Erik Hoel is a research professor at Tufts University, theoretical neuroscientist, and an author known for his work on understanding consciousness and the complexity of the brain. Consciousness and free will are two of the most puzzling aspects of human existence. The question now is whether emerging scientific discove

Neuroscientist and author Erik Hoel talks about his book, The World Behind the World, with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Is it possible to reconcile the seemingly subjective inner world of human experience with the seemingly objective outer world of observation, measurement, and science? Despite the promise of neuroscience,

They operate according to rules we can never fully understand. They can be unreliable, uncontrollable, and misaligned with human values. They're fast becoming as intelligent as humans--and they're exclusively in the hands of profit-seeking tech companies. "They," of course, are the latest versions of AI, which herald,

Sam Harris speaks with Erik Hoel about the nature of moral truth. They discuss the connection between consequentialism and Effective Altruism, the problems with implementing academic moral philosophy, bad arguments against consequentialism, the implications of AI for our morality, the dangers of moral certainty, whethe

Neuroscientist Erik Hoel talks about why he is not an "effective altruist" with EconTalk host, Russ Roberts. Hoel argues that the utilitarianism that underlies effective altruism--a movement co-founded by Will MacAskill and Peter Singer--is a poison that inevitably leads to repugnant conclusions and thereby weakens the

Erik Hoel is a neuroscientist and an author. Erik often writes about the intersection of humanities and science, and his debut novel "The Revelations" is a tale of science, murder, and consciousness. Our discussion with Erik includes topics like: Are humans really "conscious"? Different theories of consciousness Neural