Why AI Will Never Be Conscious, According to a Consciousness Expert
From Solutions with Henry Blodget by Vox Media Podcast Network
May 4, 2026 · 1h 7m
About this episode
Anil Seth discusses the dangers of the mythology surrounding conscious AI and the scientific definition of consciousness.
Anil Seth is concerned about the “mythology of conscious AI” – the growing argument that LLMs and other AI systems might one day achieve consciousness. Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and a leading expert on consciousness. He’s skeptical that AI will ever achieve true consciousness, and argues there’s danger in perceiving these technical systems as feeling beings. Today, we discuss that danger, and what science even defines as "consciousness." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Henry Blodget
Guest: Anil Seth
Topics covered
- AI consciousness
- cognitive neuroscience
- mythology of conscious AI
- perception of AI
- science of consciousness
Keywords
- AI
- consciousness
- Anil Seth
- cognitive neuroscience
- LLMs
- perception
- mythology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Sussex
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