The thing I keep coming back around to is how to square my belief in materialism with my skepticism about the potential for AI consciousness. Logically, if complex matter gives rise to consciousness then at what point does silicon reach sufficient complexity for consciousness to arise? Is consciousness binary or a spectrum?
I spent part of my undergrad doing gradualte level neuroscience research on the physical substrates of consciousness. We weren't able to prove that matter gives rise to consciousness, and it may be the other way around, or, conscio...
In 2017 the Thomas Fire burned around my home town. I drove down from my ranch in Oregon to help my mother evacuate. While in town, I helped a number of my neighbors and community members, as the fire raged around us for a couple weeks.
I was so moved by the way the community pulled together that I edited a book about it. We had the book launch a year later and a museum exhibit. I was given a Historical Society award and invited to several meetings, one of which was a closed meeting consisting of about seven men who sat in a circle, with me in the aud... (read more)