Beyond the Brain with Laurel Waterman

Trainloads of data

In the season finale of The Narrow Window, I’m joined by Steven Duggan, Vice President of Vollee, to explore how AI is transforming industries - from personalised learning and healthcare to public safety and justice. We dive into the real-world challenges and unexpected breakthroughs, from AI improving cancer screenings and organ transplant decisions to solving cold cases and even exploring the boundaries of AI creativity. This conversation goes beyond hype, offering a nuanced look at the potential and pitfalls of AI in our rapidly changing world. 📚 Topics Covered: * How AI is enabling personalised education and levelling the playing field * Real-world healthcare applications of AI, from cancer detection to transplants * Ethical dilemmas in public safety AI and maintaining privacy * The challenges and hopes for AI’s future creativity and agency 🧠 This episode wraps up an amazing season of exploring AI’s big questions. 🤖 Learn more about Vollee on vollee.ai [https://vollee.ai].📖 You can find Steven’s books on Amazon here [https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B005BOBRIE?ccs_id=d4fed178-803b-49a8-90da-3d8cee4c9ad2].📖 My book The Narrow Window is also available on Amazon: mybook.to/TheNarrowWindow [https://mybook.to/TheNarrowWindow] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenarrowwindow.substack.com [https://thenarrowwindow.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

What Does It Feel Like To Be Anything?

In this episode, I was joined by Dr. Kelvin McQueen, assistant professor of philosophy at Chapman University, explore the line between mind and matter. From how we measure consciousness in humans to whether plants, animals, and machines have internal experiences, the conversation spans quantum physics, integrated information theory, and the profound ethical dilemmas of building potentially conscious AI. This mind-bending conversation will leave you asking: what is it like to be... anything? Topics Covered: * How philosophers and neuroscientists define consciousness * The Zap & Zip method of measuring conscious states * Integrated Information Theory and degrees of consciousness * Whether AI can (or will) ever suffer—and what it would mean if it could * Quantum superpositions, measurement, and the observer effect * The ethical implications of building conscious systems 🧠 This episode continues our exploration into the science of consciousness—building on last week’s discussion with Laurel Waterman. 📚 Resources & Links: * You can find Dr McQueen’s papers, talks, and interviews on his website here: www.kelvinmcqueen.com * My book The Narrow Window is available on Amazon here: mybook.to/TheNarrowWindow This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenarrowwindow.substack.com [https://thenarrowwindow.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Beyond the Brain with Laurel Waterman

In this episode, I was joined by Laurel Waterman - a dedicated researcher in the field of consciousness education - to challenge our assumptions about mind, matter, and the nature of being. We explored the possibility that consciousness might not be confined to the brain, discussing everything from post materialist theories and the transformative power of storytelling to the practical implications of AI on human creativity. Laurel offers a fresh perspective on how open-mindedly including these questions in our education systems can lead to richer, more nuanced discussions about life, death, and what it means to truly be aware. Links: You can find my book, The Narrow Window, on Amazon here - * https://mybook.to/TheNarrowWindow You can find some of Laurel Waterman’s papers on consciousness education here: * https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laurel-Waterman As well as her publications on Amazon here: * https://www.amazon.sg/s?rh=n%3A6401290051%2Cp_27%3ALaurel%2BWaterman This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenarrowwindow.substack.com [https://thenarrowwindow.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

How Do You Know That?

Ever wondered how AI really “thinks”? In the latest episode of The Narrow Window, I describe the inner workings of neural networks. We’ll explore shock in Norway and multi-dimensional geometry. If you’re fascinated by the black box mystery of AI, this episode is for you. This episode breaks down:• How AI generates responses using statistical probabilities and a dash of randomness• The surprising complexity behind AI’s knowledge encoding• How to think about impossible-to-visualise higher dimensions For more advanced reading, you can find the paper I mentioned here: https://transformer-circuits.pub/2025/attribution-graphs/biology.html You can also find my book, The Narrow Window, on Amazon here: https://mybook.to/TheNarrowWindow This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenarrowwindow.substack.com [https://thenarrowwindow.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Geoengineering with Dr Gernot Wagner

In this thought-provoking conversation, I was joined by climate economist Dr. Gernot Wagner to explore geoengineering as a potential, albeit highly controversial, tool to counter climate change. We discuss: * Solar geoengineering: A “climate painkiller” that might incentivise complacency * The role of AI in refining climate models and guiding policy * Ethical and policy challenges, including moral hazard and unintended consequences Links: You can find my book, The Narrow Window, on Amazon here - * https://mybook.to/TheNarrowWindow You can find books by Dr Wagner here. (If you enjoyed the episode, I particularly recommend Climate Shock and Geoengineering: The Gamble) - * https://gwagner.com/books/ * https://www.amazon.com/Books-Gernot-Wagner/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AGernot%2BWagner This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenarrowwindow.substack.com [https://thenarrowwindow.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]