Blogging “Artificial You,” Part III
Chapter 3 of Artificial You has three basic purposes: Explaining why AI might develop in such a way that superintelligent AIs are not conscious. Explaining that we might need to…
The Mindless Hypothesis
In the previous post, I talked about Alex Byrne's paper Skepticism about the Internal World (PDF). In that post, I focused on the first part of the paper, and in…
Alex Byrne and Skepticism About the External World
I recently read Alex Byrne's paper Skepticism About the Internal World (PDF warning), and in this post I want to focus on the first part of the paper, where he…
Machines and Understanding
This recent blog post by Thomas Dietterich has received much well-deserved attention. And while the title What does it mean for a machine to "understand"? sounds like a philosophical work,…
Infallibility, Inflation, and Explosion
In this very interesting discussion between Richard Brown, Keith Frankish, and Philip Goff, Frankish makes the point that the core of his illusionist view is the denial of a phenomenal…
Richard Brown and Keith Frankish on Illusionism
I'm glad I listened to this discussion between Richard Brown and Keith Frankish on Consciousness Live, as Brown seems to have many of the same questions about illusionism that I…
Is Determinism Compatible with Rationality?
I finished listening to this wide-ranging discussion between Justin Brierley and Alex O'Connor, which I had previously commented on here. Towards the end of the episode, they get into an…
Kripke and Dualism
I wanted to write a bit about Saul Kripke because I figured there are many people who have encountered him through linguistics and logic, but are unfamiliar with how his…
Conceivability Arguments
I was recently listening to this great discussion on consciousness between Philip Goff and Richard Brown, and when they got to a discussion of conceivability arguments (e.g. zombie conceivability), Goff…
Modes of Being: Peirce and Davidson
I really enjoyed this podcast discussion between Cathy Legg and Matt Teichman. The topic is C.S. Peirce, and particularly his theory of categories, or modes of being. As Legg and…