AI is getting smarter. But is it alive? And does that matter?
Chapter 6 of Irreducible draws a hard line between living systems and machines. Federico Faggin argues that consciousness isn’t just complex computation — it’s the result of “live information” layered through energy, feedback, and selfhood. Digital code can’t replicate that. It can’t even understand it.
Mark and Jeremy Think on Paper about what this means for AI. Is consciousness emergent, or elemental? Can rigid systems ever become aware? Or are they forever trapped in a loop of imitation, built to respond — but never to feel?
This isn’t about whether AI seems intelligent. It’s about what intelligence without life actually is.
Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.
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Join the book club: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz
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Chapters
(00:00) Introduction to Irreducible
(02:54) Exploring the Nature of Life
(05:54) Biology Vs Information
(09:04) Consciousness and Free Will
(12:10) The Hard Problem of Consciousness
(15:12) The Future of AI and Consciousness
(18:03) Science Fiction and Human Experience
(20:52) Differences Between Cells and Computers
(27:01) Conclusion and Reflections on Consciousness
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