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
Episode 2271: Keith Teare on why he's fallen in love with Elon Musk
Episode 2270: Craig Garnett on May 24, 2022 - Uvalde's Darkest Hour
Episode 2269: Michael Sayman looks forward to an AI age in which all our online interactions are with bots
Episode 2268: David Rowell on how new technology is making us dislike new music
Episode 2267: Jonathan Taplin on the coming cultural renaissance in America
Episode 2266: Mr Musk, Mr Sacks and Mr Andreessen go to Washington
Episode 2265: Jeff Jarvis on how to reclaim the internet from moguls, misanthropes and moral panics
Episode 2265: Internet Hall of Famer, Mitchell Baker, on the promise of an Open Web
Episode 2264: Robert Pearl demystifies the RFK Jr nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services
Episode 2263: The Godmother of Silicon Valley on luck, love and fate
Episode 2262: Steve Blank on how to hack the 21st century
Episode 2261: Douglas Rushkoff on why AI is the first native app for the internet
Episode 2260: Andrew Keen evaluates the health of American democracy