Cal Day Lecture: Can a Machine be Conscious? Towards a Conscious AI

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' Global Workspace Model (GWM) of the brain, its implications for understanding consciousness, and a novel computer architecture that it inspires.   The Model gives insight for the design of machines that truly experience (as opposed to simulate) the ecstasy of joy and the agony of pain.  It also gives a reasonable explanation of free will in a completely deterministic world.

This talk is one of over 300 events on campus during Cal Day, a once-a-year opportunity for one and all to experience the stimulating, energetic and multifaceted life of UC Berkeley. Learn more about Cal Day here.