56. Evolution, AI, and Animal Minds (with Dr. Walter Veit)

Tent Talks

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Walter Veit, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Reading. Walter is a wide-ranging philosopher working primarily at the intersections of the philosophy of cognitive and biological sciences, the philosophy of mind, and applied ethics. His recent research focuses on animal minds, welfare, ethics, and evolution. His first book, A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness, was published in 2023 by Routledge. In this episode, we discuss a variety of topics, including the evolution and adaptive functions of consciousness, Walter’s concept of phenomenological complexity, artificial minds and AI consciousness, the possibility of superintelligent AI surpassing the need for consciousness, genetic algorithms and the idea of subjecting AI systems to simulated evolutionary pressures, studying introspection in animals versus AI, leveraging AI to better understand animal minds and promote animal welfare, wild animal welfare, zoo ethics, and the challenge of measuring and weighing animal welfare across different species. Walter also has his own podcast, the Walter Veit Podcast.