If we give AI rights because we think it's conscious, we lose the ability to control it… the dangerous illusion explained by a consciousness expert.

Professor Anil Seth is one of the world's leading neuroscientists, Co-Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, and author of Being You, which challenges everything you thought you knew about perception, reality, and what it means to be conscious.

0:00 Overestimating AI and underestimating ourselves

0:43 Why we project consciousness onto ChatGPT and Claude

2:09 How AI metaphors diminish our view of biological intelligence

3:25 Can AI become conscious? The truth between zero and 100%

5:05 Why consciousness requires life: metabolism, biology, substrate

6:00 Brain organoids vs GPT—which should worry us more?

7:28 Consciousness: more like digestion or flight?

8:29 Why brains are NOT computers when you look inside them

11:10 Intelligence vs consciousness: doing vs feeling

12:35 Why conscious AI would be terrible—even if it's just an illusion

14:33 The alignment problem: can't control AI if we give it rights

17:18 Social media's lessons: unintended consequences of "move fast"

20:07 The moral circle problem: caring about AI means less for animals

21:35 Descartes' error: rationality requires embodied emotion

27:32 Bayesian reasoning: brains make best guesses, not optimal solutions

30:37 The frame problem: why AI can't know what's NOT relevant

33:33 Unconscious vs subconscious: Freud vs modern neuroscience

37:00 Predictive processing: perception as controlled hallucination

38:01 What consciousness is good for: integration and fast learning

41:47 Mental time travel and scrub jays planning futures

45:19 The space of possible minds: dogs, flies, octopuses

48:11 Octopuses see with their skin for predator vision

53:27 Thomas Nagel: "What is it like to be a bat?"

55:13 Human echolocators: blind people navigating by sound

58:54 Perception as controlled hallucination: never experiencing reality directly

1:02:24 Color requires a mind; the spectrum from physics to social construction

1:06:05 Why simulation theory fails if consciousness isn't computation

1:08:28 Why we dream: preventing overfitting and simulating threats

1:12:37 Sleep cycles and why dreams fade instantly

1:15:26 Lucid dreaming: knowing you're dreaming without waking

1:17:50 Derealization: when reality feels unreal even though it is

1:19:08 Final advice: control what you can, find balance and purpose

Professor Anil Seth's Work:

Official Website: https://www.anilseth.com

Books: Being You: A New Science of Consciousness (Sunday Times Bestseller)

https://www.anilseth.com/being-you/

Latest Essay: "The Mythology of Conscious AI" - NoEmer (Free to read online)

Academic Profile: Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science (Co-Director)

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/centres/sussex-centre-for-consciousness-science/

Team

Chief Editor: Chloe Breheret

Chief Automation Officer: Jack McDuff

Jacob’s Work

Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com

Neuroscientist and physical therapist Dr. Lara Boyd explains why there is no such thing as a “normal brain,” how neuroplasticity reshapes us across life, and why struggle and sleep are the real drivers of change in our brains. In this episode, she and Jacob explore neurodivergence, learning, stroke recovery, genetics, and what it actually takes to rewire your brain on purpose.

0:00 The French civil servant with “half a brain” and what neuroplasticity can do

1:05 How many of us are actually neuro-atypical? Defining (and questioning) “normal”

2:15 Why there is no clear definition of “neurotypical”

3:05 UK Biobank genetics: ADHD, autism, anxiety and overlapping gene profiles

4:35 Are we over-diagnosing or mis-grouping neurodivergent conditions?

5:35 Evolutionary upsides of ADHD and autism: hyperfocus, sentry attention, solo hunting

6:22 Why autism diagnoses are rising: broader criteria and better recognition in girls

7:30 ADHD and autism as “differences,” not defects — and examples like Elon Musk and Bill Gates

9:05 Lara’s winding path: English major → physical therapist → neuroscientist

10:30 The 1990s shift: from “fixed brain” to lifelong neuroplasticity

12:20 How the brain actually changes: myelin, pruning, and wiring into the mid-20s

16:20 Why young men take more risks: late-maturing prefrontal cortex

18:40 Genes vs environment, epigenetics, and why nature vs nurture isn’t a debate anymore

21:10 APOE4 and dementia risk — and how exercise can change outcomes

22:20 Big data, AI, and decoding brain–gene interactions

24:00 The stroke patient that made Lara feel like a “car mechanic who didn’t understand the engine”

27:20 The landmark monkey stroke study: forced use, reorganization, and recovery

31:00 Redundancy, “silent” neurons, and spare real estate in the brain

33:20 How dendrites, brain chemistry, and BDNF drive neuroplasticity — and why exercise helps

38:20 Why consciousness and self are still “unsolved problems”

39:40 The motor homunculus: why your hands, lips, and tongue dominate your cortex

41:40 Why some people learn in 50 hours and others need 500 — and Lara’s quest to understand variability

44:15 Biomarkers, stroke recovery, and who responds best to brain stimulation

46:05 Could we one day time school topics to each child’s brain readiness?

47:40 Visual vs auditory learners and what brain scans reveal about reading and math readiness

49:30 Stuck in bad habits or a failing career? Why you’re not trapped — and why struggle is your brain changing

52:00 Why we hate struggle even though it’s exactly when neuroplasticity happens

52:55 Sleep as neuroplastic “glue”: deep sleep for motor, REM for cognitive learning

54:05 Naps, aging, and how much sleep we really need

55:10 Lara’s advice to her 20-year-old self: stay curious, practice hard, sleep well

RESOURCES / LINKS Dr. Lara Boyd – UBC Faculty of Medicine profile https://www.med.ubc.ca/researchers/lara-boyd-physical-therapy/

UBC Physical Therapy – Brain Behaviour Laboratory https://physicaltherapy.med.ubc.ca/2022/10/11/lara-boyd/

Website: ⁠https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com⁠

Silicon Valley has become 'stale.' AI ethicist Olivia Gambelin reveals why innovation is now iteration, and what needs to change before the bubble pops.

AI ethics expert Olivia Gambelin reveals why most companies are getting AI wrong, and how understanding human values, not just technology, is the key to building AI that actually works. As founder of Ethical Intelligence and author of Responsible AI, Olivia has empowered hundreds of business leaders across Silicon Valley and Brussels to implement ethics-by-design strategies that drive innovation without compromising humanity.

Subscribe for weekly conversations with world-leading experts on AI, technology, philosophy, and human potential.

You’ll Learn:

–Why AI ethics isn't about the technology, it’s about design choices, use cases, and how humans interact with AI systems –How Silicon Valley's innovation bubble has become "stale" and why the ecosystem desperately needs fresh perspectives from outside the tech world –The truth about responsible AI: it's not ethics washing, it's good business practice that helps companies scale AI successfully –Why working strict boundaries (no weekends, 9-7 schedule) makes you MORE effective as an entrepreneur, not less –How to know if you actually need AI in your business, and why most people are being sold solutions looking for problems –What it means to be an AI ethicist: studying values as forces that shape decisions, just like physics studies forces of nature –Why the "AI singularity" mindset reveals people who haven't experienced the messy, beautiful parts of being human –The preventative questions every company should ask BEFORE building AI to save time, money, and avoid ethical disasters

Olivia’s Work:

Olivia Gambelin's Website: https://www.oliviagambelin.com

AI Literacy Course for Non-Technical Professionals:

https://www.ethicalintelligence.co/ailiteracy

Ethical Intelligence Community: https://www.ethicalintelligence.co

Olivia's Book - Responsible AI:

https://www.koganpage.com/digital-technology/responsible-ai-9781398615700

Olivia's Substack - In Pursuit of Good Tech:

https://pursuitofgoodtech.substack.com

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviagambelin

Team

Chief Editor: Chloe Breheret

Chief Automation Officer: Jack McDuff

Jacob’s Work

Podcast blueprint (Skool): https://www.skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385

Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com