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Articles
Some of my writing.
What is the meaning of life? The Guardian, 2025
Inside the big bet on consciousness. Nautilus, 2025
The illusion of conscious AI. Big Think, 2025
Can you see circles or rectangles? The Guardian, 2025
Obituary for Ann Seth. The Guardian, 2025
The mythology of conscious AI (Berggruen Essay Prize 2025). Noema, 2025
Why AI gets stuck in infinite loops. Big Think, 2025
AIs are chatting among themselves. Big Think, 2025
I never stopped learning from Daniel Dennett. Nautilus, 2024
Who do you think you are? Falmer, 2024
Should we be putting chips in our brains? The Guardian (Big Ideas), 2024
Do we all experience the world the same way? The Guardian, 2023
Conscious machines may never be possible. Wired, 2023
Understanding consciousness (with Antonio Damasio), Nautilus, 2022
On Being You. Interview with Richard Bright. Interalia, 2022
We are beast machines. Adapted excerpt from Being You. Nautilus, 2021
Can brain organoids be ’conscious’? Wired World, 2021
Reality is what you make it. Adapted excerpt from Being You. Boston Globe, 2021
Where does consciousness come from? Adapted excerpt from Being You. TED Ideas, 2021
The real problem of consciousness. Adapted excerpt from Being You. Psychology Today, 2021
Perceiving from the inside out. Adapted excerpt from Being you. Closer To Truth (PBS), 2021
Illuminating consciousness. New Scientist (feature article), 2021
Best books on the neuroscience of consciousness. Five Books, 2021
Review of The Hidden Spring. Times Higher Education Supplement, 2021
Catching sight of yourself. Institute of Arts and Ideas, 2020
Science in lockdown. Royal Society Blog, 2020
The neuroscience of reality. Scientific American (feature article), 2019
Reality is not what it seems – and neither are you! Kidspirit PerSpectives, 2019 [winner of the 2019 Kidspirit PerSpectives award]
Registered Reports: A road to reliable research. Medium, 2019
What in the world is consciousness? Science Nordic, 2018 (Also in Danish)
What psychedelic research can and cannot tell us about consciousness. Scientific American, 2018
Aliens on earth: What octopus minds can tell us about alien consciousness, in Aliens. Ed. J. Al-Khalili. Profile Books, London, 2016
Nothing to be afraid of. Granta, 2017
Conscious awakening: (review of Ex Machina). New Scientist, 2015
Why we must not stall technological progress. The Guardian, 2014
The human brain project risks becoming a missed opportunity. The Guardian, 2014
Brain-to-brain interfacing. The Guardian, 2013
The brain’s last ‘hurrah.’ The Guardian, 2013
Obituary for Dr. Bhola Nath Seth. The Guardian, 2013
From COGS to consciousness, in Making the Future: A History of the University of Sussex. Ed. F. Gray. University of Sussex, 2012
Eight Key Questions for Consciousness Science. The Guardian, 2012
Capsule review of ‘Consciousness’ by C. Koch. The Guardian, 2012