Do We Have Free Will and Will AI Have It Too? (ft. Sabine Hossenfelder)

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Does free will exist? It's a question that's haunted philosophers for centuries. But physicist Sabine Hossenfelder has a provocative answer that might just disturb you. She says free will doesn't exist.

Everything is determined by the laws of physics. But here's the paradox that's fascinated me. I've talked to Sam Harris, Dan Dennett, Robert Sapolsky, all brilliant minds who agree that free will is an illusion. Yet, when I asked them if they've ever encountered someone who acts like they don't have free will, they all said no. So how can this be?

How can we all be determined by physics, yet live as if we're making genuine choices? This isn't some abstract philosophical exercise, no. Sabine's insight has real implications for artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and the future of consciousness itself.

She explains why AI may already have the same kind of agency that we do, and why quantum computers could reveal that we fundamentally misunderstand the nature of reality.

Key Takeaways:

00:26–04:39 – Determinism over “free will,” reframes self as information processor. 07:21–09:19 – Defines agency as internal deliberation vs. external input; AI has low agency. 10:48–14:50 – AI can learn without bodies; emotions could emerge via reward functions. 15:18–17:16 – UFO claims are mostly flaky but worth some serious consideration. 18:16–22:52 – “Quiz with It” uses AI for quizzes; AI may replace poor lecturers. 24:37–30:37 – Warns of LLM “lock-in”; expects new AI paradigms. 31:15–32:42 – Quantum computing promising for finance optimization; uncertain impact. 34:15–36:37 – Likes debates; thinks “theories of everything” overemphasized. 39:09–42:14 – Would fund quantum gravity & measurement problem experiments. 43:21–50:31 – Supports fuzzy dark matter search; inflation underdetermined; MOND captures some truth. 51:16–57:26 – Skeptical of DESI’s dark energy claim; cosmology data messy, model-dependent. 58:40–01:00:14 – Academic decline due to systemic incentives. 01:00:50–01:02:36 – Quantum tech advances reviving foundational physics interest. 01:09:30–01:12:23 – AI-generated junk (“AI slop”) threatens science publishing.

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Additional resources:

Check out Sabine’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SabineHossenfelder

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