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Prof. Donald Hoffman is Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, and the author of over 100 scientific papers and three books, including Visual Intelligence, and The Case Against Reality.

Prof. Anil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, where he is also Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science. His new book: Being You has won several awards and was a Sunday Times Bestseller.

This conversation explores parallels in their theories of consciousness but also the areas where their thinking diverges.

The topics covered include:

— How the reality we experience every day is an illusion

— Whether or not artificial intelligence will ever become conscious

— Mathematical proof that the space-time paradigm is doomed and the early research investigating what might be underneath.

— The practical implications of Donald’s and Anil’s theories - both for society and for every day life.

And more.

You can learn more about Anil’s work at https://anilseth.com/ and follow Donald on X at @donalddhoffman.

Anil’s book: https://bit.ly/3Sw0Ogp

Donald’s book: https://bit.ly/3SCwTTA

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Prof. Donald Hoffman, PhD received his PhD from MIT, and joined the faculty of the University of California, Irvine in 1983, where he is a Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences. He is an author of over 100 scientific papers and three books, including Visual Intelligence, and The Case Against Reality. He received a Distinguished Scientific Award from the American Psychological Association for early career research, the Rustum Roy Award of the Chopra Foundation, and the Troland Research Award of the US National Academy of Sciences. His writing has appeared in Edge, New Scientist, LA Review of Books, and Scientific American and his work has been featured in Wired, Quanta, The Atlantic, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. You can watch his TED Talk titled “Do we see reality as it is?” and you can follow him on Twitter @donalddhoffman.

Anil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, and the Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. He is a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow, and a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Professor Seth is Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness, sits on the steering group and advisory board of the Human Mind Project, and was President of the British Science Association Psychology Section in 2017.

He is the author of 'Being You" (https://amzn.to/3E4PI8K), the co-author of the ‘30 Second Brain’, and contributes regularly to a variety of media including New Scientist, The Guardian, and the BBC. His 2017 TED talk has been viewed more than 9 million times. Professor Seth’s research bridges neuroscience, mathematics, artificial intelligence, computer science, psychology, philosophy and psychiatry. He has also worked extensively with playwrights, dancers and other artists to shape a truly humanistic view of consciousness and self.

You can keep up to date with his work at http://www.anilseth.com.

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:33 - Understanding Consciousness
08:57 - Prof. Seth on Consciousness
17:07 - Exploring Consciousness
21:08 - Theories on Consciousness
27:19 - Beyond Space-time Perspectives
31:41 - Emergence and Scientific Explanation
37:58 - Consciousness in AI
51:30 - Death in a Conscious Universe
58:16 - Consciousness and Existential Perspectives

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Interview Links:

— Prof Hoffman’s profile: http://www.cogsci.uci.edu/~ddhoff

— Prof Hoffman’s book: https://bit.ly/3SCwTTA

— Prof Seth’s website: http://www.anilseth.com/

— Prof Seth’s book: https://bit.ly/3Sw0Ogp