15 – Theories of AGI

Today I’m speaking with Ella Hoeppner. Ella is a software engineer and independent AGI researcher. We’ve been discussing all things AGI for a while now and I wanted to have her on the podcast to present her theory of AGI and also to discuss a disagreement we’ve had about the role of replicators in any theory of AGI. Since we both spend a fair amount of time criticizing each other’s theories, you may get more out of this episode if you familiarize yourself with my neo-Darwinian theory of the mind first, which I have laid out both on Christofer Lovgren’s podcast and in my book, A Window on Intelligence (links below). That being said, it’s certainly not required, I think you’ll get a lot out of this episode either way. Ella and I also briefly touch on conventional, narrow-AI research, the role of neuroscience, and the hard problem of consciousness. I even catch myself having changed my mind on the urgency with which we should pursue whole-brain emulation in addition to explaining creativity. I’ve said in the past that there are maybe a handful of people in the world who work on AGI whose approach has not been refuted, and Ella is one of them. And so with that, Ella is going to give us a glimpse into how the mind may work. References: - Ella's information: https://www.ellahoeppner.com (includes posts on CTP theory), https://twitter.com/ella_hoeppner, ellahoeppner@gmail.com - Simulated annealing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_annealing - The "neo-Darwinian theory of the mind": https://soundcloud.com/doexplain/11-a-window-on-intelligence-with-dennis-hackethal or https://www.windowonintelligence.com/ - David Deutsch's "The Beginning of Infinity": https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359/ - Karl Popper's "Conjectures and Refutations": https://www.amazon.com/Conjectures-Refutations-Scientific-Knowledge-Routledge/dp/0415285941/ - Karl Popper's "Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach": https://www.amazon.com/Objective-Knowledge-Evolutionary-Karl-Popper/dp/0198750242/ - Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene": https://www.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Paperback/dp/B0722G5V92