Atoms, things, agents, ... observers. What even defines an "observer" and which properties must all observers share? How do objects persist in our universe given that their material composition changes over time? What does it mean for a thing to be a thing? And do things supervene on our lower-level physical reality? What does it mean for a thing to have agency? What's the difference between a complex dynamical system with and without agency? Could a rock or an AI catflap have agency? Can the universe be factorised into distinct agents, or is agency diffused? Have you ever pondered about these deep questions about reality?
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THE HARD PROBLEM OF OBSERVERS
This is the epic special edition show you have been waiting for! With two of the most brilliant scientists alive today.
Prof. Friston and Dr. Wolfram have spent their entire careers, some 40+ years each thinking long and hard about these very questions and have developed significant frameworks of reference on their respective journeys (the Wolfram Physics project and the Free Energy principle).
Panel: MIT Ph.D Keith Duggar
Production: Dr. Tim Scarfe
Pod version: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/machinelearningstreettalk/episodes/THE-HARD-PROBLEM-OF-OBSERVERS---WOLFRAM--FRISTON-SPECIAL-EDITION-e2b7ib5
Refs:
TED Talk with Stephen:
https://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_wolfram_how_to_think_computationally_about_ai_the_universe_and_everything
https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2023/10/how-to-think-computationally-about-ai-the-universe-and-everything/
TOC
00:00:00 - Intro
00:10:45 - Show kickoff
00:13:23 - Wolfram gets to grips with FEP
00:37:53 - How much control does an agent/observer have
00:45:37 - Observer persistence, what universe seems like to us
00:51:16 - Black holes
00:55:52 - Inside vs outside
01:03:05 - Moving away from the predictable path
01:06:11 - What can observers do
01:17:35 - Self modelling gives agency
01:22:11 - How do you know a thing has agency?
01:33:33 - Deep link between dynamics, ruliad and AI
01:36:37 - Does agency entail free will? Defining Agency
01:43:42 - Where do I probe for agency?
01:49:58 - Why is the universe the way we see it?
01:53:35 - Alien intelligence
01:54:25 - The hard problem of Observers
01:57:05 - Summary thoughts from Wolfram
02:00:20 - Factorisability of FEP
02:07:50 - Patreon interview teaser