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Is Reality a Controlled Hallucination? - with Anil Seth

The Royal Institution・55 minutes read

Consciousness is a complex topic explored by Anil Seth, merging philosophy, neuroscience, and computational models to understand the brain mechanisms influencing conscious properties and various perceptual experiences. Interoceptive predictions, body ownership, and the brain's imperative to stay alive are crucial aspects that underpin consciousness and free will, challenging the notion of achieving consciousness through artificial intelligence without the foundation of life.

Insights

  • Consciousness is defined as the presence of any experience, distinct from sensitivity, intelligence, or agency, and is characterized by integrated and informative experiences, prompting the investigation of brain activity linked to consciousness.
  • Perception is described as a controlled hallucination, emphasizing the role of predictions and errors in shaping our experiences, while the brain's predictive mechanisms, rooted in the imperative to stay alive, underpin all perceptions, highlighting the close relationship between consciousness and life.

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Recent questions

  • What is consciousness according to Anil Seth?

    Consciousness is defined as the presence of any experience, distinct from sensitivity, intelligence, or agency. Anil Seth, a cognitive and computational neuroscience professor, merges philosophy, neuroscience, and computational models to understand consciousness. He emphasizes that consciousness is not equivalent to wakefulness, prompting the investigation of brain activity linked to consciousness. Seth proposes addressing the real problem of consciousness by exploring how brain and body mechanisms influence conscious properties, highlighting the complexity of this phenomenon.

  • How does the brain perceive self-change blindness?

    Self-change blindness is discussed, highlighting how our brains perceive ourselves as changing less than we actually do. Anil Seth delves into the concept of self as a form of perception, exploring different aspects of self-experience such as bodily, volitional, narrative, and social selves. He emphasizes that the self is not a unified entity but comprises various components that can be experienced separately. The brain's predictive mechanisms play a crucial role in shaping our perceptions of self and the world around us, illustrating the intricate relationship between consciousness and self-awareness.

  • What role do hallucinations play in understanding consciousness?

    Hallucinations are viewed as uncontrolled perceptions resulting from a disruption in the balance between predictions and errors in the brain. Anil Seth discusses how neural networks can be manipulated to simulate different types of hallucinations, ranging from complex scenes to simple patterns. He emphasizes that perception is described as a controlled hallucination, highlighting the role of predictions and errors in shaping our experiences. By studying hallucinations, researchers aim to gain insights into the mechanisms behind various perceptual experiences and their implications for understanding consciousness.

  • How does interoception influence consciousness?

    Interoception involves the brain sensing its own physiological condition through sensory signals without direct access to specific body parts. Anil Seth explains that interoceptive predictions focus on controlling the body's functions to ensure survival, unlike perceptions of the external world that aim to gather information. Embodied experiences, emotions, and moods are grounded in interoceptive predictions, which differ from perceptions of the external world. The brain's predictive mechanisms, rooted in the imperative to stay alive, underpin all perceptions, highlighting the close relationship between consciousness and life.

  • What is the significance of free will in consciousness?

    Free will is perceived as the core of making actions that appear to come from within, reflecting the brain's predictions about self-control. Anil Seth discusses how individuals perceive the world uniquely, with differences often unseen due to shared language, emphasizing the vast space of other minds beyond human experience. Consciousness is closely tied to being alive, challenging the notion that artificial intelligence can achieve consciousness without the foundation of life. The speaker pays tribute to a former PhD student named Paul Chorley, highlighting the importance of human experiences and connections in shaping our understanding of consciousness.

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Summary

00:00

"Exploring Consciousness: Anil Seth's Insights"

  • Transition from unconscious to conscious is a daily occurrence, yet not fully understood.
  • Consciousness has been a central theme in Western thought, explored by philosophers, artists, and now scientists.
  • Anil Seth, a cognitive and computational neuroscience professor, delves into the hard problem of consciousness in his book "Being You."
  • Seth's work merges philosophy, neuroscience, and computational models to understand consciousness.
  • The audience engages in a Q&A session after Seth's hour-long talk.
  • Seth reflects on the disconcerting yet gratifying experience of returning to lecturing after 18 months.
  • Change blindness, a phenomenon in perception, is demonstrated with an evolving background image.
  • Self-change blindness is discussed, highlighting how our brains perceive ourselves as changing less than we actually do.
  • Consciousness is defined as the presence of any experience, distinct from sensitivity, intelligence, or agency.
  • Seth proposes addressing the real problem of consciousness by exploring how brain and body mechanisms influence conscious properties.

16:26

"Brain Complexity and Consciousness: A Connection"

  • Dreaming is a conscious state during sleep, distinct from vegetative or unaware wakeful states after brain injury.
  • Consciousness is not equivalent to wakefulness, prompting the investigation of brain activity linked to consciousness.
  • Lempel-Ziv complexity, measuring patterns in data, is used to assess brain activity related to consciousness.
  • Brain complexity decreases during loss of consciousness, as seen in sleep and under anesthesia.
  • Brain activity during wakeful rest and REM sleep mirrors patterns observed when conscious and dreaming.
  • Psychedelic states, induced by substances like LSD, show increased brain complexity, contrary to unconscious states.
  • Consciousness is characterized by integrated and informative experiences, as proposed by Adelman and Tononi.
  • Measures capturing integration and information in brain dynamics are being developed to understand consciousness.
  • Predictive processing in the brain involves top-down predictions shaping perceptual experiences based on sensory data.
  • Computational neurophenomenology aims to bridge brain activity and conscious experiences, focusing on unusual experiences like hallucinations.

31:42

"Neural Networks and Perception: Understanding Hallucinations"

  • The brain is wired to see faces in various objects, indicating a strong prediction about faces.
  • A neural network can be manipulated to project predictions into images, creating a "hallucination machine" that immerses viewers in a world filled with specific objects like dogs.
  • Research is progressing to simulate different types of hallucinations, ranging from complex scenes to simple patterns.
  • Neural networks are being used to understand the mechanisms behind various perceptual experiences, including hallucinations.
  • Hallucinations are viewed as uncontrolled perceptions resulting from a disruption in the balance between predictions and errors in the brain.
  • Perception is described as a controlled hallucination, emphasizing the role of predictions and errors in shaping our experiences.
  • The concept of self is explored as a form of perception, highlighting the different aspects of self-experience such as bodily, volitional, narrative, and social selves.
  • The self is not a unified entity but comprises various components that can be experienced separately, as illustrated by cases like Clive Wearing's severe amnesia.
  • The rubber hand illusion demonstrates how suggestibility influences the strength of perceptual experiences, indicating that expectations play a significant role in shaping perceptions.
  • The experience of being a body is distinguished from the experience of having a body, with a focus on the basic sensation of being alive, termed as the "beast machine."

47:00

"The Brain's Role in Body Ownership"

  • Body ownership is fundamental to the self, but there's also the experience of being a living organism, which is crucial to understanding oneself.
  • Perception is not just about the outside world but also about interoception, where the brain perceives and regulates the body's interior.
  • Interoception involves the brain sensing its own physiological condition through sensory signals without direct access to specific body parts.
  • Brains primarily aim to keep the body alive, relying on interoceptive predictions and prediction errors to control the body's functions.
  • Interoceptive predictions focus on controlling the body's functions to ensure survival, unlike perceptions of the external world that aim to gather information.
  • Embodied experiences, emotions, and moods are grounded in interoceptive predictions, which differ from perceptions of the external world.
  • The brain's predictive mechanisms, rooted in the imperative to stay alive, underpin all perceptions, highlighting the close relationship between consciousness and life.
  • Free will is perceived as the core of making actions that appear to come from within, reflecting the brain's predictions about self-control.
  • Individuals perceive the world uniquely, with differences often unseen due to shared language, emphasizing the vast space of other minds beyond human experience.
  • Consciousness is closely tied to being alive, challenging the notion that artificial intelligence can achieve consciousness without the foundation of life.

01:03:03

Remembering Paul Chorley: A Tribute

  • The speaker pays tribute to a former PhD student named Paul Chorley who passed away in 2013 after completing his thesis.
  • Paul is described as a lovely man with a brilliant intellect, and the speaker expresses sadness at his loss.
  • The talk is dedicated to keeping Paul's memory alive, and the speaker concludes by thanking the audience.
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