Scott reviews a paper by leading researchers attempting to determine AI consciousness through computational theories, critiques their conflation of access and phenomenal consciousness, and predicts society will inconsistently ascribe consciousness to AIs based on their social roles rather than their underlying architecture.

A review of Stanislas Dehaene's 'Consciousness and the Brain', discussing scientific findings on consciousness and their implications.

Scott Alexander responds to comments on his AI risk post, discussing AI self-awareness, narrow vs. general AI, catastrophe probabilities, and research priorities.

Scott Alexander presents a monthly collection of 42 diverse links covering topics from science, politics, culture, and technology, highlighting interesting findings and current events.

Scott Alexander examines the evolution of online culture wars from atheism to feminism to race, analyzing the dynamics of these shifts and speculating on future trends.

Scott examines the relationship between sleep, synaptic homeostasis, and depression, exploring how sleep deprivation temporarily alleviates depression symptoms.

Scott Alexander discusses the trade-offs between accuracy and liability in medical information, extending the analysis to public health experts and the role of expertise in society.

Scott Alexander argues that the media's failure in coronavirus coverage was not about prediction, but about poor probabilistic reasoning and decision-making under uncertainty.

A diverse collection of links covering technology, science, economics, politics, and culture, including critiques of studies, interesting scientific findings, and current events.

Scott Alexander argues that the Intellectual Dark Web can be both popular and silenced, explaining various mechanisms of social censorship and how they apply to controversial thinkers.

Scott Alexander reviews 'Inadequate Equilibria' by Eliezer Yudkowsky, a book exploring systemic failures, decision-making, and the limits of social consensus.

A collection of links covering topics from drug regulation and genetic testing to tax reform and AI developments, with Scott's commentary on each item.

Scott Alexander examines the concept of 'Kolmogorov complicity' and its implications for scientific inquiry under oppressive orthodoxies, using historical and hypothetical examples.

A collection of interesting links covering various topics from Judaism and science to media bias and hate crime hoaxes, with Scott's commentary on each story.

Scott Alexander endorses Clinton (or Johnson/Stein in safe states) over Trump, citing concerns about Trump's unpredictability and potential negative impacts on conservatism and social dynamics.

A links post featuring stories about AI research, scientific studies, historical oddities, and current events, ranging from antibacterials in soap to disco riots at baseball games.

A collection of interesting links and studies on various topics, from bad statistics and media coverage to technological progress and scientific discoveries, with commentary from Scott Alexander.

A collection of interesting links and brief commentary spanning topics from scientific research to cultural phenomena, including updates on various studies challenging previous beliefs.

A curated collection of interesting links covering academic debates, cultural issues, economics, and scientific discoveries from around the web.

In a fictional story, five islanders confront their society's religious taboos after a shipwrecked sailor points out their blue eyes, leading them to question and ultimately reject their beliefs.

A collection of interesting links covering science, economics, and culture, with key stories about psychology study replication failures and various scientific findings.

Scott Alexander discusses the problem of overconfidence in probability estimates, arguing that extreme certainty is rarely justified, especially for complex future predictions.

A collection of interesting links covering research studies, social issues, economic trends and cultural phenomena that challenged expectations.

Scott Alexander examines the concept of innate ability and argues for its acceptance, while cautioning against tying self-worth to intellectual achievement.

Scott Alexander critiques feminist stereotyping of nerds, arguing that nerds' social struggles are real and not simply male entitlement.