PUTTING OURSELVES BACK IN THE EQUATION

Penetrating account of the connections among consciousness and artificial intelligence, cosmology, and quantum mechanics.

Musser, a contributing editor for Scientific American and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory and Spooky Action at a Distance, obviously has no fear of difficult subjects. This book should not serve as an introduction to human consciousness, but readers who pay attention will learn a great deal. The author begins by pointing out that “we are composed of matter, and we are conscious.” Therefore, he continues, “it must be possible to recognize these two facts.” Scientists specialize in taking things that seem different, such as matter and energy or electricity and magnetism, and showing that “they are essentially the same. Can they do that for matter and mind?” Not yet, notes the author, but they’re making progress, largely by paying close attention to neuroscience, which explores brain function, and computer science, which hit the jackpot last year when researchers demonstrated spectacular AI programs (ChatGPT and DALL-E) that are so creative and communicate so convincingly that experts have concluded only that they are “probably” not conscious. Encountering this conclusion less than halfway through the book, readers may look forward to more insights, and Musser does not disappoint. The difficulty is that consciousness is still an extremely complex problem. A skilled reporter, the author chronicles his travels around the world interviewing experts in many fields (Carlo Rovelli appears throughout the text), showing us how cosmologists muse about the universe; physicists explore information theory and neural networks; neuroscientists wonder how a physical brain produces a mind; and philosophers explore emergence, free will, and causality. Quantum effects are significant, but, like consciousness, no one completely understands them beyond theory. Many consider it possible, in both cases, that we never will.

Deep thoughts about deep issues—but not for the faint of heart.