1/ Interesting #antisocial on @BBCRadio4 w/ @adamfleming, @mocost, Rachel Winder, others on #neurodiversity (bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…). It relates to our recent work on ‘perceptual diversity’, and our attempt to measure it with #ThePerceptionCensus perceptioncensus.dreamachine.world 2/ Why use a different term ‘perceptual diversity’? The original definition of neurodiversity from @singer_judy, rightly emphasised that *everyone* is different and that differences are not deficits. So there is no single ‘neurotypical’ ‘textbook’ brain (as @mocost said). But:

1/ Excellent @guardian #BigIdea piece on agency, 'free will', and the point of feeling that one could have done otherwise by @philipcball - you certainly won't regret your decision to read it 👇🏽 theguardian.com/books/2023/jan… 2/ It's a terrific distillation of a very sensible view on these thorny issues. So much to agree with, e.g.: "There is no such world in which “everything is the same except my decision”. The decision is not somehow superimposed on the rest of the world, but emerges from it."

1/25 Since it’s that time of the year, here’s some (maybe all) of the books I’ve read or listened to in 2022, roughly in chronological order 📚👇🏽 2/ Exact thinking in demented times, by Karl Sigmund. A fascinating, lyrical, vivid, and deeply researched history of the Vienna Circle. Takes a while, but repays handsomely. uk.bookshop.org/books/exact-th…

1/ Fascinating new @NeuroCellPress paper by @CorticalLabs showing that neuronal cultures can be trained to play Pong through a training regime based on active inference cell.com/neuron/fulltex… - 👏🏽 @ANeuroExplorer, Hon Weng Chong and colleagues 2/ I greatly admire the work, but I am concerned about the "exhibit sentience" in the title of the paper. True, sentience can be formally defined merely as 'responsiveness to sensory impressions' - but many people interpret it as a minimal form of consciousness or awareness

Really enjoyed this opening panel on "AI, sentience, and hype" at #WSAI22 @WorldSummitAI - many 🙏🏽 to my fellow panelists (& brilliant host @Kantrowitz), and I'm so sad I can't be there IRL ...

https://twitter.com/DawnHunter83/status/1580113628841537536

I talk more about the prospects and pitfalls of 'machine consciousness' in my book Being You - A New Science of Consciousness, elaborating on the distinction between consciousness and intelligence & much more anilseth.com/being-you/

1/ A great summary of the @NobelPrize winning work in Physics this year, awarded to John Clauser, Alain Aspect, & Anton Zeilinger - by @dangaristo in @sciam scientificamerican.com/article/the-un… 2/ It's great to see the Physics prize recognise work in the fundamentals of quantum mechanics (QM) - in particular the fantastically creative & rigorous experimental work, stretching back decades, showing that the universe is not 'locally real'

1/ "The afterlife is in our heads". A detailed and balanced analysis of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) by @KristenFrench in @NautilusMag - well worth reading nautil.us/the-afterlife-… 2/ There's a near-dead-give-away quote right up top, from Lujan Comas: "For us, it’s important to demonstrate that death is only for the material body". Using 'demonstrate that' rather than 'investigate whether' speaks volumes

1/🧵 Do you what I see? Today we launch #ThePerceptionCensus, part of @Drea_m_achine, and one of the largest citizen science studies on human perception ever undertaken. Check out this video, and discover more (and sign up) here: perceptioncensus.dreamachine.world 2/ It may seem to us that we experience the world ‘as it is’, but in fact we each inhabit a unique, personalised ‘inner universe’. Just as we all differ on the outside, we all differ on the inside too.

1/ A little late to the #LaMDA party, but here's my 2p for what it's worth 🧵. Basically, I agree with @GaryMarcus (& the vast majority of the AI/neuro community) that there is no reason whatsoever to believe that #LaMDA is conscious garymarcus.substack.com/p/nonsense-on-… 2/ #LaMDA is a highly impressive 'word sequence model' (h/t @rogerkmoore) which can give the impression of intelligent understanding, but it is a mistake to take this (variable) impression as evidence for actual intelligent understanding.

1/ A milestone I had hoped not to mark. Today is 6 months since my COVID infection, and I’m still on my #LongCovid journey. Time for a few thoughts. Longish 🧵👇🏽 2/ TLDR version: it’s rough as hell, don’t get COVID, if you do get COVID then do what you can to stop it going long (there are things), if it does go long then rest, take care of your body and mind, you’re not alone & there is hope

1/ Theories of Consciousness – out now in @NatRevNeurosci. In this review (and mild manifesto), Tim Bayne & I survey the current landscape of theories of consciousness (ToCs), examine how they relate to each other and to empirical data … nature.com/articles/s4158… 2/ .. and outline three ways we think theories need to be developed to deliver a mature regimen of theory-testing in the neuroscience of consciousness.

1/3 Just finished @Ananyo Bhattacharya's excellent The Man From The Future - a compelling biography of one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century - John von Neumann. And it's more than that. amazon.co.uk/Man-Future-Vis… 2/3 Surveying von Neumann's visionary contributions, the book takes in the birth of quantum mechanics, the foundations of mathematics, the development of atomic and nuclear weapons, the origins of the computer, the development of game theory, & the beginnings of artificial life.

1/20 FINALLY – its launch day (UK, @FaberBooks) for Being You – A New Science of Consciousness. It will be in bookshops around the country, and also available online (hardback, eBook audiobook) - more details at anilseth.com/being-you/ and at amazon.co.uk/Being-You-Insi… 2/20 I’m excited to talk about the book this evening at the Royal Institution @Ri_Science, in person and online, starting at 7pm and followed by beers. Now with added @AdamRutherford. Tickets available here: rigb.org/whats-on/event…

Today things 1/4: The audiobook and ebook versions of Being You are *now available* for download (UK only I'm afraid) ahead of the hardback launch tomorrow, see amazon.co.uk/Being-You-Insi… Today things 2/4: After many months of development with @moocowmedia (thank you 🙏🏽) I have a new, vastly revamped website, which goes live today🍾 Check it out here: anilseth.com

1/n How can we identify and measure ‘emergent’ processes in complex systems? Here’s a new #arXiv preprint addressing this question, by Lionel Barnett (@LionelBarnett2) and me. It’s all about ‘Dynamical Independence’. arxiv.org/abs/2106.06511. Thread: 2/n Emergence is a popular but difficult to grasp concept. We all have strong intuitions about when macroscopic processes ‘emerge’ from the micro-level constituents – as in flocks (murmurations) of starlings.

1/n Day 2 at #ASSC24 & allow me to highlight some @sacklercentre @SussexUni presentations (all times BST). But first, many congrats to @royesal & team for pulling off an incredible first day 👏 2/n at 4:30pm there's a salon on 'emergence - perspectives and applications' featuring @NadineSpychala, @adambarrett81 , @PedroMediano, @_fernando_rosas, @DanielBor & me (with special guest @lionelbarnett2 ) - watch out for a preprint drop later from Lionel & me