---
title: "Do AI’s dream of electric people?"
subtitle: "A wide ranging live-streamed discussion on AI and consciousness with leading experts Mark Daley and Blake Richards"
author: "Andrew Maynard"
date: 2023-10-20
original: https://www.futureofbeinghuman.com/p/do-ais-dream-of-electric-people
mirror: https://text.futureofbeinghuman.com/substack/do-ais-dream-of-electric-people.html
---

# Do AI’s dream of electric people?

*A wide ranging live-streamed discussion on AI and consciousness with leading experts Mark Daley and Blake Richards*

By Andrew Maynard · October 20, 2023 · [Original post](https://www.futureofbeinghuman.com/p/do-ais-dream-of-electric-people)

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*[Image: Image: Midjourney — [view image](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3b7d4750-78fe-41e5-b986-7dde262e865d_1920x1076.png)]*

Could machines develop consciousness? How will we know if they do? And if this is even a remote possibility, where does the line between “could” and “should” lie in the race to build increasingly powerful artificial intelligence?

I must confess that questions like these have been utterly fascinating me as breakthroughs in generative AI and and beyond have been challenging how we think about machines and consciousness. Which is why I was delighted to be joined by two amazing thinkers and researchers for the [Future of Being Human … Unplugged live-streamed conversation on October 24](https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu/2023/10/13/do-ais-dream-of-electric-people/).

*[YouTube video: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjTM8o-wFMs>]*

As always, I had no idea where our conversation would go — that’s the beauty of the “unplugged” format.

Joining me were Professor Mark Daley, who has just been appointed as Chief AI Officer at the University of Western Ontario (the first appointment of its kind in Canada), and Professor Blake Richards from the School of Computer Science and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University.

These Future of Being Human … Unplugged discussions are a unique opportunity to tap into candid conversations with experts who are right at the very edge of emerging science and thinking. They’re also an opportunity to hear and explore ideas and insights well before they go mainstream.

*Updated after the event to include the archived video.*

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*This Markdown file is a text-only version of “Do AI’s dream of electric people?” by Andrew Maynard, from The Future of Being Human (<https://www.futureofbeinghuman.com>). The original post at <https://www.futureofbeinghuman.com/p/do-ais-dream-of-electric-people> is the canonical version. Images, video, audio and interactive elements are indicated inline and available in the original. © Andrew Maynard.*