#152 Why AI Will Never Be Conscious

#152 Why AI Will Never Be Conscious

From Within Reason by Alex J O'Connor

April 20, 2026 · 1h 42m

About this episode

In this episode, Anil Seth discusses why AI will never achieve consciousness, exploring the distinctions between intelligence and consciousness.

Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack .Anil Seth is a British neuroscientist and professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. A proponent of materialist explanations of consciousness, he is currently amongst the most cited scholars on the topics of neuroscience and cognitive science globally.Read Anil's essay, "The Mythology of Conscious AI" . - TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - The Difference Between Intelligence and Consciousness 03:55 - What’s Stopping the Replication of Consciousness in AI? 17:01 - Can You Separate What the Brain Is From What It Does? 22:20 - Is Conscious Experience Just Predictions From the Brain? 26:48 - Why Do We Project Consciousness Onto LLMs? 37:27 - Can Consciousness Exist Without a Body? 42:25 - Why We Liken the Brain to a Computer 52:11 - Is There An Evolutionary Reason For Consciousness? 56:29 - Studying Unconscious Perception? 1:01:21 - Is Consciousness Unified? Split-Brain Patients 1:15:10 - Attention and Consciousness…

People in this episode

Host: Alex J O'Connor

Guest: Anil Seth

Topics covered

  • AI consciousness
  • neuroscience
  • cognitive science
  • materialism
  • intelligence vs consciousness
  • perception
  • evolution of consciousness

Keywords

  • AI
  • consciousness
  • neuroscience
  • materialism
  • cognitive science
  • perception
  • evolution

Sponsors

Huel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Sussex

Products: Huel

Books & works: The Mythology of Conscious AI

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