Episode 2234: Terrence Sejnowski asks whether our brains and AI are converging
As the longtime collaborator of the 2024 Nobel laureates John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, Terrence Sejnowski is one of America’s most distinguished AI scientists. In his new book, ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution, Sejnowski addresses some of the central technical and philosophical issues of today’s large language model AI revolution. And in this wide-ranging conversation, we talked about everything from the origins of human language to the existential question of whether our brains and smart machines are converging. Unlike other AI researchers, Terry Sejnowski is able to make the deep language revolution accessible to a mainstream audience. Strongly recommended.
Terrence J. Sejnowski is Francis Crick Chair at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Distinguished Professor at the University of California at San Diego. He has published over 500 scientific papers and 12 books, including The Computational Brain with Patricia Churchland. He was instrumental in shaping the BRAIN Initiative that was announced by the White House in 2013, and he received the prestigious Gruber Prize in Neuroscience in 2022.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Dan Hampton: Why the World Owes America a Great Debt For Its Participation in the Second World War
Azeem Azhar: Why, In an Age of Exponential Technological Change, Does So Little Seem to Change in Politics?
Lisa Lewis: Why the Crisis of Teenage Anxiety Might Begin and End With Sleep Deprivation
Mark Lee Gardner: Rather Than Jefferson or Washington, Should Americans Be Celebrating Indigenous Leaders Like Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull As Their Greatest Historical Figures?
Chris Stokel-Walker on a Digital Brave New World: Are We Entertaining Ourselves to Death on TikTok?
Gian Volpicelli on the Crypto-Crash and Why the Party Might Finally Be Over
Stephen Wertheim: Why Joe Biden Should Be Supporting Sovereignty and Not Democracy in Ukraine
Bob Keefe: Can American Capitalism Really Be an Ally in the War Against Climate Change?
Introducing Intelligence Squared US
Britt Halvorson: How to Reimagine White Supremacy in the Heartland of the American Midwest
Garrett Graff: How Are Watergate and the January 6th Insurrection Similar? Nixon and Trump's Shared Paranoia and Isolation From the Outside World
Emma Jacobs: How Do We Define Adulthood in a Time When We've Created a Cult of Childhood?
Ewen Spencer on What Writers and Photographers Have in Common