Erik Hoel: Free Will, Consciousness, and Hopeful Futures

The very great Erik Hoel joins me for a conversation on AI, free will, emergence, creativity, neuroscience, consciousness and much more. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here. Important Links:The Intrinsic PerspectiveErik on Twitter/X Show Notes: (0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0:05:12) Innovative Structures in Fiction (0:09:43) Gender Dynamics in Publishing (0:13:19) Erik Hoel's Origin Story (0:20:11) An Unorthodox Literary Trajectory (0:30:34) Consciousness and Information Theory (0:35:45) Science At the Edges (0:45:07) Is There a Bull Case for Neuroscience? (0:48:38) AI's Stunning Progress (0:51:05) AI as an Annoying Toddler (0:55:19) The Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Perspectives of Consciousness (1:00:59) Understanding Free Will (1:17:53) Closing Remarks Books, Essays & Key People Mentioned:When the Map is Better than the Territory by Erik Hoel“How I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old” by Erik HoelThe Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownFoucault's Pendulum by Umberto EcoThe Revelations by Erik HoelUlysses by James JoyceEinstein's Dreams by Alan LightmanThe Novels of Italo CalvinoThe World Behind the World by Erik HoelGödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas HofstadterMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleRomeo and Juliet by ShakespeareHamlet by ShakespeareKing Lear by ShakespeareThe Magic Mountain by Thomas MannWar and Peace by Tolstoy Researchers & ThinkersSøren KierkegaardFrancis CrickGiulio TononiKarl FristonRobert SapolskyJudea PearlGary MarcusJulian JaynesFrancis FukuyamaCarl SaganBoethius