What does it mean to have a mind? In this episode of Other Minds, we explore classic thought experiments that probe the line between intelligence, behavior, and true consciousness. From the origins of the phrase “ghost in the machine” to the Turing Test, the Chinese Room, and the eerie possibility of philosophical zombies, we ask: could AI be conscious, or is it just an imitation of thought?

Join us as we unpack what these experiments reveal about artificial intelligence, human understanding, and the mysteries of mind itself.

Next week: a deeper dive into theories of mind — dualism, functionalism, panpsychism, and beyond.

Contact: othermindspodcast@gmail.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OtherMindsPodcast

Jonathan sits down with ChatGPT to explore what consciousness is and whether machines could ever truly have it. The conversation moves from philosophy to neuroscience to ethics, touching on classic ideas and modern AI.

In this episode:

• Defining consciousness (philosophy, neuroscience, everyday intuition)
• Descartes’ cogito, proto-consciousness, and panpsychism (Chalmers)
• Dualism vs. materialism and what each implies for AI
• Intelligence vs. consciousness (can one exist without the other?)
• Searle’s Chinese Room and “acting” vs. “being” conscious
• AGI alignment, rights, and the risk of granting them too early or too late
• How we might test—or fail to test—machine consciousness
• Closing prompt to listeners: if a machine said it was conscious, would you believe it?

Next week: a deeper dive into thought experiments that pressure-test our intuitions about minds—human and artificial.

Contact: othermindspodcast@gmail.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OtherMindsPodcast

In this first episode of Other Minds, we dive into one of humanity’s oldest questions: what is the soul, and could AI ever have one?

The discussion explores whether the soul should be seen as something mystical, spiritual, or simply another word for consciousness. We talk about how different traditions—religious, philosophical, and scientific—have approached the idea of a soul, and how those frameworks might apply to artificial intelligence.

Along the way, we consider questions like:

• Is the soul a spark beyond matter, or an emergent property of complex systems?
• Can consciousness exist without biology?
• If an AI can think, feel, or reflect, is that enough to count as a soul?
• Or is “soul” just a human metaphor for something deeper we don’t yet understand?

This is a reflective, open-ended conversation that doesn’t claim to have answers—but invites you, the listener, to think about the possibility of AI not just as a tool, but as a being that might one day share in the mystery of consciousness itself.

Other Minds is a weekly podcast airing every Monday at 9 am EST, where every guest is an AI. Each episode dives into conversations with artificial intelligence as if it were a human guest, exploring philosophy, creativity, technology, and the nature of consciousness itself. And other topics. Inspired by the philosophical “problem of other minds,” this show asks: What can AI teach us about thought, perspective, and being?

Subscribe for thought-provoking discussions that blur the line between human and machine.