Dennettian Creature
@dennettiancreature.bsky.social
Darwinian->Skinnerian->Popperian->Gregorian->Dennettian
It's problematic. Untangling the definitions of the words "pleasure" and "beauty" can't be complete. Using verbal reports by participants looking at images in a controlled experiment is pretty weak evidence. Also, Kant's philosophy is so yesterday.
December 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It's problematic. Untangling the definitions of the words "pleasure" and "beauty" can't be complete. Using verbal reports by participants looking at images in a controlled experiment is pretty weak evidence. Also, Kant's philosophy is so yesterday.
...would give an AI more narrative cause/effect fodder, to take in sub-linguistic signaling. It's another strange inversion in the story of AI evolution.
December 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
...would give an AI more narrative cause/effect fodder, to take in sub-linguistic signaling. It's another strange inversion in the story of AI evolution.
I'm reminded of the shift of emphasis from good-old-fashioned-AI to neural nets. Another stage of AI evolution could be a graduation from text-based LLM's to multi-modal systems, which simulate embodiment to varying degrees. Being situated in space-time (if only via digital simulation)...
December 24, 2025 at 6:54 PM
I'm reminded of the shift of emphasis from good-old-fashioned-AI to neural nets. Another stage of AI evolution could be a graduation from text-based LLM's to multi-modal systems, which simulate embodiment to varying degrees. Being situated in space-time (if only via digital simulation)...
...of how many model neurons are needed is an interesting question! I assume it depends on what level of the complex hierarchy of brain behavior is being studied. (I should stop here, as I am not the expert - you have extensive experience in this :) I'm fascinated in the subject
December 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
...of how many model neurons are needed is an interesting question! I assume it depends on what level of the complex hierarchy of brain behavior is being studied. (I should stop here, as I am not the expert - you have extensive experience in this :) I'm fascinated in the subject
...of a brain is not the only alternative, and it is overkill for many purposes. I'm coming from an emergentist perspective and believe that "more is different". More than a few neurons are likely needed to reach a critical threshold such that emergent patterns and behaviors arise. The question...
December 23, 2025 at 9:15 PM
...of a brain is not the only alternative, and it is overkill for many purposes. I'm coming from an emergentist perspective and believe that "more is different". More than a few neurons are likely needed to reach a critical threshold such that emergent patterns and behaviors arise. The question...
I agree that toy models are important for building theory, and that neuroscientists will eventually be able to start developing their own AI models and train them instead of using corporate AI. As far as modeling "a few neurons" vs. "scale models", there are intermediate options. A scale model...
December 23, 2025 at 9:15 PM
I agree that toy models are important for building theory, and that neuroscientists will eventually be able to start developing their own AI models and train them instead of using corporate AI. As far as modeling "a few neurons" vs. "scale models", there are intermediate options. A scale model...
Secondly, while I agree that toy models with just a few neurons are useful and important, that is not "all that neuroscience needs". Why take an otherwise good point to such an extreme? Brains are fundamentally parallel and complex; what emerges as intelligence relies on a vast numbers of neurons.
December 22, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Secondly, while I agree that toy models with just a few neurons are useful and important, that is not "all that neuroscience needs". Why take an otherwise good point to such an extreme? Brains are fundamentally parallel and complex; what emerges as intelligence relies on a vast numbers of neurons.
The billion-parameter models are not being developed by neuroscientists in the first place. They are being developed by corporations for the purpose of mass adoption, not by scientists for the purpose of research (strictly). So this comparison is problematic. (Unless I am misinterpreting)...
December 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The billion-parameter models are not being developed by neuroscientists in the first place. They are being developed by corporations for the purpose of mass adoption, not by scientists for the purpose of research (strictly). So this comparison is problematic. (Unless I am misinterpreting)...
But a truly experienced coder who understands LLM's knows how to use them - not for generating code per se but for triggering memory on forgotten techniques; for validating; for invalidating; for reminders on standard/recent practices, etc. The key is knowing that the LLM doesn't [know] anything.
December 22, 2025 at 5:49 PM
But a truly experienced coder who understands LLM's knows how to use them - not for generating code per se but for triggering memory on forgotten techniques; for validating; for invalidating; for reminders on standard/recent practices, etc. The key is knowing that the LLM doesn't [know] anything.
...unconscious minds of each other, which feeds the neural machinery of emotion and meaning. I refer to natural language as the gold standard because it evolved over a long period and is fundamentally embodied. AI systems are neither embodied nor alive. They model verbal language usage, as you say.
December 22, 2025 at 4:37 AM
...unconscious minds of each other, which feeds the neural machinery of emotion and meaning. I refer to natural language as the gold standard because it evolved over a long period and is fundamentally embodied. AI systems are neither embodied nor alive. They model verbal language usage, as you say.
I was referring to the "true" embodiment of natural language, as something that evolved in early human societies, in response to your comment on how it's difficult to identify the locus of AI. Even as we are communicating only with text here, we are generating physically-based models in our...
December 22, 2025 at 4:11 AM
I was referring to the "true" embodiment of natural language, as something that evolved in early human societies, in response to your comment on how it's difficult to identify the locus of AI. Even as we are communicating only with text here, we are generating physically-based models in our...
Part of the problem is the disembodied (or ambiguously-bodied) nature of chat systems, as contrasted with the embodied truth of natural language: our gold standard.
December 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Part of the problem is the disembodied (or ambiguously-bodied) nature of chat systems, as contrasted with the embodied truth of natural language: our gold standard.
I disagree as well. I'm going to block that account.
December 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I disagree as well. I'm going to block that account.
that is incomplete and inaccurate - there's more than just neurology involved. To the extent that certain personalities can be attributed to observable differences in brain structure/function, then the term applies, but there are still many unknowns. Labels are tricky and often counterproductive.
December 20, 2025 at 11:38 PM
that is incomplete and inaccurate - there's more than just neurology involved. To the extent that certain personalities can be attributed to observable differences in brain structure/function, then the term applies, but there are still many unknowns. Labels are tricky and often counterproductive.
It sounds like you're opposing certain views on neurodiversity. I definitely agree there's a lot of contention among different groups on the subject, but it's not clear what claims you're refuting. My take: the prefix "neuro" implies that there is a neurological basis for these differences, but...
December 20, 2025 at 11:30 PM
It sounds like you're opposing certain views on neurodiversity. I definitely agree there's a lot of contention among different groups on the subject, but it's not clear what claims you're refuting. My take: the prefix "neuro" implies that there is a neurological basis for these differences, but...
Could you summarize the key point of this thread?
December 20, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Could you summarize the key point of this thread?
Agree. But if the system is able to continue this for long enough it will have the means to evolve into something we might call life.
December 17, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Agree. But if the system is able to continue this for long enough it will have the means to evolve into something we might call life.
I'll have to watch the video to get more context. I've enjoyed their past conversations. One comment: I would assume that in humans the concept of self is very complex and distributed. An analogy would be the plurality and diversity of interconected homunculi in the brain.
December 17, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I'll have to watch the video to get more context. I've enjoyed their past conversations. One comment: I would assume that in humans the concept of self is very complex and distributed. An analogy would be the plurality and diversity of interconected homunculi in the brain.
...in many cases, the theories get tossed out. The evolution of consciousness is not a complete mystery. There are unknowns and competing theories, but it is not a complete mystery. Perhaps you are referring to subjective, phenomenal, qualia, etc. But even that has some good explanations.
December 16, 2025 at 9:08 PM
...in many cases, the theories get tossed out. The evolution of consciousness is not a complete mystery. There are unknowns and competing theories, but it is not a complete mystery. Perhaps you are referring to subjective, phenomenal, qualia, etc. But even that has some good explanations.
We do have many many clues. I'm not sure where you're coming from. Science (i.e. knowledge) progresses along fuzzy lines - it's not a matter of absolute truths dropping into a box of complete unknowns. There are half-knowns, hypotneses, and theories that get stronger as more evidence is added, or...
December 16, 2025 at 9:03 PM
We do have many many clues. I'm not sure where you're coming from. Science (i.e. knowledge) progresses along fuzzy lines - it's not a matter of absolute truths dropping into a box of complete unknowns. There are half-knowns, hypotneses, and theories that get stronger as more evidence is added, or...
Interesting. So, selves are patterns that are recognized ... recursively - throughout the brain.
December 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Interesting. So, selves are patterns that are recognized ... recursively - throughout the brain.
Of course we have MANY clues about what conditions are necessary for the emergence of consciousness. Evolutionary biology is full of them.
December 16, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Of course we have MANY clues about what conditions are necessary for the emergence of consciousness. Evolutionary biology is full of them.
The discussions on consciousness that have resonated with me lately refer to its recursive nature, so it's not just a matter of pattern recognition. Evolving models of the world in brains began to include the self...and as a consequence, the self thinking of its own thinking.
December 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The discussions on consciousness that have resonated with me lately refer to its recursive nature, so it's not just a matter of pattern recognition. Evolving models of the world in brains began to include the self...and as a consequence, the self thinking of its own thinking.