Professor David Braddon Mitchell, University of Sydney

Various naturalistic theories of consciousness try to identify which physical features of the human brain make us conscious. According to most of these theories, Large Language Models (LLMs) are either already there or getting close. I’ll discuss why this is the case and address the common response that LLMs are just predicting sentences and are as dumb as a toaster, explaining why this view is mistaken.

The second part will be a bit more depressing. I’ll be talking about how society will function if AI, robots, and factories are all owned by the richest corporations and individuals, which seems likely. If this happens, there will come a time when those resources provide all that is needed and more for the super-wealthy, leaving them with no need to employ anyone else. The fear is that unless these things are brought into public ownership, 99% of the population might be plunged into unprecedented poverty.

There is, of course, a hopeful possibility: the post-scarcity society. But achieving this will require action starting now to have a decent chance of becoming a reality.

Philosophy at Otago is pleased to present the second of two Dan and Gwen Taylor public lectures, this one presented by Professor David Braddon-Mitchell from the University of Sydney.