In July 2025 our founder, Max, gave a talk at the RAND Corporation on machine consciousness – is it likely to emerge, what are the different theories of consciousness which are most cited in the academic literature and what do they mean for the likelihood of consciousness emerging in AI? Perhaps most importantly, what are the most important non-mainstream theories of consciousness? In particular, Max discussed the theories of Erwin Schrodinger, the Nobel-winning quantum physicist, who after considering all of the main theories of consciousness came to the conclusion that: 

“There is obviously only one alternative, namely the unification of minds or consciousnesses. Their multiplicity is only apparent, in truth there is only one mind. This is the doctrine of the Upanishads.” (Schrodinger, 1944, p 137)

Max is currently working on a book to be published by Springer Nature, The Artificial Intelligence Revolution, which has many of the top experts from around the world writing on AI, from professors and practitioners, to think tanks and politicians. For this, Max wrote the chapter on machine consciousness.