The science of consciousness: Could a conscious AI exist? - with Anil Seth

About this episode

Anil Seth discusses the science of consciousness and the potential for AI to become conscious.

The science of consciousness is a complex and constantly evolving field of research. Neuroscientists are still understanding how it originates in humans, but the question now arises of whether Artificial Intelligence could ever become conscious. Cognitive and computational neuroscientist Anil Seth discusses the current theories for consciousness, and the probability of AI ever becoming conscious, in his essay 'the mythology of conscious AI' which won him the 2025 Berggruen Prize Essay Competition.    Read Anil's winning essay here . Ri Science Podcast episodes are released on the last Wednesday of every month, and our new ‘From the Theatre’ episodes are released on the second Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to be notified as soon as the next episode is released!  Book tickets to upcoming talks on our  website   Subscribe to our  YouTube channel   Follow us: @ri_science on  Instagram  and  TikTok     Producer and presenter: Lia Hale Assistant producer: Georgina Gonzalez and Freddie Rodgers Music: Joseph Sandy   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Lia Hale

Guest: Anil Seth

Topics covered

• consciousness
• artificial intelligence
• neuroscience
• cognitive science
• theories of consciousness

Keywords

• consciousness
• AI
• neuroscience
• cognitive science
• Berggruen Prize

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Royal Institution

Books & works: the mythology of conscious AI

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