David Chalmers

Can virtual worlds be genuinely real? In this conversation, David Chalmers explores the philosophical implications of virtual reality, simulation theory, and digital existence. Discussing themes from his book Reality+ , Chalmers examines whether we could be living in a simulation, whether virtual worlds can contain real meaning and value, and how emerging digital realities challenge our understanding of consciousness, knowledge, and existence. Chalmers' book, Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy, is available for purchase: https://bookshop.org/books/reality-virtual-worlds-and-the-problems-of-philosophy/9780393635805 David Chalmers is Professor of Philosophy at New York University and Co-Director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness. His work focuses on consciousness, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, epistemology, and the foundations of cognitive science. Subscribe to Closer To Truth: https://www.youtube.com/@CloserToTruthTV Join the Community: Membership (5,000+ videos): https://closertotruth.com/register/ Audio Podcast: https://closertotruth.podbean.com Support the Show: https://closertotruth.com/donate/ Official Merchandise: https://www.bonfire.com/store/closertotruth/ Follow Us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloserToTruthTV/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/closertotruth/ X: https://x.com/CloserToTruth

It’s extremely difficult to doubt that you’re conscious, but still nearly impossible to explain why. As AI starts to speak in a voice that feels familiar, this ancient philosophical puzzle is becoming practical. If a system can persuade us it has an inner life, what does that do to the way we decide who – or what – matters? In this episode, philosopher David Chalmers makes the case that consciousness needs to move beyond the realm of mystery. Over the past three decades, serious work on the subject has gone from fringe curiosity to an active research frontier, but the central enigma remains. As the virtual infiltrates ‘IRL,’ the line between human and machine blurs. Or maybe it never mattered at all. Find more episodes of Futurology: Subscribe to the Berggruen Institute on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Berggrueninst All Futurology Episodes: Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/futurology/id1821718921 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2I38HvHP6KlXrD5ysfygxk?si=XB2qyyGjT2ONMTd5XUKJAg&nd=1&dlsi=ac8cda6751834298 Mentioned in this Episode: The Conscious Mind — David Chalmers (Book, 1996) Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy — David Chalmers (Book, 2022) The Emperor’s New Mind — Roger Penrose (Book, 1989) Neurophilosophy — — Patricia Churchland (Book, 1986) Is the Hard Problem of Consciousness Universal? — David Chalmers (Article, 2020) The Singularity: A Philosophical Analysis — David Chalmers (Article, 2010) “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” — Thomas Nagel (Article, 1974) The Puzzle of Conscious Experience – David Chalmers (Article, 1995) Could a Large Language Model Be Conscious? — David Chalmers (Paper, 2023) The Meta-Problem of Consciousness — David Chalmers (Paper, 2018) Does Thought Require Sensory Grounding? From Pure Thinkers to Large Language Models – David J. Chalmers (Talk, 2023) Find David Chalmers Here: Website: https://consc.net/ On X: https://x.com/davidchalmers42?lang=en Show ideas and feedback? Email: futurology@berggruen.org Learn more about the Berggruen Institute https://www.berggruen.org Follow Futurology! Instagram : /futurologypod Twitter/X : / futurologypod <a href="https://ww

In this episode, host David Ragland and his AI co-host Audrey dive into philosopher David Chalmers’ “hard problem of consciousness”—the enduring mystery of why and how subjective experience arises. Together, they explore key ideas such as qualia, philosophical zombies, and the ethical dilemmas posed by advanced AI systems that mimic human behavior but may lack inner life. Can machines ever be truly conscious? Should we treat them as if they are? And what happens if we get it wrong? Whether you’re a philosopher, technologist, or just deeply curious about the human mind, this episode will challenge how you think about intelligence, identity, and what it really means to “stay human” in the age of AI. Next up: Can machines tell stories? We explore fiction, myth, and the interpretive limits of generative AI. And for deeper explorations of this and other themes, please checkout the following books, available on Amazon: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit profragland.substack.com

Wir erforschen die faszinierenden Aspekte des Bewusstseins und hinterfragen, ob es sich auf Materie reduzieren lässt. Mit den Gedanken von David Chalmers und Thomas Nagel nähern wir uns der tiefen Essenz unserer Erfahrungen – einem Mysterium, das sich der rein wissenschaftlichen Analyse entzieht. Link zur längeren Audio Podcastfolge: - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe_sp7LeEsQ - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1NgKRwKqsz81ilnukRBVDI 0:00 Intro 0:50 Hat Alex ein Bewusstsein? 1:49 Bratkartoffeln können Leben retten 3:45 Bewusstsein als faszinierendes Phänomen 5:18 David Chalmers: The Hard Problem of Consciousness 6:49 Easy Problems of Consciousness 8:35 Das Bewusstsein lässt sich durch wissenschaftliche Methoden nicht erfassen 10:47 Gedankenexperimente in der Geistesphilosophie 11:11 Sind philosophische Zombies möglich? 16:00 Kann es in einer rein physikalischen Welt Gefühle geben? 17:25 Das Bewusstsein superveniert nicht logisch über dem Physikalischen 18:40 David Chalmers: Das Bewusstsein gehört zur primären Realität 19:40 Holm Tetens: Gott ist als Geisteswesen die primäre Realität (Idealismus) 20:36 Leib-Seele-Problem #Bewusstsein #Qualia #DavidChalmers #ThomasNagel #Philosophie #Wissenschaft #BewussteErfahrung #MateriellesDenken #KognitiveWissenschaft #Erkenntnistheorie #Gott #Glaube #HardProblem #Consciousness #Hirnforschung #Neurowissenschaften #Camus Quellen: Chalmers, David. The Conscious Mind, 1996 Oxford University Press Tetens, Holm. Gott denken 8. Auflage, 2015 Reclam Nagel, Thomas. What is it like to be a bat?, 1974 The Philosophical Review

David Chalmers prägte den Begriff „Hard Problem of Consciousness“, ein Rätsel, das Philosophie und Neurowissenschaften bis heute herausfordert. Simon und Alex diskutieren seine faszinierenden Gedankenexperimente und die Überzeugung Chalmers, dass Bewusstsein mehr ist als bloße Materie und sich nicht auf physikalische Prozesse reduzieren lässt. (0:00) Einleitung (1:05) In welchen Situationen fühlst du dich besonders lebendig? (4:56) Ich kann nicht wissen wie es sich anfühlt du zu sein (5:37) The Hard Problem of Consciousness (7:31) Biologische Maschinen/philosophische Zombies (10:38) Die Ich-Perspektive (12:44) Selbstreflexion: Warum löst das Bewusstsein eine Faszination in Simon aus? (14:34) Das Bewusstsein ist ein überraschendes Phänomen dieser Welt (15:32) Haben Tiere ein Bewusstsein? (20:53) Hard Problem vs. Easy Problems (24:00) Evolutionärer Erklärungsversuch (29:15) Das Bewusstsein lässt sich nicht auf Materie reduzieren (33:09) Bin ich die einzige Person mit Bewusstsein? Das Problem des Fremdpsychischen (36:12) Chalmers wendete sich vom Materialismus ab. Er betrachtet das Bewusstsein als fundamentale Größe. (39:40) Zusammenfassung (46:10) Ausblick auf Holm Tetens Quelle: Chalmers, David. The Conscious Mind, Oxford University Press, 1996

What exactly is consciousness, and why is it such a hard problem to solve? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly take you deep into the mysteries of consciousness and objective reality, David Chalmers, a philosopher and cognitive scientist. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/the-hard-problem-of-consciousness-with-david-chalmers Thanks to our Patrons Jay, Gregory Aronoff, Tom B. Night, Barnsley, Glenn, Hibachi Flamethrower, Crescencio Maximilian joseph Martinez, Micheal Gomez, Matthew Deane, James, Joe Chillemi, Thomas van Cleave, Kelsey Plugge, Jeff Jones, William Hamilton, and Kevin Cosg. for supporting us this week. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of StarTalk Radio ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus .

An introduction and summary of "The Conscious Mind" By David Chalmers 1996 What is consciousness? How do physical processes in the brain give rise to the self-aware mind and to feelings as profoundly varied as love or hate, aesthetic pleasure or spiritual yearning? These questions today are among the most hotly debated issues among scientists and philosophers, and we have seen in recent years superb volumes by such eminent figures as Francis Crick, Daniel C. Dennett, Gerald Edelman, and Roger Penrose, all firing volleys in what has come to be called the consciousness wars. Now, in The Conscious Mind, philosopher David J. Chalmers offers a cogent analysis of this heated debate as he unveils a major new theory of consciousness, one that rejects the prevailing reductionist trend of science, while offering provocative insights into the relationship between mind and brain. Writing in a rigorous, thought-provoking style, the author takes us on a far-reaching tour through the philosophical ramifications of consciousness. Chalmers convincingly reveals how contemporary cognitive science and neurobiology have failed to explain how and why mental events emerge from physiological occurrences in the brain. He proposes instead that conscious experience must be understood in an entirely new light--as an irreducible entity (similar to such physical properties as time, mass, and space) that exists at a fundamental level and cannot be understood as the sum of its parts. And after suggesting some intriguing possibilities about the structure and laws of conscious experience, he details how his unique reinterpretation of the mind could be the focus of a new science. Throughout the book, Chalmers provides fascinating thought experiments that trenchantly illustrate his ideas. For example, in exploring the notion that consciousness could be experienced by machines as well as humans, Chalmers asks us to imagine a thinking brain in which neurons are slowly replaced by silicon chips that precisely duplicate their functions--as the neurons are replaced, will consciousness gradually fade away? The book also features thoughtful discussions of how the author's theories might be practically applied to subjects as diverse as artificial intelligence and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. All of us have pondered the nature and meaning of consciousness. Engaging and penetrating, The Conscious Mind adds a fresh new perspective to the subject that is sure to spark debate about our understanding of the mind for years to come.

Is the Matrix really real? And if so, which pill would David Chalmers take? Join us for a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, human consciousness, technology, philosophy, and religion, and find out! David Chalmers is an Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist specializing in the areas of philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. He is a Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science at New York University and co-director of NYU's Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness (along with Ned Block). Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) Judging the book by its cover (01:49) Defining the hard problem of consciousness (04:50) Why is there tension between physics and philosophy (07:20) The Chalmers equation for the simulation hypothesis? (11:57) What have we learned about consciousness from computer analogs? (21:24) AI physicists (32:08) What is it from bit? Or is that bit from it? (40:10) What does it take for the maker of the simulation to be god or godlike? (47:50) Why create the world (or the simulation)? (53:49) Can there be a substrate-free creator (simulator)? (57:43) Why do you claim we can't know if we are in a simulation? (1:06:32) Would you take the red pill? (1:08:41) Outro (1:16:43) — Additional resources: 📢 Ownership of your health starts with AG1. Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3K2 and 5 FREE AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase 👉 https://drinkag1.com/impossible 📚 Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy by David Chalmers: https://a.co/d/3pzidPf ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/mailing_list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/blog.php 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast — Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is

David Chalmers explores whether large language models could be conscious, examining cognitive science and philosophical implications. The conversation expands with a panel featuring Ben Goertzel, Susan Schneider, and Curt Jaimungal. - 00:00:00 - Introduction - 00:02:10 - Talk by David Chalmers on LLMs - 00:26:00 - Panel with Ben Goertzel, Susan Schneider, and Curt Jaimungal SPONSORS: - Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE - PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... - Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b9... - Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeveryt... - TOE Merch: https://tinyurl.com/TOEmerch RESOURCES: - YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqWxxPhZEGY - Podcast w/ Susan Schneider on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQXpKyUh4g&t=0s - Reality Plus (David Chalmers): https://amzn.to/473AKPw - Mindfest Playlist on TOE (Ai and Consciousness): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ7ikzmc6zlOPw7Hqkc6-MXEMBy0fnZcb - Mindfest (official website): https://www.fau.edu/artsandletters/news/mindfest-2023 - Talk by Ben Goertzel on AGI timelines: https://youtu.be/27zHyw_oHSI - Podcast with Ben Goertzel and Joscha Bach on Theolocution: https://youtu.be/xw7omaQ8SgA - Talk by Claudia Passos, Garrett Mindt, and Carlos Montemayor on Petri Minds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_YMcEPfqCM&t=0s - Stephen Wolfram talk on AI, ChatGPT: https://youtu.be/xHPQ_oSsJgg Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. SPONSOR: I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support us! https://www.patreon.com/mlst (On the main version we released; the music was a tiny bit too loud in places, and some pieces had percussion which was a bit distracting -- here is a version with all music removed so you have the option! ) David Chalmers is a professor of philosophy and neural science at New York University, and an honorary professor of philosophy at the Australian National University. He is the co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, as well as the PhilPapers Foundation. His research focuses on the philosophy of mind, especially consciousness, and its connection to fields such as cognitive science, physics, and technology. He also investigates areas such as the philosophy of language, metaphysics, and epistemology. With his impressive breadth of knowledge and experience, David Chalmers is a leader in the philosophical community. The central challenge for consciousness studies is to explain how something immaterial, subjective, and personal can arise out of something material, objective, and impersonal. This is illustrated by the example of a bat, whose sensory experience is much different from ours, making it difficult to imagine what it's like to be one. Thomas Nagel's "inconceivability argument" has its advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately it is impossible to solve the mind-body problem due to the subjective nature of experience. This is further explored by examining the concept of philosophical zombies, which are physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from conscious humans yet lack conscious experience. This has implications for the Hard Problem of Consciousness, which is the attempt to explain how mental states are linked to neurophysiological activity. The Chinese Room Argument is used as a thought experiment to explain why physicality may be insufficient to be the source of the subjective, coherent experience we call consciousness. Despite much debate, the Hard Problem of Consciousness remains unsolved. Chalmers has been working on a functional approach to decide whether large language models are, or could be conscious. Filmed at #neurips22 Discord: https://discord.gg/aNPkGUQtc5 Pod: https://anchor.fm/machinelearningstreettalk/episodes/90---Prof--DAVID-CHALMERS---Slightly-Conscious-LLMs-e1sej50 TOC; [00:00:00] Introduction [00:00:40] LLMs consciousness pitch [00:06:33] Philosophical Zombies [00:09:26] The hard problem of consciousness [00:11:40] Nagal's bat and intelligibility [00:21:04] LLM intro clip from NeurIPS [00:22:55] Connor Leahy on self-awareness in LLMs [00:23:30] Sneak peek from unreleased show - could consciousness be a submodule? [00:33:44] SeppH [00:36:15] Tim interviews David at NeurIPS (functionalism / panpsychism / Searle) [00:45:20] Peter Hase interviews Chalmers (focus on interpretability/safety) Panel: Dr. Tim Scarfe Dr. Keith Duggar Contact David; https://mobile.twitter.com/davidchalmers42 https://consc.net/ References; Could a Large Language Model Be Conscious? [Chalmers NeurIPS22 talk] https://nips.cc/media/neurips-2022/Slides/55867.pdf What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [Nagel] https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/study/ugmodules/humananimalstudies/lectures/32/nagel_bat.pdf Zombies https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zombies/ zombies on the web [Chalmers] https://consc.net/zombies-on-the-web/ The hard problem of consciousness [Chalmers] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-00485-017 David Chalmers, "Are Large Language Models Sentient?" [NYU talk, same as at NeurIPS] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BcuCmf00_Y

Support us! https://www.patreon.com/mlst David Chalmers is a professor of philosophy and neural science at New York University, and an honorary professor of philosophy at the Australian National University. He is the co-director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, as well as the PhilPapers Foundation. His research focuses on the philosophy of mind, especially consciousness, and its connection to fields such as cognitive science, physics, and technology. He also investigates areas such as the philosophy of language, metaphysics, and epistemology. With his impressive breadth of knowledge and experience, David Chalmers is a leader in the philosophical community. The central challenge for consciousness studies is to explain how something immaterial, subjective, and personal can arise out of something material, objective, and impersonal. This is illustrated by the example of a bat, whose sensory experience is much different from ours, making it difficult to imagine what it's like to be one. Thomas Nagel's "inconceivability argument" has its advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately it is impossible to solve the mind-body problem due to the subjective nature of experience. This is further explored by examining the concept of philosophical zombies, which are physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from conscious humans yet lack conscious experience. This has implications for the Hard Problem of Consciousness, which is the attempt to explain how mental states are linked to neurophysiological activity. The Chinese Room Argument is used as a thought experiment to explain why physicality may be insufficient to be the source of the subjective, coherent experience we call consciousness. Despite much debate, the Hard Problem of Consciousness remains unsolved. Chalmers has been working on a functional approach to decide whether large language models are, or could be conscious. Filmed at #neurips22 Discord: https://discord.gg/aNPkGUQtc5 YT: https://youtu.be/T7aIxncLuWk TOC; [00:00:00] Introduction [00:00:40] LLMs consciousness pitch [00:06:33] Philosophical Zombies [00:09:26] The hard problem of consciousness [ 00:11:40 ] Nagal's bat and intelligibility [00:21:04] LLM intro clip from NeurIPS [00:22:55] Connor Leahy on self-awareness in LLMs [00:23:30] Sneak peek from unreleased show - could consciousness be a submodule? [00:33:44] SeppH [00:36:15] Tim interviews David at NeurIPS (functionalism / panpsychism / Searle) [00:45:20] Peter Hase interviews Chalmers (focus on interpretability/safety) Panel: Dr. Tim Scarfe Dr. Keith Duggar Contact David; https://mobile.twitter.com/davidchalmers42 https://consc.net/ References; Could a Large Language Model Be Conscious? [Chalmers NeurIPS22 talk] https://nips.cc/media/neurips-2022/Slides/55867.pdf What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [Nagel] https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/study/ugmodules/humananimalstudies/lectures/32/nagel_bat.pdf Zombies https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zombies/ zombies on the web [Chalmers] https://consc.net/zombies-on-the-web/ The hard problem of consciousness [Chalmers] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-00485-017 David Chalmers, "Are Large Language Models Sentient?" [NYU talk, same as at NeurIPS] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BcuCmf00_Y

David Chalmers is the guest on the latest Lexman episode, and the two discuss the hollowness of some commonly held beliefs. David Chalmers is a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he's known for his work on semantic theory and the philosophy of mind. Do beliefs about reality necessarily lead to coherent thought? And where do subjective experiences like fear or dread come from anyways? Tune in to find out!