Lecture: Can a Machine be Conscious? Towards a Computational Model of Consciousness.

Manuel Blum

Abstract:

Thanks to major advances in neuroscience, we are on the brink of a scientific understanding of how the brain achieves consciousness. This talk will describe neuroscientist Bernard Baars's Global Workspace Model (GWM) of the brain and propose a formal Turing-Machine-like computational model inspired by it for understanding consciousness. One of several consequences of this Model is the possibility of free will in a completely deterministic world. Another deals with the possibility of building machines that are conscious.
This talk is suitable for college students at all levels, engineers, mathematicians, and anyone who has ever wondered about consciousness.

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