machine interfaces, the Internet of Brains, and architectures aimed at conscious AI, and he’s the author of Will AI Become Conscious?.Consciousness, he argues, isn’t magic—it’s the brain’s internal simulation engine. Kanai is turning that insight into technology: thought-controlled cybernetic avatars, emotion-aware robots that sense and respond to our feelings, and mind-to-mind links that could transform how we communicate, learn, and work.Expect to learn why the brain is a prediction machine and what that means for building conscious AI, how non-invasive BMIs already decode intent and where the big breakthroughs must come from, what the Internet of Brains actually enables beyond faster chat, whether “skill upload” is science or sci-fi, why cybernetic avatars might change jobs before they change bodies, how emotion robots read human states (and how not to be fooled by them), the simplest way to grasp the global workspace and free-energy ideas, how to test for machine consciousness without a Turing Test, what neurorights and “neural firewalls” should protect, the cultural differences shaping neurotech in Japan vs. the West, the milestones to 2030/2050, and much more…Timestamps: 00:00 Intro03:05 The Moonshot Goal: Liberating Humanity06:00 Understanding Brain-Machine Interfaces09:00 The Future of Thought Decoding12:01 Envisioning 2050: A Technological Landscape14:55 Connecting Brains to AI: Implications and Possibilities17:52 The Ethics of Neural Technology20:38 Adoption and Acceptance of Neural Implants23:46 Medical Applications vs. Augmentation26:46 The Future of Memory Augmentation29:54 Exploring Personality Modification32:45 Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Neural Implants35:38 General Purpose Neural Implants38:28 The Quest for Consciousness in Neural Technology47:47 Decoding Multimodal Information49:36 The Concept of the Internet of Brains51:50 Exploring Brain-to-Brain Communication54:18 Philosophical Implications of Consciousness55:21 Navigating Intrusive Thoughts in Communication56:42 Consumer Applications of Brain-Computer Interfaces58:30 Entertainment and Gaming in Brain-Computer Interfaces01:02:22 Potential of Non-Invasive EEG Devices01:04:18 Conscious AI: The Future of Machine Awareness01:10:05 Integrating Consciousness Research into AI01:18:09 Mathematical Definitions of Consciousness01:22:07 The Geometry of Experience and Consciousness01:27:51 Exciting Future Technologies in Brain-Computer Interfaces...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249