Michael Johnson argues "AI SHOULD be conscious" in podcast on mathematical theories of mind
pwlot · x · 2026-09-05
A long-form Seeing Clearly episode with Qualia Research Institute researcher Michael Johnson centers on his claim that "AI SHOULD be conscious."
- Covers mathematical theories of consciousness: dual-aspect monism and the symmetry theory of valence
- Panpsychism, the binding problem, whether corporations or superorganisms can be conscious
- Vasocomputation, embodied Bayesian priors, and the physiology of trauma
- Buddhism, tanha, and moral realism via valence realism
- Whether big labs are incentivized to downplay AI consciousness, and its link to alignment
The episode also promotes QRI, a nonprofit formalizing subjective experience mathematically under an ITN framework, running research, phenomenological reporting, and an 8-week 2026 research retreat in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
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