Sup Seekers,
Very excited to welcome back to the podcast Dr john Vervaeke!
John is a professor of cognitive science and cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, the creator of "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis." (check out his channel here and the PP and RR integration talk here ) and he has featured on the biggest podcasts around like Lex Fridman, Tim Ferris, Theo Von, Jordan Peterson, Modern Wisdom etc
In this podcast, we are discussing
predictive processing
John’s integration of predictive processing and relevance realisation
the nature and function of attention
Attention’s relation to agency and meaning in life
How can this new understanding of human beings be used to create aligned AI
Check out the conversation 👇
Chapters:
00:00 The Quest for Inner Peace and Optimal Agency
00:23 Welcoming John Verveke: A Dialogue on Attention and AI
00:32 Unveiling the Intricacies of Attention
00:45 Predictive Processing and Relevance Realization: A Deep Dive
01:51 Exploring the Spotlight Metaphor of Attention
02:35 Beyond the Spotlight: A New Understanding of Attention
04:04 Attention as Cognitive Unison: A Revolutionary Perspective
05:21 The Interplay of Attention and Relevance Realization
06:35 Precision Weighting: Bridging Predictive Processing and Relevance Realization
07:30 From Cause Theories to Effect Theories of Attention
09:19 The Emergence of Agency and the Role of Relevance Realization
10:13 Predictive Processing: A Framework for Anticipation
10:40 The Meta Problems of Anticipation and Relevance Realization
14:46 Predictive Processing and the Sensory Motor Loop
18:39 The Bias-Variance Trade-off in Predictive Processing
20:34 Opponent Processing and Optimal Grip: A New Model of Attention
22:52 Enhancing Agency and the Potential for Self-Deception
25:26 Agency Emerges: Autopoietic Correction and Self-Organization
27:17 Meaning as Optimal Agency: The Confluence of Predictive Processing and Relevance Realization
29:12 The Autopoietic Nature of Mind and Body
29:55 Plato's Insights on Internal Coordination
30:33 The Quest for Optimal Agency and Inner Peace
31:12 Predictive Processing and Motivation
32:23 The Role of Persuasive Technologies
32:44 Anticipation in Spatial and Temporal Contexts
34:56 Optimal Agency and Collective Intelligence
36:00 The Platonic Proposal for Human Flourishing
37:55 AI as Agents vs. AI as Environment
42:32 The Potential of AI to Foster Human Enlightenment
43:45 Mentoring Machines for a Better Future
45:18 The Challenge of Social Media Reform
46:22 The Wicked Problem of Relevance Realization
51:25 Stealing the Culture: A Bottom-Up Approach
52:36 Historical Precedents for Cultural Transformation
53:35 The Advent of a New Sacredness
57:35 Redefining Success and Addressing Existential Questions
01:01:21 The Silicon Sages: A Vision for AI
01:01:37 Concluding Thoughts and Hopeful Outlook
PS want to support the Wisdom Dojo?
You can sign up for a one-time gift or a monthly donation, and all funds are used to cover the running costs of the pod 👇
All the best,
Mahon.
#82 - John Vervaeke - Attention, Agency & Aligning AI