What is emotion?

What is consciousness?

Is it really just one atom bumping into another atom?

It feels like something more than that.

Sometimes I wonder is, you know, either perhaps everything's conscious or nothing is conscious.

I think we're probably missing some really big things, like some really big things.

The first time we talked, you said what you would, which is surreal to think that this discussion was happening is becoming a reality.

I asked you, what question would you ask an AGI system once you create it?

And you said, what's outside the simulation is the question.

But it seems like with Grok, you started to literally, the system's goal is to be able to ask such questions.

Our AI, Grok, is modeled after the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is one of my favorite books.

It's a book on philosophy disguised as a book on humor.

I would say that forms the basis of my philosophy, which is that we don't know the meaning of life, but the more we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness, digital and biological, the more we are able to understand what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe.

So I have a philosophy of curiosity.

Well, as you said, I think one of the big goals of XAI is to understand the universe.

Yes.

That's how simple three word vision.

If you look out far into the future, do you think on this level of physics, the very edge of what we understand about physics, do you think it will make discoveries, sort of the sexiest discovery of them, as we know now, sort of unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics?

So coming up with a theory of everything, do you think it could push towards that direction, almost like theoretical physics discoveries?

If an AI cannot figure out new physics, it's clearly not equal to humans, let alone, nor has it surpassed humans, because humans have figured out new physics.

Physics is just understanding, deepening one's insight into how reality works.

Another question about theory of everything, but for intelligence, do you think there exists, as you're exploring this with XAI, creating this intelligence system, do you think there is a theory of intelligence where you get to understand what is the I in AGI and what is the I in human intelligence?

Is that part of the process of discovering, understanding the universe, is understanding intelligence?

Yeah.

Yeah, I think we need to understand intelligence, understand consciousness.

I mean, there are some sort of fundamental questions of like, what is thought?

What is emotion?

Is it really just one atom bumping into another atom?

It feels like something more than that.

So I think we're probably missing some really big things, like some really big things.

Something that'll be obvious in retrospect.

Yes.

Well, some people would call it like a soul, you know, in religion it would be a soul.

Like you feel like you're you, right?

I mean, you don't feel like you're just a collection of atoms, but on what dimension does thought exist?

What dimension do emotions exist?

We feel them very strongly.

I suspect there's more to it than atoms bumping into atoms.

And maybe AI can pave the path to the discovery of whatever the hell that thing is.

Yeah.

What is consciousness?

Like when you put the atoms in a particular shape, why are they able to form thoughts and take actions and feelings?

And even if it is an illusion, why is this illusion so compelling?

Yeah.

Why does this illusion exist?

On what plane does this illusion exist?

And sometimes I wonder is, you know, either perhaps everything's conscious or nothing is conscious.

One of the two.

I like the former.

Everything conscious just seems more fun.

It just seems more fun, yes.

But we're composed of atoms and those atoms are composed of quarks and leptons.

And those quarks and leptons have been around since the beginning of the universe.

We don't know the meaning of life, but the more we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness, the more we are able to understand what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe.