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
Why all crises of capitalism are caused by moral failures: Colin Mayer on the social responsibility of business in every industry, from oil to tobacco to genetic engineering and AI
That Will Be The Year: Keith Teare predicts the major political, economic and technological developments for 2024
How to learn to tell the truth about ourselves: Dr .Annie Zimmerman explains how therapy can allow us to break free from old patterns and transform our lives
The Illusion of More: David Newhoff explains why we don't need GenerativeAI to make good art
Eyeless in Digital Gaza: Eryk Salvaggio sifts through the debris of our AI age in which we can no longer trust anything we see
What it's like to be a Russian these days: Marzio G. Mian ventures behind the new Iron Curtain to find caviar, counterculture and a reborn cult of Stalin
Why Impeachment remains an Indelible Stain on the Presidencies of Nixon, Clinton and Trump: Michael J. Gerhardt's guide for engaged citizens to the the law of Presidential impeachment
How to break out of the tyranny of the travel search box: Rafat Ali on the impact of AI on the travel industry
Why OpenAI has an Uber problem
Why OpenAI has an Uber problem: Tim O'Reilly explains how all successful companies depend on successful ecosystems
A former mobster's history of organized crime in America
A former mobster reveals the history of organized crime in America: Louis Ferrante charts the meteoric rise of the Mafia from 1860s Sicily to 1960s America
We've Been Here Before: Alix Olson and Alex Zamalin offer both radically new and historically trusted strategies for resisting neo-liberalism