Anil Seth
@anilseth.bsky.social
Neuroscientist: consciousness, perception, and Dreamachines. Author of Being You - A New Science of Consciousness.
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
6/ “Solving consciousness”—even partially—will have profound implications across science, medicine, animal welfare, law, and technology development, reshaping how we see ourselves and our relationships to both AI and the natural world
October 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
6/ “Solving consciousness”—even partially—will have profound implications across science, medicine, animal welfare, law, and technology development, reshaping how we see ourselves and our relationships to both AI and the natural world
4/ There are many paths to future breakthroughs, including ‘computational (neuro)phenomenology’, adversarial collaborations, and ecological experimental design.
October 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
4/ There are many paths to future breakthroughs, including ‘computational (neuro)phenomenology’, adversarial collaborations, and ecological experimental design.
But you are right that the TT is formally a test of what it takes for humans to attribute a property to a system, not of whether the system actually has the property (though some argue this is the same thing) - see attached (from an early draft of my BBS paper)
October 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
But you are right that the TT is formally a test of what it takes for humans to attribute a property to a system, not of whether the system actually has the property (though some argue this is the same thing) - see attached (from an early draft of my BBS paper)
1/ Turing indeed talked about thinking & operationalised this with his test, but was careful to say that the issue of consciousness need not be solved in order to answer the Q of whether machines can think, thereby clearly separating the concepts - see the attached, from p.12 of his 1950 paper
October 18, 2025 at 6:07 PM
1/ Turing indeed talked about thinking & operationalised this with his test, but was careful to say that the issue of consciousness need not be solved in order to answer the Q of whether machines can think, thereby clearly separating the concepts - see the attached, from p.12 of his 1950 paper
4/ In this new @plosbiology.org study, led by Marcello, Jacopo, and Michele – we compared EEG pre/post hemispherotomy in 10 pediatric patients and found dynamics consistent with absent (or highly reduced) awareness in the isolated cortex
October 17, 2025 at 7:57 AM
4/ In this new @plosbiology.org study, led by Marcello, Jacopo, and Michele – we compared EEG pre/post hemispherotomy in 10 pediatric patients and found dynamics consistent with absent (or highly reduced) awareness in the isolated cortex
2/ Several years ago, Marcello, Tim Bayne, and I were wondering (🙏🏽 CIFAR) about the possibility of ‘islands of awareness’ in things like organoids and isolated but intact cortex in human brains. We wrote about this in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social www.cell.com/trends/neuro....
October 17, 2025 at 7:57 AM
2/ Several years ago, Marcello, Tim Bayne, and I were wondering (🙏🏽 CIFAR) about the possibility of ‘islands of awareness’ in things like organoids and isolated but intact cortex in human brains. We wrote about this in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social www.cell.com/trends/neuro....
1/ "Hemispherotomy leads to persistent sleep-like slow waves in the isolated cortex of awake humans" - out now in @plosbiology.org, led by Michele Colombo, Jacopo Favaro, & Marcello Massimini. 🧠
October 17, 2025 at 7:57 AM
1/ "Hemispherotomy leads to persistent sleep-like slow waves in the isolated cortex of awake humans" - out now in @plosbiology.org, led by Michele Colombo, Jacopo Favaro, & Marcello Massimini. 🧠
A few highlights from six days in magical Bhutan 🇧🇹
October 11, 2025 at 7:02 PM
A few highlights from six days in magical Bhutan 🇧🇹
My Mum's "Other Lives" obituary is in the print edition of today's @theguardian.com. I miss her terribly. The online version is here: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
September 18, 2025 at 9:43 AM
My Mum's "Other Lives" obituary is in the print edition of today's @theguardian.com. I miss her terribly. The online version is here: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
... and yesterday a new essay on consciousness, AI, and time came out in @bigthink.com - launched at a lovely event in Oxford. The hardcopy special issue on consciousness looks great. Read it here: bigthink.com/neuropsych/a...
September 17, 2025 at 12:38 PM
... and yesterday a new essay on consciousness, AI, and time came out in @bigthink.com - launched at a lovely event in Oxford. The hardcopy special issue on consciousness looks great. Read it here: bigthink.com/neuropsych/a...
I'm delighted happy to feature on the homepage of Die Zeit @diezeit.bsky.social today, for the first in a new feature of theirs, called "Just One Question", launching across print, online, audio, video, & newsletter www.zeit.de/wissen/2025-...
September 17, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I'm delighted happy to feature on the homepage of Die Zeit @diezeit.bsky.social today, for the first in a new feature of theirs, called "Just One Question", launching across print, online, audio, video, & newsletter www.zeit.de/wissen/2025-...
A wandering around Portmeadow first. Such an unexpected haven in the centre of Oxford
September 16, 2025 at 2:59 PM
A wandering around Portmeadow first. Such an unexpected haven in the centre of Oxford
New paper! Investigating the role of sensorimotor spatial dependencies in shaping conscious access to virtual 3D objects, w/ Paweł Moytka, DavidSchwartzman, me, and @ksks.bsky.social. Link below. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 16, 2025 at 9:53 AM
New paper! Investigating the role of sensorimotor spatial dependencies in shaping conscious access to virtual 3D objects, w/ Paweł Moytka, DavidSchwartzman, me, and @ksks.bsky.social. Link below. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A Kantian take on Integrated Information Theory - newly published in Philosophical Explorations by our very own @robertchisciure.bsky.social - and its #OpenAccess too 🎉👇https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13869795.2025.2550245
September 15, 2025 at 4:46 PM
A Kantian take on Integrated Information Theory - newly published in Philosophical Explorations by our very own @robertchisciure.bsky.social - and its #OpenAccess too 🎉👇https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13869795.2025.2550245
Have you ever had a psychedelic experience with your eyes closed? If so, please consider participating in a brief study - the 'Closed-Eye Psychedelic Experience Survey' - led by @SussexCentre PhD student Trevor Hewitt. Find out more at closed-eyes.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Have you ever had a psychedelic experience with your eyes closed? If so, please consider participating in a brief study - the 'Closed-Eye Psychedelic Experience Survey' - led by @SussexCentre PhD student Trevor Hewitt. Find out more at closed-eyes.com
My PhD student Trevor Hewitt is conducting an online experiment into closed-eye visuals during psychedelic experiences. If you've had such an experience, please consider taking part at closed-eyes.com (it's only a short survey) - and/or help us spread the word. 🙏🏽🧠
July 21, 2025 at 1:11 PM
My PhD student Trevor Hewitt is conducting an online experiment into closed-eye visuals during psychedelic experiences. If you've had such an experience, please consider taking part at closed-eyes.com (it's only a short survey) - and/or help us spread the word. 🙏🏽🧠
8/ A key point here is that illusions of artificial consciousness may be cognitively impenetrable, in a similar way to some visual illusions like the Müller-Lyer illusion. We might not be able to think our way out of feeling that non-conscious systems have real feelings.
June 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
8/ A key point here is that illusions of artificial consciousness may be cognitively impenetrable, in a similar way to some visual illusions like the Müller-Lyer illusion. We might not be able to think our way out of feeling that non-conscious systems have real feelings.
7/ Finally, addressing ethics, I distinguish the ethical challenges attending both real artificial consciousness, and (the far less uncertain) conscious-seeming AI.
June 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
7/ Finally, addressing ethics, I distinguish the ethical challenges attending both real artificial consciousness, and (the far less uncertain) conscious-seeming AI.
6/ I lay out a range of scenarios for the substrate-dependency, distinguishing various forms of (computational) functionalism as well as ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ forms of biological naturalism.
June 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
6/ I lay out a range of scenarios for the substrate-dependency, distinguishing various forms of (computational) functionalism as well as ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ forms of biological naturalism.
5/ Third, I explore the (IMO compelling) alternative of biological naturalism – the idea that properties of life are necessary (though not necessarily sufficient) for consciousness. We have conscious experiences with, through, and because of our living bodies.
June 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
5/ Third, I explore the (IMO compelling) alternative of biological naturalism – the idea that properties of life are necessary (though not necessarily sufficient) for consciousness. We have conscious experiences with, through, and because of our living bodies.
3/ ... the challenge of exponentials, confusing intelligence with consciousness, and the transhumanistic rapture of mind uploading.
June 7, 2025 at 8:59 AM
3/ ... the challenge of exponentials, confusing intelligence with consciousness, and the transhumanistic rapture of mind uploading.
Just finished The AI Mirror by @shannonvallor.bsky.social. Very highly recommended. Transcending the stale accelerationist/doomer debate, Vallor reminds us what technology is for, and where (some of the) true dangers of AI lie. Powerful stuff, eloquently written global.oup.com/academic/pro...
April 13, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Just finished The AI Mirror by @shannonvallor.bsky.social. Very highly recommended. Transcending the stale accelerationist/doomer debate, Vallor reminds us what technology is for, and where (some of the) true dangers of AI lie. Powerful stuff, eloquently written global.oup.com/academic/pro...