Scott McFarnell
@scottmcf.bsky.social
Assistant Headteacher. Interested in how neuroscience can support education.
#EduSky
#EduSky
Is this GNW with teeth?
Recording of a talk on "Sensory Horizons and Visual Consciousness in Non-human Animals" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Pz...) at the University of Michigan. Based on the recent BBS paper on sensory horizons and consciousness w/ @smfleming.bsky.social.
Sensory Horizons and Visual Consciousness in Non-Human Animal
YouTube video by Michigan Medicine
www.youtube.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Is this GNW with teeth?
A fly uses a convolutional neural network to see, just like a self-driving car. Picture from Sebastian Seung.
January 24, 2026 at 9:04 AM
A fly uses a convolutional neural network to see, just like a self-driving car. Picture from Sebastian Seung.
Future ChatGPTing will depend on billions from SoftBank in Japan & MGX in Abu Dhabi to build Oracle’s Texas cloud via Stargate in Abilene, powered by Nvidia chips designed in Silicon Valley, fabricated by Taiwan’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Company with machines from Veldhoven.
January 24, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Future ChatGPTing will depend on billions from SoftBank in Japan & MGX in Abu Dhabi to build Oracle’s Texas cloud via Stargate in Abilene, powered by Nvidia chips designed in Silicon Valley, fabricated by Taiwan’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Company with machines from Veldhoven.
‘The Hamlet Problem’ In neuroscience & consciousness:
• Sensory data is noisy, partial & delayed
• Stakes of action are real & sometimes urgent
• Waiting for certainty may be worse than acting wrongly.
Consciousness enables action in an uncertain & constrained world. See: @smfleming.bsky.social
• Sensory data is noisy, partial & delayed
• Stakes of action are real & sometimes urgent
• Waiting for certainty may be worse than acting wrongly.
Consciousness enables action in an uncertain & constrained world. See: @smfleming.bsky.social
January 23, 2026 at 10:16 PM
‘The Hamlet Problem’ In neuroscience & consciousness:
• Sensory data is noisy, partial & delayed
• Stakes of action are real & sometimes urgent
• Waiting for certainty may be worse than acting wrongly.
Consciousness enables action in an uncertain & constrained world. See: @smfleming.bsky.social
• Sensory data is noisy, partial & delayed
• Stakes of action are real & sometimes urgent
• Waiting for certainty may be worse than acting wrongly.
Consciousness enables action in an uncertain & constrained world. See: @smfleming.bsky.social
Holographic Universe Infographic
January 17, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Holographic Universe Infographic
The future hurtles toward us.
Do inventors catch it first?
Do inventors catch it first?
January 17, 2026 at 8:46 PM
The future hurtles toward us.
Do inventors catch it first?
Do inventors catch it first?
What is the physics of fiction?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
January 17, 2026 at 3:19 PM
What is the physics of fiction?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
You can’t create or destroy matter or energy.
But the universe seems to be constantly creating more and more new information.
If information is physical…
where does the extra information come from?
But the universe seems to be constantly creating more and more new information.
If information is physical…
where does the extra information come from?
January 17, 2026 at 12:51 PM
You can’t create or destroy matter or energy.
But the universe seems to be constantly creating more and more new information.
If information is physical…
where does the extra information come from?
But the universe seems to be constantly creating more and more new information.
If information is physical…
where does the extra information come from?
Is thought an abstract structure or tied to biology?
January 17, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Is thought an abstract structure or tied to biology?
‘Pride & Prejudice’ isn't the ink. It isn't the paper. It isn't even the neurons firing in your brain.
It has no mass, no energy, and no location. Yet it exists.
What is the physics of fiction?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
It has no mass, no energy, and no location. Yet it exists.
What is the physics of fiction?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
January 17, 2026 at 12:30 PM
‘Pride & Prejudice’ isn't the ink. It isn't the paper. It isn't even the neurons firing in your brain.
It has no mass, no energy, and no location. Yet it exists.
What is the physics of fiction?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
It has no mass, no energy, and no location. Yet it exists.
What is the physics of fiction?
Does a story exist outside of space and time?
Reposted by Scott McFarnell
We introduce epiplexity, a new measure of information that provides a foundation for how to select, generate, or transform data for learning systems. We have been working on this for almost 2 years, and I cannot contain my excitement! arxiv.org/abs/2601.03220 1/7
January 7, 2026 at 5:28 PM
We introduce epiplexity, a new measure of information that provides a foundation for how to select, generate, or transform data for learning systems. We have been working on this for almost 2 years, and I cannot contain my excitement! arxiv.org/abs/2601.03220 1/7
Karl Friston argues consciousness will not arise in standard von Neumann computers that split CPU and memory. Experience depends on self-organising, embodied systems. Different architectures might one day feel something.
youtu.be/rVVy_f6zsnM?...
youtu.be/rVVy_f6zsnM?...
Prof Karl Friston and Dr Susan Blackmore: Why do models suffer?
YouTube video by Cheltenham and UK Philosophers
youtu.be
January 10, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Karl Friston argues consciousness will not arise in standard von Neumann computers that split CPU and memory. Experience depends on self-organising, embodied systems. Different architectures might one day feel something.
youtu.be/rVVy_f6zsnM?...
youtu.be/rVVy_f6zsnM?...
Another beautiful day
January 4, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Another beautiful day
Yesterday’s sunset
January 2, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Yesterday’s sunset
In honour of National Science Fiction day (2 Jan), I’m posting this.
It caused some debate in my household. Which franchise do you think is top of the ladder?
• Doctor Who
• Star Wars
• Star Trek
It caused some debate in my household. Which franchise do you think is top of the ladder?
• Doctor Who
• Star Wars
• Star Trek
January 2, 2026 at 10:19 AM
In honour of National Science Fiction day (2 Jan), I’m posting this.
It caused some debate in my household. Which franchise do you think is top of the ladder?
• Doctor Who
• Star Wars
• Star Trek
It caused some debate in my household. Which franchise do you think is top of the ladder?
• Doctor Who
• Star Wars
• Star Trek
1. If nothing is ever good or bad for an AI, can it be conscious?
2. Is intelligence without stakes just calculation?
3. For an AI to be conscious, must something matter to it?
4. What?
5. Will we get to that point?
2. Is intelligence without stakes just calculation?
3. For an AI to be conscious, must something matter to it?
4. What?
5. Will we get to that point?
January 1, 2026 at 9:04 PM
1. If nothing is ever good or bad for an AI, can it be conscious?
2. Is intelligence without stakes just calculation?
3. For an AI to be conscious, must something matter to it?
4. What?
5. Will we get to that point?
2. Is intelligence without stakes just calculation?
3. For an AI to be conscious, must something matter to it?
4. What?
5. Will we get to that point?
How would you verify if an AI is conscious?
January 1, 2026 at 4:48 PM
How would you verify if an AI is conscious?
New Year’s Day is an appropriate time to think of goals & resilience.
You cannot will grit into existence, but some say you can change the future landscape in which your later self operates.
How far would you agree?
You cannot will grit into existence, but some say you can change the future landscape in which your later self operates.
How far would you agree?
January 1, 2026 at 12:35 PM
New Year’s Day is an appropriate time to think of goals & resilience.
You cannot will grit into existence, but some say you can change the future landscape in which your later self operates.
How far would you agree?
You cannot will grit into existence, but some say you can change the future landscape in which your later self operates.
How far would you agree?
About this time every year, ‘experts’ make predictions of what skills & jobs are going to be needed in 5 years.
They often say: the world of work will be unrecognisable. There will be no…etc.
I looked back at what they said in 2015 & 2020 & it’s exactly the same as they are saying now!
They often say: the world of work will be unrecognisable. There will be no…etc.
I looked back at what they said in 2015 & 2020 & it’s exactly the same as they are saying now!
January 1, 2026 at 11:42 AM
About this time every year, ‘experts’ make predictions of what skills & jobs are going to be needed in 5 years.
They often say: the world of work will be unrecognisable. There will be no…etc.
I looked back at what they said in 2015 & 2020 & it’s exactly the same as they are saying now!
They often say: the world of work will be unrecognisable. There will be no…etc.
I looked back at what they said in 2015 & 2020 & it’s exactly the same as they are saying now!
Beautiful morning - with the cliff from Shakespeare’s King Lear in the background.
December 31, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Beautiful morning - with the cliff from Shakespeare’s King Lear in the background.
It seems to be an exciting time in AI development with Embodied Spatial Intelligence progressing from 1-dimensional Large Language Models to World Labs’ 4-dimensional Large World Models, via Dreamer’s virtual simulations & Liquid’s adaptive (C. elegans inspired) networks.
December 30, 2025 at 10:01 PM
It seems to be an exciting time in AI development with Embodied Spatial Intelligence progressing from 1-dimensional Large Language Models to World Labs’ 4-dimensional Large World Models, via Dreamer’s virtual simulations & Liquid’s adaptive (C. elegans inspired) networks.
The sun is just peeking out
December 30, 2025 at 12:52 PM
The sun is just peeking out
Is intelligence about mining the future?
December 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Is intelligence about mining the future?
Science Fiction fans - what do you think of this? 😉
December 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Science Fiction fans - what do you think of this? 😉