"A.I., Artificial Souls, and the Crazy Conundrum of Consciousness" with Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel

Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps · Jun 23, 2025 · 1h 4m · transcript

Let's take a break from the news cycle for a moment, shall we? There's a lot of cool shit to ponder that's more important and more fascinating. Like, how does the gooey blob of atoms between your ears generate all of your experiences? And are we on track to producing machines that feel as alive as you?

Eric Schwitzgebel is a legendary professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley and an important voice in Silicon Valley's conversations about ethical artificial sentience. He and Josh muse on the various explanations of what your experiences actually are at their most profound level; why you probably…