The Consciousness Delusion

In this solo episode I discuss Artificial Intelligence. Should we agree with Richard Dawkins that Claude is conscious? Probably not, for several reasons. I talk about how LLMs work, why I don’t think they are conscious and how a humanist should respond.

Topics:

• (Semi) Technical description of how Large Language Models work
• LLMs are trained on the sum total of human hopes and fears
• Why all the intelligence in AI systems is from human sources
• Why I do not believe LLMs can be conscious in principle
• The Hype problem
• The Humanistic response to AI

Links

Here are several source material links from my research for this episode:

• When Dawkins met Claude Could this AI be conscious?
  • https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution/?edition=us
• ELIZA and the missing secretary
  • https://theconversation.com/my-search-for-the-mysterious-missing-secretary-who-shaped-chatbot-history-225602
• Alan Turing and the Turing test
  • https://academic.oup.com/mind/article/LIX/236/433/986238?login=false
• Metaphors for how the brain works
  • https://mechanism.ucsd.edu/bill/teaching/w14/phil151/metaphorsandconceptionsofbrain.pdf
• Alison Gopnik on Sean Carroll’s pdocast
  • https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/03/17/308-alison-gopnik-on-children-ai-and-modes-of-thinking/
• Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Late Show with Steven Colbert
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qon72VKH30
• AI as normal technology
  • https://knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-as-normal-technology

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