The limits of rationalism: From Socrates to neural networks | Dan Shipper: Full Interview

From Big Think.

Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://bigthink.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_desc

“What’s really interesting about neural networks is the way that they think or the way that they operate is a lot like human intuition”

Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1
Up next, Yuval Noah Harari: How to safeguard your mind in the age of junk information ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1OvbwY6GPM

What if we could use automation not just as a tool, but as a mirror for our own human behaviors?

From the limits of rationalism to the rise of neural networks, Dan Shipper, CEO and co-founder of Every, traces a history of knowledge that spans Socrates, the Enlightenment, and modern machine learning.

Shipper explains why “if/then” rules break in messy reality, and how large language models actually see the world through context and pattern. He explores how AI can work with our own creativity and why these tools are unlikely to steal our humanity.

0:00 Neural networks and human intuition
1:13 The limits of rationalism, from Socrates to neural networks
1:23 Rationalism
2:42 Socrates, the father of Rationalism
5:47 The Age of Enlightenment
7:36 The structure of social sciences
8:51 Defining AI
9:47 The origins of AI
10:39 The General Problem Solver
15:09 Neural networks
18:22 Metaphors for the mind
23:00 Seeing the world like a large language model
30:25 Should we stop looking for general theories?
32:22 Training neural networks
39:32 Will AI steal our humanity?
43:43 AI and rational explanation
47:17 Could LLMs be dangerous?
51:12 Knowledge economies and allocation economies

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/full-interview/human-intuition-ai/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description

———————————————————————————-

Go Deeper with Big Think:

►Become a Big Think Youtube Member
Get exclusive classes and early, ad-free access to new releases without leaving Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@bigthink/membership/

►Become a Big Think Web Member
Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more.

Big Think Membership

►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack
Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox.
https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/subscribe/

———————————————————————————-

About Dan Shipper:

Dan Shipper is the CEO and cofounder of Every, where he explores the frontiers of AI in his column, Chain of Thought, and on his podcast, ‘AI & I.’