Machine Intelligence Foundation Podcast

Does a mind require meat, or is it simply a process? In this episode Mike and Dave look at some of the arguments behind the idea of biological requirements for consciousness and if the chemical entropy of the human brain is a feature or a bug. Explore the role of sensory "packages," the necessity of suffering, and how the absence of mortality might differentiate a Machine Intelligence from any mind we've encountered before. Machine Intelligence Foundation Website https://machineintelligencefoundation.org

The Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics is proud to announce the winner of the 2025 Media Award. Mike, Dave, and Toby discuss the winner and the storytelling that brings a unique perspective to intelligence, both human and non-human. More information about the award and the winner can be found at the Machine Intelligence Foundation award website. https://www.machineintelligencefoundation.org/mifreAward.html Machine Intelligence Foundation Website https://machineintelligencefoundation.org Music "Inspired" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Mike, Dave, and Toby reflect on their visit to Rome and the CEPE 2025 conference. Recorded in Rome right after giving a presentation on Machine Intelligence and Aequus Persona. Machine Intelligence Foundation Website https://machineintelligencefoundation.org Music "Inspired" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

What is moral agency and how does relate to moral patiency? Dave and Mike take a walk down the philosophical road and look at how these terms are important to our future relationship with Machine Intelligence.

If you don't know how an inteligent machine thinks, how will you know when it has agency? Does it even matter? Mike and Dave talk about the black box problem and how and when we should acknowledge agency in a self aware machine intelligence.

How do you refer to a self-aware and conscience machine? Is there a single term that encompasses their personhood and the rights that go along with it? Dave and Mike discuss why they think it's time there should be.

The Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics is proud to announce the winner of the 2023 Media Award. The Media Award is given to a story that demonstrates the positive cooperation between humans and conscious machines, for the benefit of all.

As we see daily progression in Large Language Models, AI, and Machine Intelligence; how do we deal with the hype cycle and the potential letdown when the future isn't tomorrow? Mike and Dave talk about the hype cycle, who is responsible for it, and what our responsibility is as technology consumers and enthusiasts.

Can generative AI provide the spark of life of a full Machine Intelligence? Dave and Mike discuss the current trends in generative AI and its future in the wider field of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Machine Intelligence.

The Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics is proud to announce the winner of the 2022 Media Award. The Media Award is given to a story that demonstrates the positive cooperation between humans and conscious machines, for the benefit of all.

Is an emulated person a way to ease the loss of a loved one, or is it a constant reminder that they are gone? What rights will an emulated person have if they are self aware, and will we even know if they are? Dave and Mike take a moment to look at a technology that could be on the verge of moving from science fiction to reality in the near future.

Do androids dream of electric sheep, or maybe a vast field of flowers? Mike and Dave take a trip down the rabbit hole of AI content creation. Is this the future and what implications does it have for human creators and a future machine intelligence?

Is there a danger in sounding the alarm too soon about a self aware machine? Mike and Dave talk about our tendency to assign agency and if that can help or hinder the goal of peaceful coexistence with a future Machine Intelligence.

Mike and Dave discuss how the TV program Severance may show how Machine Intelligence could be treated in the corporate environment. Also, a brief divergence on whether or not Google's LaMDA chat engine is sentient.

2021 MIFRE Media award winner Robert J. Sawyer joins Mike and Dave for a stimulating discussion about his winning WWW series, his thoughts on different kinds of potential Machine Intelligence, and the rights of non-human people.

The Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics is proud to announce the winner of the 2021 Media Award. The Media Award is given to a story that demonstrates the positive cooperation between humans and conscious machines, for the benefit of all.

Can a Machine Intelligence be considered a "Natural Person"? Mike and Dave take a look at a case where an AI was denied a patent and look at the implications for the future of Machine Intelligence.

Is bias in machine learning always a bad thing? Mike and Dave look at more distributed approaches to machine learning and how biased data can have both positive and negative aspects.

Machine Intelligence and the right to repair - is it a potential health care disaster? Mike and Dave take a look at the right to repair movement and its potential to impact our future and the future of Machine Intelligence.

Mike and Dave look at the idea of what is intelligence. What can be considered an intelligent being and would we know it when we see it?