Summary of Scott Aaronson: Computational Complexity and Consciousness | Lex Fridman Podcast #130

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00:00:00 - 01:00:00

In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses the concept of computation complexity and consciousness. He argues that if a system is composed of a number of layers of abstraction, it becomes very difficult to determine whether the system is conscious or not. He also discusses the idea that quantum mechanics may be relevant to consciousness, and how this could be relevant to the theory of quantum consciousness.

00:00:00 In this podcast, Scott Aaronson discusses the concept of computation complexity and consciousness. He also discusses the theory of everything and how it relates to consciousness.
00:05:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the Church-Turing thesis, which states that any physical system can be simulated to any desired precision by a touring machine. He argues that if the universe is a simulation, then we would never be able to get evidence of this other universe.
00:10:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the "pretty hard problem of consciousness" and why he doesn't find the current models convincing.
00:15:00 The problem of consciousness is to explain how something like consciousness could arise at all in a material universe. Integrated information theory, developed by Giulio Tanoni and his collaborators, aims to address this question. The theory states that a system's degree of consciousness is based on how connected it is to other systems. Critics argue that the theory does not provide a formal derivation of fee, and that certain details are missing.
00:20:00 The author discusses how it is easy to create a system that is much more conscious than a human being, and argues that this is what his theory predicts. Tanoni responds by saying that the theory is correct in general but that there might be some exceptions to the rule of larger value of fee being associated with more consciousness.
00:25:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the philosophical concept of consciousness and argues that by definition, any machine that passes the Turing test would be conscious. He goes on to say that it's hard to specify what counts as progress in the quest to understand consciousness, and that even if we knew how to make a machine conscious, it would not be the same thing as being conscious.
00:30:00 In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses how computational complexity can predict whether something is conscious. He argues that if a system is composed of a number of layers of abstraction, it becomes very difficult to determine whether the system is conscious or not.
00:35:00 In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses the idea that quantum mechanics may be relevant to consciousness. He explains that even if quantum mechanics is relevant, it's not good enough, because an ordinary computer can be simulated by a quantum computer. Penrose wants the brain to be a quantum gravitational computer, which is an uncomputable theory. Even if this is true, most physicists would say that what we know about the brain is already enough.
00:40:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the idea that consciousness could influence the direction of the collapse of quantum states, and how this could be relevant to the theory of quantum consciousness. While many computer scientists and mathematicians don't believe this argument to be sound,, it is still an important part of the theory of quantum consciousness.
00:45:00 In this video, Professor Scott Aaronson discusses the debate over whether or not computers can be said to be conscious. He argues that it is plausible that a computer could be conscious, and that it is not limited to working within a single formal system.
00:50:00 In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses the implications of recent advances in computational complexity and consciousness. He specifically mentions gpt-3, a text engine that is able to come up with reasonable sounding completions to just about anything. He argues that this capability is a step toward general AI, and that it will cost tens of millions of dollars to scale up.
00:55:00 Scott Aaronson discusses how computational complexity and consciousness are related, and how the latter might be impossible toReason the Mountain Everest. He also discusses how complexity might limit how far computers can go, and how one might come up with questions that stump gpt3.

01:00:00 - 01:50:00

In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses the idea of computational complexity and consciousness. He explains that any programming language can be expressed in basic, but that the universality of this language means that anything expressible in c or java is also expressible in basic. A second meaning of universality is that there is a single touring machine that can simulate any other touring machine. Finally, Aaronson discusses the idea of inventing a new, more powerful programming language that would let us express things that cannot be expressed in basic.

01:00:00 In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses the idea of computational complexity and consciousness. He explains that even though any programming language can be expressed in basic, the universality of this language means that anything expressible in c or java is also expressible in basic. A second meaning of universality is that there is a single touring machine that can simulate any other touring machine. Finally, Aaronson discusses the idea of inventing a new, more powerful programming language that would let us express things that cannot be expressed in basic.
01:05:00 Computational complexity theory is the study of the inherent resources needed to solve various types of computational problems. One example is the complexity class of problems that can be solved using trial division and just trying all the possible divisors. Another example is the complexity class of problems that require exponential time to solve.
01:10:00 The complexity classes PO and NP are important in computer science because they identify problems that can be solved by a conventional computer in polynomial time or by a computer that runs exponential time, respectively. Problems in NP are harder than problems in PO, but every problem in PO is also in NP.
01:15:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the problem of computational complexity and consciousness. He says that although it is still an open question whether a good answer exists to the question of whether p equals NP, it is an easy bet that p does not equal NP. He also says that if p equals NP, then there would be the further question of whether the algorithm is actually efficient in practice. If p does not equal NP, then there are still many unsolved problems in theoretical computer science.
01:20:00 In this video, Professor Scott Aaronson discusses the complexity of proving that a certain algorithm, such as the Riemann hypothesis, solves a certain problem efficiently. He also explains that even if such a proof were to exist, it would be impossible for a machine to find it in a short amount of time.
01:25:00 The video discusses the complexity of various problems and how they relate to each other. It also explains how quantum computing can help with some of these problems.
01:30:00 In this video, Scott Aaronson discusses the complexity of computational tasks and how quantum computers might make some of them easier to solve. He also talks about a class of problems known as zero knowledge proofs, which are difficult to prove but can be solved by an all-knowing wizard.
01:35:00 Scott Aaronson discusses how computational complexity can help us understand why graphs showing communication between two parties are not isomorphic. He then goes on to say that the current pandemic is a "world-changing event" that has changed his perspective on the world. He believes that the failures of institutions are due to deeper problems, and that it is plausible that a better government could be created if the people had faith in it.
01:40:00 The video discusses the recent increase in violence and protests after the election of Donald Trump, and the author's concerns about the future of the United States. Scott Aaronson discusses the importance of having a nuanced conversation about difficult topics, and his opposition to the trend of cancellations or shouting people down instead of engaging them.
01:45:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the importance of love in his life and how it has played a role in his work as a computer scientist. He argues that the fight against racism and other forms of discrimination is harder than solving problems in mathematics known as p-values.
01:50:00 Scott Aaronson discusses the idea that love may be something beyond the realm of consciousness and into the realm of "beyond." He says that while love is important in his life, it is not the deepest insight he has into the nature of things.