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 2042: Robert Pearl MD explains how AI can regenerate the American medical system
Episode 2041: Dr. Judy Ho on how we can stop f*****g ourselves up
Episode 2040: Matt Hern on the revolutionary potential of suburbia
Episode 2039: KEEN ON AMERICA featuring Mark Danner
Episode 2038: Daniel Bessner on how the existential crisis of Hollywood's film & tv writers is the canary in the coal mine for the rest of America's professional elites
Episode 2037: Elliot Ackerman on the danger of mercenaries and the value of national service
Episode 2036: Stephen Marche, author of "The Next Civil War", on Alex Garland's new movie "Civil War"
Episode 2035: KEEN ON AMERICA featuring Christopher Schroeder
Episode 2034: Dale Maharidge tells American liberals to look in the mirror to understand the Doom Loop now engulfing their country
Episode 2033: Batya Ungar-Sargon on how American elites have betrayed the country's working men and women
Episode 2032: Natalie Foster on how the arc of the 21st century American moral universe is bending toward justice
Episode 2031: New books from Salman Rushdie, Erik Larsen, Amor Towles, Mohamed Amer Meziane, Patric Gagne & Leif Enger
Episode 2030: KEEN OF AMERICA featuring Sara Paretsky