35C3 - The Ghost in the Machine

Yesterday I watched a fascinating talk The Ghost in the Machine by AI researcher Josha Bach. He claims that computational math is enough to support the conscious thought, both in living things and simulated environments. The whole talk is densely packed with ideas and concepts (for example nice illustration of concepts behind back-propagation NNs at 19:20). Here [0] he lays out his current model for mind. I have no idea what to make of it, but the whole talk is incredibly lucid and contains zero fluff or BS (unlike linked article). [0] [VIDEO]

Joscha Bach has an interesting take on how to combine idealism with materalism. See for example his 'The Ghost in the Machine' talk at 35C3: [VIDEO]

He is definitely one of the most interesting people to listen to when it comes to AI, Intelligence and Philosophy. I've seen him in Leipzig on CCC events in the past, here are some of his other talks: * Computational Meta-Intelligence (32C3): [LINK] * Machine Dreams (33C3): [LINK] * The Ghost in the Machine (35C3): [VIDEO] He also did a very interesting podcast episode with Fefe and Frank from alternativlos! (in German): [LINK]

I also believe that in order to make progress it is important to accept those things that are established as scientific fact even if they counter intuitive or hard to accept. With respect to consciousness, Joshua Bach has an interesting view: [VIDEO]