The space of (possibly) sentient beings - Many Minds
- Rating
-
- Fav.
- Waveform
-
- Action
-
- Link
- Title
- The space of (possibly) sentient beings
- Description
- <p class="MsoNormal">We may not know what it's like to be a bat, but we're pretty confident that it's like <em>something</em>—that bats (and other mammals) are sentient creatures. They feel pleasure and pain, cold and warmth, agitation and comfort. But when it comes to other creatures, the case is less clear. Is a crab sentient? What about a termite, or a tree? The honest answer is we just don't know—and yet, despite that uncertainty, practical questions arise. How should we treat these beings? What do we owe them?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My guest today is <a href= "https://personal.lse.ac.uk/birchj1/">Dr. Jonathan Birch</a>. Jonathan is a Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics and the author of the new book <em style= "mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href= "https://www.edgeofsentience.com/">The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI</a></em>. In it, he presents a framework for thinking about which beings might be sentient and about how our policies should account for this.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here, we talk about Jonathan's work at the nexus of philosophy, science, and policy—in particular, his role in advising the UK government on the welfare of cephalopods and decapods. We discuss what it means to be sentient and what the brain basis of sentience might be. We sketch his precautionary framework for dealing with the wide-ranging debates and rampant uncertainty around these issues. We talk about several prominent edge cases in the natural world. And, finally, we consider whether AI might become sentient and, if so, by what route. Along the way, Jonathan and I touch on: plants, crayfish, bees, larvae, and LLMs. We talk about "sentience candidates" and the "zone of reasonable disagreement"; about Jonathan's stances on octopus farming and live-boiling of crabs; about the “run-ahead principle” and the “gaming problem”; and about the question of whether all conscious experience has a valence.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jonathan's book is a remarkably clear and compelling read—if you find yourself intrigued by our conversation, I definitely recommend that you check out <em style= "mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Edge of Sentience</em> as well. Alright friends, without further ado, on to our sixth season of Many Minds and on to my conversation with Dr. Jonathan Birch. Enjoy!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A transcript of this episode will be available soon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em><u>Notes and links</u></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal">3:00 – The full report prepared by Dr. Birch and colleagues for the UK government is available <a href= "https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=af_gen"> here</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">4:30 – Listen to our earlier episode with Dr. Alex Schnell <a href= "https://disi.org/the-savvy-cephalopod/">here</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">7:00 – Dr. Birch’s 2017 <a href= "https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-philosophy-of-social-evolution-9780198733058?cc=us&lang=en&"> book</a>, from an earlier chapter of his career during which he focused on kin selection and social behavior.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">11:00 – A <a href= "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13194-021-00407-z">paper</a> by Dr. Birch on the UK government’s response to the pandemic.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">16:00 – A classic 1958 <a href= "https://web.stanford.edu/~paulsko/papers/Feigl.pdf">paper</a> on sentience by the philosopher Herbert Feigl.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">20:30 – Read Dr. Birch’s general audience <a href= "https://aeon.co/ideas/crabs-and-lobsters-deserve-protection-from-being-cooked-alive"> essay</a> on the case of live-boiling crabs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">28:30 – Advocates of the idea that regions of the midbrain support sentience include Antonio Damasio, Jaak Panskepp (whose work we discussed in this <a href= "https://disi.org/the-puzzle-of-piloerection/">earlier episode</a>), and Bjorn Merker (whose work we discussed in this <a href="https://disi.org/of-bees-and-brain
- Publication Date
- 2024-08-22T03:17:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/the-space-of-possibly-sentient-beings
- Length
- 67:16
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1724296620-4872.mp3
- Size
- 92.39 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
Queries: 25 | Cache Hits: 0 | Load Time: 0.0360 | 2 MB