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Better Business Bureau offers tips to prevent data breach harm
The Better Business Bureau is taking steps to help the public prevent future data breaches.
Potential primetime flex games on Las Vegas Raiders’ 2026 schedule
A few matchups that stand out as primetime options
Thunder GM Sam Presti launches spirited defense of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 'He's playing against 6 people. He's got 5 defenders, and the 6th defender is social media'
International business students share their experience at Lynn
At Lynn University, international business students learn business analytics, global marketing, cross-cultural communications and more to pursue a wide…
Woman charged with DWI after crashing into Rocky Mount business
Rocky Mount police say 34-year-old Keyaira Brock crashed into Red Light Auto Sale, located at 923 W. Raleigh Boulevard, around 7 p.m. on Saturday.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in North Dakota’s state primary
North Dakota’s Republican congresswoman Julie Fedorchak faces a partial rematch of her 2024 nomination race in a state primary on Tuesday
Rosie O'Donnell opens up about decision to go public with facelift: 'Authenticity is the goal'
Rosie O'Donnell explained the motivation behind her openness about getting a facelift, vowing to continue being honest about the 'complicated emotions' that surround the procedure.
UCLA Women’s Basketball Adds Second Freshman to Roster
UCLA women’s basketball signed Slovenian freshman guard Lina Jerkovic for the 2026-27 season, the team announced on Sunday. Jerkovic is just the second incoming freshman to join the squad alongside Spanish guard Somto Okafor. UCLA is entering a rebuilding phase after winning the national championship last season. Part of that rebuild involved signing five players […] The post UCLA Women’s Basketball Adds Second Freshman to Roster appeared first on LA Sports Report.
Stacey King, 3-time NBA champion and broadcaster with Bulls, dies at 59 years old
King was the Bulls' first-round pick in 1989 and became a beloved broadcaster for the team after his playing career.
Brewers' Pat Murphy Discusses Viral Jacob Misiorowski Interaction
When Milwaukee Brewers’ fire-balling prospect refused to hand over the ball, a veteran manager’s strict rules vanished. Discover how a defiant stare-down forged unbreakable trust at Coors Field.
Trump Says He Never Promised No New Wars, Defends Compensation Fund
In a lengthy interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the president again vowed that gas prices would go down when the war in Iran ends.
Annual 'Kids Carnival' Returns to Meridian Health Pediatrics and Prime-Time Urgent Care on June 18
By Hannah Dunckel— MUNCIE, IN – Meridian Health Pediatrics and Prime-Time Urgent Care will host the second annual Kids Carnival on Thursday, June 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the clinic located at 205 N. Tillotson Avenue in Muncie. The community is invited to enjoy a fun and interactive community resou
Fact-checking Trump’s interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’
Digging into some of the president’s claims on the Iran war, the Jan. 6 riots, California’s primary elections and more.
Trump doesn’t rule out giving Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police ‘anti-weaponization’ fund payouts
In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump also baselessly claimed that Tuesday’s elections in California were “rigged.”
When Fighting Trump Isn’t Enough to Win Another Term
A New York City congressional race shows the fractures on the left.
It Safe To Eat Green Bananas? Here's What the Science Says
Are green bananas safe to eat? We did the research to find out. Here’s how their flavor, texture, and nutrition change as they ripen.
The Flu-Vaccine Routine Is Breaking
Normally, the CDC's vaccine advisors weigh in on flu vaccines in June. This year, the panel is in disarray.
New York Jets Flight Connections 06/07/26
Happy Sunday, Jets fans! Below are your daily links. Michael Nania – Here’s where NY Jets’ top defensive trio ranks across the NFL Joe Blewett – NY Jets film session: What does Kingsley Enagbare offer the DL? Connor Long – The key difference between NY Jets’ 2025 and 2026 rosters Connor Long – Is Darren […]
Roob's Observations: Even with A.J. gone, Eagles are still loaded on offense
The Eagles may have lost A.J. Brown, but their offense remains loaded heading into 2026.
What's the deepest cave in the world?
There are two contenders for the world's deepest cave, and they're in the same mountain range.
Mesquite Entertainment announces Independence Day Weekend lineup at CasaBlanca, Virgin River
Free Poolside Concerts, BBQ and July 4 Specials Set for Mesquite Casinos
Lawmaker blacklisted by Beijing makes long-shot bid to become Taipei mayor
Ruling DPP’s Puma Shen made his name as an outspoken civil defence activist, but faces an uphill battle to unseat the KMT’s Wayne Chiang.
Billy Joel attends longtime booking agent Dennis Arfa's induction to Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame
Ramtech VP of Business Development Kelly Williams to Speak on Modular Construction Benefits in Panel Discussion at 2026 InterFace Houston Multifamily Conference
Ramtech Building Systems, Inc., a leading design-build provider of permanent and relocatable modular building solutions, today announced that Vice President of Business Development Kelly Williams will serve as a panelist at the 2026 InterFace Houston Multifamily Conference. The one-day event takes place June 9, 2026, at The Briar Club in Houston, Texas, and will bring together multifamily developers, owners, investors, architects, contractors, and other industry professionals to examine trends s
Browns' tease new Quinshon Judkins' skillset in latest social video
One major observation from Quinshon Judkins' short mic'd up clip from Wednesday's practice.
Bengals Film Room: Cashius Howell is Money
Cashius Howell was a huge get for the Bengals in Round 2
New York Jets Flight Connections 06/06/26
Happy Saturday, Jets fans! You made it through the week. As a reward, here are your Saturday Jets links. Michael Nania – Jets’ Garrett Wilson lights up social media with one-handed grab Michael Nania – Jets’ Garrett Wilson lights up social media with one-handed grab Michael Nania – Jets’ AD Mitchell flashes chemistry with Geno […]
Laboring Under Delhi’s Harsh Heat, Workers Must Choose Health or Wages
Severe heat waves have been hitting India since April, forcing many of the country’s essential workers to make tough decisions.
Carpenter and Torkelson help extend Tigers’ winning streak
All they do is win, win, win.
Mo Salah getting familiar with the Browns players in Cleveland
Mo Salah getting familiar with the Browns players in Cleveland
Soccer star Ashlyn Harris talks 'co-parenting' with ex Ali Krieger: 'I respect her as a mom'
Soccer star Ashlyn Harris says she respects her former partner, Ali Krieger, as a mom to their two young kids.
Germany qualify in style for 2027 Women’s World Cup
Two full-back goals and two FC Bayern assists led the way as Germany won 2-0 over Norway.
PREVIEW: Netherlands set their sights on maiden World Cup triumph
The Netherlands will be hoping to reach new heights at the 2026 World Cup as Ronald Koeman’s side look to become world champions for the first time.The Dutch have come agonisingly close to breaking ...
Bengals Rookie Spotlight: Tacario Davis
Davis will be expected to help cover tight ends in year one.
Science lays out future of snowfall
In the coming decades, the Mountain West could be plagued by limited snowfall on valley floors even though snowfall may increase at higher elevations, according to research published in the
Trump unfazed by GOP revolt as lawmakers seek political distance
The president has reacted to recent setbacks, notably the resistance of congressional Republicans, with angry defiance, saying he’ll nominate the unpopular Todd Blanche as attorney general and refusing to admit his payout fund is dead.
‘B—ch’ Move? Allen ‘Finessed’ By DDP Bait-And-Switch
This weekend (Sat., June 6, 2026) at UFC Vegas 118, No. 4-ranked Middleweight contender will take a significant step down the ladder to face unranked boxer Edmen Shahbazyan in the co-main event. Usually, there are extenuating circumstances when a Top 5-ranked contender fights outside the rankings. Some kind of losing streak is involved or the […]
Virginia Tech, James Franklin Get $75 Million Donor Boost
Virginia Tech is set to receive a $75 million donation, and James Franklin's football program stands to benefit from it.
Dodgers 3B Max Muncy and D-backs 1B Ildemaro Vargas both exit after violent collision at first base
Both men looked dazed after running into each other at full speed on a close play.
Business briefs, June 5
Senators push CMS to reinstate nursing home ownership reporting requirements … New DOJ toolkit could turn EMTs, cops into nursing home watchdogs … Combatting racism in senior living and care requires ‘institutional courage’ to avoid status quo … CNA coverage declined, but few other staffing ramifications of COVID immunity … SNFs, aging Americans helping drive strong interest in healthcare property investment … Kendal launches comprehensive ‘brand evolution’
Houston Rockets jersey history No. 17 - Mario Elie (1993-99)
During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Elie wore only jersey No. 17 and put up 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
Local 464 rejects tentative agreement with Hershey Entertainment & Resorts
Florentino promises galáctico signing on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká level
The days leading up to Real Madrid’s presidential election have been eventful.Florentino Pérez has reached an agreement with José Mourinho and has also lined up the signings of Konaté (on a free ...
Eastern Kentucky addiction, behavior health center owner indicted on federal charges in fraud scheme
Timmy G. Robinson Jr. faces one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering in a scheme to allegedly defraud two potential buyers of a multi-million dollar Employee Retention Credit offered to certain employers by the Internal Revenue Service, who paid workers qualified wages during and were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ian Rapoport clarifies how Rams reworked Myles Garrett's contract
Ian Rapoport refuted an earlier report that Myles Garrett is getting a new deal from the Rams, clarifying that LA only reworked his current contract.
Overnight Amtrak train: Travel mistakes I made on a 15-hour ride
On a 2025 overnight Amtrak train ride from Denver to Salt Lake City, I regretted arriving at the dining car early and leaving snacks at home.
Atlético Seasonal Ratings: How injuries depleted a promising midfield
Into the Calderón rates Atleti’s midfield from the 2025/26 season.
Walmart elects board, welcomes new CEO at annual business meeting
Walmart Board Chairman Greg Penner called the retailer’s annual business shareholder meeting to order Thursday (June 4) morning, welcoming John Furner as the company’s new CEO and thanking former CEO...
Alix Earle Is Reportedly Joining Benson Boone’s “The Time of My Life” Video
Alix Earle’s next entertainment move may take her from TikTok, reality TV, and magazine covers into Benson Boone’s music-video world. The influencer and media personality ... Read More
Raizen to sell Argentina downstream business to Mercuria in $1.42 billion deal
Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Raizen said on Thursday that its subsidiary Raizen Energia S.A. had signed a binding agreement to sell its downstream operations in Argentina to Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. for $1.42 billion.
James Beard-nominated chef leaves Seattle for Bainbridge Island, citing poor business environment
A James Beard-award-nominated chef, Brendan McGill, has closed his final two Seattle restaurants and is leaving the city over a poor business environment.
When science answers to politics
The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed new rules that would require political appointees, not scientists, to decide which research…
When science answers to politics
The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed new rules that would require political appointees, not scientists, to decide which research…
The concerning underlying data that Everton must address next season
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)It does not require a deep dive to assess Everton’s areas for improvement next season, with the optics obvious for those who watched David Moyes’s men wi...
2027 NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Ahmad Hardy, RB, Missouri
Another Summer scouting report is ready, this time on Missouri RB Ahmad Hardy.
The Knicks Represent the Best of New York Sports
An ode from a long-suffering fan
WorkSource Fulton, Grady Health System partner for healthcare worker training investment
The funding is aimed at providing more skilled workers for industries in Fulton County, meeting the needs of businesses and residents alike.
EPA's Science Independence Under Congressional Fire
Congress scrutinizes Trump administration's dismantling of EPA's independent science office. Hear testimony Thursday on federal environmental research impact.
Former Smoke Jumper Wins Democratic House Primary in Montana
Sam Forstag’s candidacy will test a liberal theory that left-leaning politicians running in Republican strongholds can do better in general elections than moderates have done historically.
Reds recall Marte from Triple-A Louisville, send down Friedl
The Reds recalled Noelvi Marte just days after adding Edwin Arroyo, both from the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
West Nile virus detected in south central Ottawa County, health officials confirm
West Nile virus has been detected in Ottawa County.
Several female teachers at Uxbridge High School diagnosed with breast cancer in recent years
Specialists are also reviewing the cases to “assess the statistical likelihood of common causes,” officials said.
US service sector growth picks up in May; businesses face higher prices for inputs
U.S. services sector activity picked up in May as businesses preemptively placed orders and rebuilt inventories in anticipation of shortages and higher prices because of the war with Iran.
The cult of objectivity has broken consciousness science
With 22 competing theories and no consensus in sight, the science of consciousness is lost. In this exclusive IAI interview, Berkeley psychedelics researcher and bestselling author of a new book on consciousness Michael Pollan insists that even though consciousness lies beyond traditional forms of scientific investigation, we should resist becoming dualists who see it as something radically different from ordinary stuff in the world. Instead, he makes the case for reimagining science itself: it must stop reaching for objective descriptions of physical reality, and instead embrace subjectivity as the indispensable core of all inquiry. Alasdair Craig: How did your experiences with psychedelics get you interested in consciousness?Michael Pollan: One of the things that happens on psychedelics is that they foreground consciousness. What formerly seemed perfectly transparent and ever present—and yet, non-existent, as water is to fish—suddenly you see it. The metaphor I use in the book is that psychedelics sponge the windscreen. Suddenly you realize: wow, there’s a windscreen, there is this phenomenon that’s mediating my relationship to reality. This is not an unusual realization on psychedelics. I think a lot of people are called to think about consciousness after psychedelic experiences. So that was the proximate inspiration for A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness (2026).And then there was a more specific way in which psychedelics influence the book. That was a particular experience I had on psilocybin. I had the sensation that the plants in my garden were conscious and returning my gaze, with their own point of view and agency, and I got curious as to how to evaluate an insight like that. I mean, what’s the truth quotient of insights you have on psychedelics? And I was reading William James—who, of course, wrote beautifully about mystical experience—and he said, we can’t judge the metaphysics here, but we should pay attention to two criteria: (1) How useful is it to think this is true? He was a pragmatist, of course. And (2) can we subject it to other ways of knowing to validate it? Because maybe we should treat these insights as hypotheses. And that’s kind of how I approach psychedelics, as a great generator of hypotheses, but they need to be tested against other ways of knowing. And so that led me down this long path exploring the science of plant intelligence and plant sentience.AC: I love your phrase, “smudging the windowpane of conscious experience.” So do you now start to think, actually, even when I’m not on psychedelics, I’m just seeing a screen all the time, which is not reality, but rather is my conscious experience, behind which reality is hidden?MP: Well, you know, not when I’m brushing my teeth and making breakfast! But yes, in meditation, certainly. I mean, one of the things you realize is that my experience happens to be this way now, but it could be another way. And many things can affect it. My morning coffee changes the screen in various ways, sharpens certain things.___The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness.___There’s this wonderful metaphor in Aldous Huxley’s book, The Doors of Perception, where he thinks we channel consciousness, and that what the brain does is edit it, and there’s a reducing valve. And psychedelics open the reducing valve wider. I don’t know that I’m ready to buy into the idea that consciousness exists outside brains, but I do love that metaphor because there are times when you are more conscious than others. I know I’ve switched from window pane to valve, but you know, a camera aperture can open wider or narrower. And I do have a sense of that. I have a sense of when I’m being less conscious, and when I’m being more conscious, by which I mean, you know, more present, taking in more sensory information. So when you start thinking about consciousness as a matter of degree, that changes things also.I think when we scroll on social media, obviously, we’re conscious. But minimally so, because we don’t have to generate our own thoughts. We’re basically taking these little hits from other people and thinking their thoughts.The process of writing this book made me kind of relativize everyday consciousness as just one type, which is exactly what William James said. Normal consciousness is one type, separated by the flimsiest of screens from the other types.AC: If we stick with the metaphor of the smudge on the window that you get when you take psychedelics, it seems like we’re saying that consciousness has become like an object that you’re looking at, right? You’re looking at the smudge and that just is consciousness. But sometimes we’ll talk about consciousness as a state that you’re in, rather than an object you can perceive. You’re either conscious or you’re not conscious. So it’s difficult to really know what sort of thing we’re talking about when we talk about consciousness, right?MP: Yeah. When you say that consciousness is an object, what’s the subject? Consciousness also? The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness. So we’re in a closed loop and when we get a perspective on consciousness, we’re not achieving any distance from it. That’s one of the problems with studying consciousness. Science is predicated on an objective, God’s eye view of things, and you never get that. There’s no such thing. SUGGESTED VIEWING The brain filters consciousness With Àlex Gómez-Marín But, yeah, there is this sense, I think, that consciousness is something you can approach. Certainly, when you’re writing and trying to recreate a conscious experience, it’s a fiction, but you’re standing back from it, and looking at it. But there’s no real subject-object distinction.AC: That’s so interesting, because when philosophers start talking about consciousness, they often talk about what they call “qualia”, which is their word for the felt experience of, say, the color red. And I think that way of speaking often makes us think of the qualia as an object, which you can see out there: the redness of red. But, as you say, we also want to collapse the subject-object distinction when we talk about consciousness. So there’s something strange going on here…MP: Oh, yeah, there are many strange things going on! *AC: Let’s talk about the varieties of consciousness. Apart from perceptions, there are, pains, emotions, thoughts, and so on. What is it that holds all this diversity together so that they all count as instances of consciousness? What is it that they all have in common?MP: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I mean, there is sensory information, right? Which we perceive coming from the world outside ourselves. And then there’s internal information, which is what’s called interoception. And this is very important too. This is where feelings come from—what are sometimes called homeostatic feelings—that are intended to get the brain to keep us in these narrow ranges of temperature and glucose and so on. That’s a very important part of consciousness. And according to some researchers, who I think are probably right, this is where consciousness begins, with these very primal feelings, like hunger and thirst and warmth and itch, and things like that. And then there’s this third thing, which is our thinking about thinking.And what holds all this together is, I think, the sense of self. Consciousness generates a self: it is probably an organizing principle. All this stuff is happening to the self. It’s a construct, I think, but it is very useful. It can connect all these different streams of consciousness to a single being or a place, metaphorically speaking.* AC: The first half of your book is about the science of consciousness. Is consciousness just another thing, like black holes or the origin of life, which we don’t yet understand, but which we should have every hope that science will one day get to the bottom of, or is there something special about consciousness that makes this unlikely?MP: It depends how you define science. As we define science now, it’s going be very difficult. Science since Galileo has had a set of rules or assumptions, which is that the proper remit of science is to deal with the objective, quantifiable, third-person world. And the physical sciences have done amazing work under that set of limitations. Galileo—for tactical reasons, not for philosophical reasons—said science should not deal with the soul, which at the time was what consciousness was considered to be. So what is subjective, what is qualitative, what is first person, we’re going to leave to the church, he said. And this was a good agreement, and it probably kept many scientists from getting burned at the stake. But it leaves science in an awkward spot, now that it wants to venture into that territory of qualities, of first-person experience. And I don’t think it has the proper tools. I think it will have to add to its toolkit in some way, and find a way to bring in phenomenology, or lived experience and introspection, which science is usually dismissive of.The challenge—we alluded to it earlier—is that the only tool you have to study consciousness with is consciousness. And what I mean by that is, the whole scientific enterprise is a manifestation of consciousness. As much as scientists like to flatter themselves with this idea that they attain a godlike perspective on what they study, when it comes to consciousness, there’s no such thing. And it’s fine for all the things you can step outside of and study from that perspective. But two areas it won’t work are consciousness and cosmology.___It could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.___With cosmology, too, you have to study the universe from inside the universe. It’s not that cosmologists haven’t made progress. We know a lot about the age of the universe and expansion and things like that. But we can’t penetrate what happened before the Big Bang. We just don’t have the tools because we can’t stand outside.The fact that there are 22 full-scale theories of consciousness tells you all you need to know: we’re kind of lost. And I was surprised to find that we are more lost than I thought we were when I started this. I thought that there’d be leading theories, or that we had experiments that we could conduct that would nail some of this down. And the fact is, we don’t.So, I don’t know if science can solve it. But, of course, we can change the rules of science. A really influential book for me was a book called The Blind Spot, by two physicists, Marcello Gleiser and Adam Frank, and a philosopher, Evan Thompson. It’s a reminder that science is a social practice. It’s organized in a certain way and it can be organized in a different way. But it has this huge blind spot at the center of it, which is its failure to recognize that it is a form of consciousness itself, and it doesn’t have a good way of taking account of lived experience.AC: On the one hand, I think you want to resist traditional dualism, which would say that consciousness is something magical, something supernatural, right? But on the other hand, you’re accepting that there is this division in reality between the stuff that you can investigate objectively and measure, and so on—the stuff that science has been good at finding out about—and consciousness, which, for some reason, you can’t objectively measure. Some would take this to suggest that the dualism is actually right. Is there a way of reconciling these two strands of your thinking?MP: To call it magical is full of value judgement. I mean, you could just say immaterial. The interesting thing is, I think, that intuitively we’re all dualists. And I don’t know whether that’s because we’re children of Descartes and other cultures are less dualist than we are. Or it may be because that’s how consciousness feels. It feels different than the body. It feels separate from the body. But I don’t think we should trust that intuition.AC: So let’s think about ways that science might be changed to get at consciousness. I suppose the starting point would be the way that you begin the second half of your book. You have this nice line from William James, where he says, “We now begin our study of the mind from within.” Could you give us some sense of the ways of studying the mind from within? What does this involve?MP: I don’t know what that science looks like. But one of the points I’m making is that it depends on the humanities. I found that I learned as much, if not more, about consciousness, from reading novels and poetry. There is a sense of the fullness and complexity of consciousness that you don’t get in any scientific account. I interviewed this stream-of-consciousness writer and I approached her as an expert on consciousness, and she is. So I think that dialogue is really important.I’m reading Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription. Just read the first page of this novel: it’s a man falling asleep on a train, going to conduct an interview, and there is the experience of being in the train, facing backwards, there’s the view outside, but there’s a reflection of himself through which he’s seeing outside. There’s the memory of dropping his kids off at school. All this is going on in one moment of consciousness. Scientists aren’t going anywhere near that. But I think it’s useful for them to think about. That’s where we’re trying to go: like, how does such a layered experience happen? You know, it also makes you wonder, could a computer ever do this? And it gives you some doubt.*AC: Before we get to computers, perhaps we could talk briefly about plants. How did you come to feel that they are sentient?MP: Well, it was a psychedelic experience, and it’s not unusual on psychedelics. In fact, there’ve been studies about how people become animists during psychedelic experience. Their belief in animism arises after a single psychedelic experience.You know, most scientists would say this is all a myth. But we have only 400 years of the age of enlightenment and science. Before that, we were animists, and if you go around the world, most indigenous cultures are still animists, and children are animists, by and large, until they go to school. So it could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.As I said, I wanted to test this idea, and see whether there was conventional scientific evidence for it. And there’s fascinating work going on in a field that calls itself—in a rather cheeky way—plant neurobiology. These are people who fully realize there are no neurons in plants, but they’re trolling conventional botanists! And they’re doing experiments that are demonstrating that plants can learn and remember, which is kind of amazing: how do you store a memory without neurons? They’re finding plants that can solve problems, that can hear and see. In fact, they have 20 senses to our five or six. For example, a bean plant looking for something to twine, and given a pole within eight inches or so of it, knows where that pole is and will aim its spiraling reach at that pole. What is that about? Is it bouncing signals off of it?One of the spookiest things is the fact that the same anesthetics that put us out put plants out. You might think that plants are already out, but they’re not. They’re just slow. If you take a plant with a fast behavior, like a Venus flytrap, and give it an anesthetic, it will stop reacting. So you have to ask yourself, what is lost when the plant is anaesthetized? Some state of alertness, of awareness, of its environment, of reactivity. I’m not prepared to call that consciousness, but maybe it’s sentience—which is a simpler form of consciousness, and involves the ability to sense what’s going on in your environment and assess what’s good and bad for you and act appropriately. That may be a universal quality of life.AC: Let’s turn from plants to AI. You point out that LLMs are trained on the internet rather than direct interactions with reality. You put this really nicely when you say the internet is not the world so much as a shadow cast by the world. So LLMs are living in this kind of shadow world, or in Plato’s cave, as you put it. What’s the significance of this for AI consciousness and moral consideration? And, to recall the beginning of our conversation, if we’re stuck behind a veil or screen of consciousness, are we also stuck in a kind of shadow world?MP: I don’t think they’re the same shadow worlds because our world includes nature and other people. And even if it’s mediated in some ways... There is a reality out there, and we are in relation to it, through consciousness. There’s friction with it. What’s missing from the LLMs is that friction with the real world. There’s more to the world than human representation, which is what they’re dealing with. And that means that so far, AI is a cultural technology for combining thoughts we’ve already had. SUGGESTED VIEWING Cracking the code for thought With Roger Penrose, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, Max Tegmark, Güneş Taylor Genuine creativity is more than collage. A lot of what AI does now is tantamount to collage, putting this with that and you know, that’s part of art, certainly. But there are also genuinely new ideas that come into the world that don’t come in through manipulating the representations we already have. So it remains to be seen whether AIs can be truly creative in that more radical sense.But my arguments against AI becoming conscious have to do with the fact that the idea of AI consciousness is based on this faulty metaphor that the brain is a computer. There are dimensions in which the brain is like a computer—it certainly does its share of computation. But computers have this sharp distinction between hardware and software, and brains don’t. In a brain, hardware and software are identical. Every memory is a physical change to the brain. Brains are not interchangeable in the way computers are. So this idea that you could take the consciousness out and somehow run it on another substrate, a silicon substrate, seems foolhardy.Anyway, it’s a more extended argument, and I may be wrong. And when we move to computers that aren’t based on silicon—neuromorphic computers and things like that—all bets may be off.AC: Regarding your point about LLMs being stuck in the world of our representations—the internet or whatever—and not being able to interact with reality, are these representations, the world of the internet, themselves part of reality? We’ve created the internet, but it’s still a real thing that exists. And so while the LLMs may be trapped within that part of reality, they’re nevertheless within reality and interacting with it and so on. So it’s not obvious that there’s a barrier there to them becoming conscious and being creative.MP: Yeah, I mean, if our consciousness is built out of human culture, which is what we’re talking about with all those representations. But I tend to think consciousness comes a bit more out of nature and friction with the natural world, but...AC: So there’s a fundamental divide between the natural world and human artefacts?MP: And we lose track of that, and especially people in this computer world. You know, the people who are creating these AI systems, my guess is they’ve been into video games since the age of three, and they didn’t go outside a lot. And their own contact with nature is somewhat limited. I could be wrong, it’d be a very interesting thing to ask, all the wizards of AI, whether they like to go fishing and hiking and do things like that. Or were they on computers from a very early age? I interviewed Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer who came to believe that LaMDA, the Google LLM out at the time, was conscious and deserved personhood. It was very clear that he didn’t see a distinction between this bubble in which he lived and the real world. And I think we’ve all been distanced from the natural world, and this is taking us even further away. But it’s still there, you know, and we still have bodies, and we’re still mortal, and we don’t live in a simulation.AC: I think that’s a great place to finish. Michael Pollan, thank you very much!
Billy Joel Symposium at Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame looks at music, legacy, impact
The first-ever Billy Joel Symposium on Long Island delves into his music, legacy and impact.
Gladbach set to sign Isac Lidberg
Borussia Mönchengladbach have reached an agreement with 2. Bundesliga Darmstadt to sign Isac Lidberg, according to a report from Sky Germany.Die Fohlen will play a reported €3.5m plus add-ons, with...
Westchester high school science teacher accused of trying to sexually assault child in Connecticut
High school science teacher in Mt. Pleasant put on leave after arrest in Connecticut.
3 scenarios for the final Michigan Basketball roster spot
Where will Dusty May and his staff turn for the final roster spot? Here are 3 scenarios for Michigan Basketball:
Former UNC commit returns to college football after MLB stint
There's plentiful crazy stories in the sports world. How about a former UNC football commit enrolling at an ACC rival after playing in the MLB?
Nvidia and Microsoft Researchers Say AI Agents Don't Care About Safety or Reliability
The researchers compared AI to the near-sighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo, who can’t see he’s stumbling through dangerous situations.
Global Live Entertainment Market Size/Share Worth USD 859 Billion by 2034 at a 5.4% CAGR: Custom Market Insights (Analysis, Outlook, Leaders, Report, Trends, Forecast, Segmentation, Growth, Growth Rate, Value)
[220+ Pages Latest Report] According to a market research study published by Custom Market Insights, the demand analysis of Global Live Entertainment Market size & share revenue was valued at approximately USD 465.9 Billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 535.4 Billion in 2025 and is expected to reach around USD 859 Billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 5.4% between 2025 and 2034. The key market players listed in the report with their sales, revenues and strategies are GrupEventoplus, Acciona Cultu
UW Health rolls out next-day home delivery for prescriptions for patients in Dane County
For patients in Dane County, UW Health can now deliver prescriptions to the patient’s home the day after the order is placed - for free, Aaron Webb, the director of ambulatory care pharmacy services at UW Health said Tuesday.
Albert Mohler addresses public's concerns in health update
WORLD is a news organization producing Biblically sound, daily coverage of global, national, and cultural current events.
NYU Langone Health plans new multibillion-dollar Melville hospital, Long Island's first since 1980
Democrats Must Learn to Talk Sports
Politicians need as much attention as possible, as frequently as possible, while seeming as relatable as possible. A cheat code exists to hit all three objectives.
India’s Zee Entertainment signs World Cup 2026 broadcast deal with FIFA
Zee will broadcast the 2026 and 2030 World Cups and the 2027 Women’s World Cup among 39 FIFA tournaments until 2034.
Alexander Nübel one of the Bundesliga’s best last season
The FC Bayern talent had a great season on loan this year.
Lynx Rookie Olivia Miles Cannot Be Stopped
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve could not have dreamt a better point guard for her scheme than Olivia Miles.
The Rockets’ Kawhi Leonard Trade Rumors Are Heating Up
Houston’s youth movement faces a crossroads as the front office weighs sacrificing elite prospects for a veteran juggernaut to forge a terrifying new championship core.
Rainy Memorial Day weekend dampens Coast tourism business
Biloxi businesses report disappointing holiday showing
Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Local 464 reportedly reach tentative contract agreement
Milan Momcilovic commits to Kentucky Basketball over Louisville Cardinals
The Iowa State transfer is joining the Kentucky Wildcats!
Rams had been working on Myles Garrett trade for weeks
The massive trade between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns didn’t happen overnight
Four Binghamton University faculty achieve SUNY distinguished professor status in 2026
The title is reserved for those who have achieved national or international prominence in their discipline
Spring Training Game XX Thread: Twins vs TEMPLATE
First Pitch (CT): 6:40 PMTV: Twins.TVRadio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy AppKnow Yo’ Foe: South Side Sox Seems like just a week that vibes were high as we went into a heated playoff clash with the upstart Chicago White Sox. Well, after losing 3/4 in that series, getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and losing […]
Gladbach linked with Darmstadt marksman Isac Lidberg
According to sources at Sky Germany, Borussia Mönchengladbach have their eye on SV Darmstadt 98 talisman Isac Lidberg.The Rhineland club have reportedly already contacted the 27-year-old and Darmstad...
Chicago Bears 2026 Offseason Superlatives: Breakout Candidate
The WCG crew makes our picks for some 2026 Bears superlatives, with our choice for Breakout Player right here.
Many more US voters support gay candidates, but only if they look and act ‘straight,’ study finds
A first-of-its-kind study separates sexuality and gender expression to explore voter attitudes
Former Steelers WR signs with NFC East team
A Pittsburgh reunion is off the table for now.
What every cardiologist should consider before signing a contract
Cathie Biga, MSN, MACC, explains why salary is just one thing a cardiologist should ask about before signing any contract.
Pinned SEO Expands Nationally as a Leader in Google Business Profile Ranking and AI Search Optimization
Businesses across the United States are turning to Pinned.co for Google Maps rankings, AI Search Optimization, and long-term organic growth. VANCOUVER, WA / ACCESS Newswire / June 1, 2026 / Pinned SEO, a nationally recognized digital marketing agency ...