# Consciousness Revisited

- Show: [EE Times Current](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current)
- Published: 2022-01-01
- Length: 1s
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited
- Listen: https://podcast.show/aspencore/episode/83491725/

## Summary

Federico Faggin, principal designer of the world’s first microprocessor and co-founder of Zylog and Synaptics, argues that consciousness and free will are quantum phenomena that cannot be replicated by classical algorithms. He contends that machines, including autonomous vehicles and AI systems, lack the quantum properties of entanglement and superposition required for true comprehension and experience. Faggin distinguishes between algorithmic processing and the non-algorithmic nature of human qualia, asserting that true autonomy requires the ability to handle unpredictable, deceptive situations in ways that rule-based systems cannot.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=0) Introduction: Federico Faggin and the History of Microprocessors
- [7:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=433) Faggin's View on AI Autonomy and Neural Networks
- [16:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=971) The Engineering Problem of Autonomous Vehicles and Corner Cases
- [23:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=1390) Distinguishing Machine Action from Human Experience and Qualia
- [30:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=1801) Consciousness as a Quantum Phenomenon in Hilbert Space
- [39:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=2395) Integrating Rationality and Spirituality in Science
- [52:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=3128) The Nature of Reality, Privacy, and Consciousness Downloading
- [1:01:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited#t=3678) Faggin's Favorite Wine: Amarone from Valpolicella

## Topics

- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Intel (company)
- Zylog (company)
- Synaptics (company)
- Fairchild semiconductor (company)
- 4004 (product)
- 8080 (product)
- Z80 (product)
- TRs 80 (product)
- Commodore 128 (product)
- Pac-Man (product)
- Silicon (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Federico Faggin designed the first microprocessor and the capacitive touchscreen. He joins Go/No-Go to argue that AI cannot be conscious, however capable it becomes.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/go-no-go/2026-06-26-federico-faggin-designed-the-first-microprocessor-and-the-capacitive-touchscreen) (Go/No-Go)
- [Super Intelligence. Friend or Enemy?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2022-03-31-super-intelligence-friend-or-enemy) (Over the Air)
- [Okay, Doomer: A Rebuttal to AI Doom-mongering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-06-27-okay-doomer-a-rebuttal-to-ai-doom-mongering) (Oxide and Friends)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-01-01-consciousness-revisited. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to EE Times Current.