Sean Carroll, Daniel Dennett, & Steven Pinker: AI, Parapsychology, Panpsychism, & Physics Violations

Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7

Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University and fractal faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is also host of Sean Carroll’s Mindscape, a terrific show (that influenced the birth of Robinson’s Podcast) about science, society, philosophy, culture, arts, and ideas. Daniel Dennett is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Tufts University, where he was co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies and the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy. He is one of the most recognized philosophers today, and has made major contributions to the philosophy of mind and biology, among other areas, and is known as one of the Four Horsemen of Atheism. Steven Pinker is Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He is an experimental cognitive psychologist, prominent public intellectual, and best-selling author who writes on language, mind, and human nature. This is Sean’s third appearance on the show. He was one of the guests—along with David Albert of Columbia University—on episode 106, which covers the Many-Worlds theory of quantum mechanics, entropy and Boltzmann Brains, and the fine-tuned universe. He was also on episode 118 with Slavoj Žižek on quantum physics, the multiverse, time travel, and a whole lot more. This is Dan’s second appearance on the show, as on episode 194 he and Robinson spoke about consciousness, free will, and the evolution of minds. Finally, Steve is returning for another centennial episode, as he and Robinson discussed rationality, enlightenment, and free speech on episode 100. But in this episode of Robinson’s Podcast (the two hundredth!), Sean, Dan, Steve, and Robinson discuss artificial intelligence, large language models, and whether or not they threaten democracy or even civilization itself, parapsychology and the laws of physics, panpsychism and consciousness, some of the philosophical lessons of Darwinian thought, and the relationship between science and philosophy. Dan’s latest book is I’ve Been Thinking (W. W. Norton, 2023), Steve’s latest book is Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters (Penguin, 2022), and Sean’s next book, Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe (Penguin, 2024), will be coming out on May 14, 2024. 

Sean’s Website: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com

Sean’s Twitter:   / seanmcarroll  

Quanta and Fields (The Biggest Ideas in the Universe): ⁠https://a.co/d/gfMDLQo⁠

Sean’s Paper on QFT and Supervenience: ⁠https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.07884.pdf⁠

I’ve Been Thinking: ⁠https://a.co/d/ahMEC0G⁠

Steven’s Website: https://stevenpinker.com

Steven’s Twitter: ⁠  / sapinker⁠  

Rationality: https://a.co/d/9N2uFyr

Robinson’s Podcast #100 - Steven Pinker: Rationality, Enlightenment, and Free Speech:    • Steven Pinker: Rationality, Enlighten...  

Robinson’s Podcast #106 - David Albert & Sean Carroll: Quantum Theory, Boltzmann Brains, & The Fine-Tuned Universe: ⁠   • David Albert & Sean Carroll: Quantum ...  ⁠

Robinson’s Podcast #118 - Slavoj Žižek & Sean Carroll: Quantum Physics, the Multiverse, and Time Travel:    • Slavoj Žižek & Sean Carroll: Quantum ...  

Robinson’s Podcast #194 - Daniel Dennett: Consciousness, Free Will, and the Evolution of Minds: ⁠   • Daniel Dennett: Consciousness, Free W...  ⁠

OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
6:11 Will Large Language Models End Civilization?
22:53 Could AI Destroy the Job Market? 
28:14 On Parapsychology and the Violation of Physics
40:23 The Parable of the Bathtub
01:03:45 Physical Causation and the Law of Sufficient Reason
01:14:48 Is Consciousness an Illusion?
01:31:50 Does Physics Show that the Universe is Conscious?
01:44:36 What is Philosophy?

Robinson’s Website: ⁠http://robinsonerhardt.com⁠

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.