Keith Frankish
@keithfrankish.com
Philosopher, writer, Ελληνοβρετανός. Hon Professor, Sheffield. Mind, consciousness, illusionism, cog-sci, Ελλάδα. Friend of @philosynthesis.com
Website: https://keithfrankish.com
Manages Philosophy Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/5aps8sbv
Website: https://keithfrankish.com
Manages Philosophy Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/5aps8sbv
Ned Block on the rise of the zombie AIs. With a reply by me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-0o...
The rise of the zombie AIs. Ned Block
YouTube video by International Center for Consciousness Studies
www.youtube.com
October 3, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Ned Block on the rise of the zombie AIs. With a reply by me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-0o...
Reposted by Keith Frankish
I reviewed the exhibition on fairy painter Richard Dadd at
@royalacademyarts.bsky.social: drfrancisyoung.com/2026/10/01/e... 🧚♀️
@royalacademyarts.bsky.social: drfrancisyoung.com/2026/10/01/e... 🧚♀️
Exhibition review: Richard Dadd Beyond Bedlam
The Royal Academy’s exhibition on the painter Richard Dadd (1817–1886) runs until 25 October, so there is still time to see it. Dadd is most famous as a fairy painter, as well as for being confined…
drfrancisyoung.com
October 1, 2026 at 12:22 PM
I reviewed the exhibition on fairy painter Richard Dadd at
@royalacademyarts.bsky.social: drfrancisyoung.com/2026/10/01/e... 🧚♀️
@royalacademyarts.bsky.social: drfrancisyoung.com/2026/10/01/e... 🧚♀️
Reposted by Keith Frankish
BIG NEWS!
I am launching a new podcast together with colleagues from the Cluster of Excellence on Cross-Cultural Philology here at the LMU in Munich. It's called Pages of History and will appear once a month, following today's initial launch with three episodes.
pagesofhistorypodcast.net
I am launching a new podcast together with colleagues from the Cluster of Excellence on Cross-Cultural Philology here at the LMU in Munich. It's called Pages of History and will appear once a month, following today's initial launch with three episodes.
pagesofhistorypodcast.net
October 1, 2026 at 10:18 AM
BIG NEWS!
I am launching a new podcast together with colleagues from the Cluster of Excellence on Cross-Cultural Philology here at the LMU in Munich. It's called Pages of History and will appear once a month, following today's initial launch with three episodes.
pagesofhistorypodcast.net
I am launching a new podcast together with colleagues from the Cluster of Excellence on Cross-Cultural Philology here at the LMU in Munich. It's called Pages of History and will appear once a month, following today's initial launch with three episodes.
pagesofhistorypodcast.net
Have you always wanted to see me standing unsteadily on a ship at sea while talking manically about illusionism and reactivity? Then this is your lucky day! www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqkO...
Reactivity and Illusion: A Post-Cartesian Perspective on the Distribution Question. Keith Frankish
YouTube video by International Center for Consciousness Studies
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Have you always wanted to see me standing unsteadily on a ship at sea while talking manically about illusionism and reactivity? Then this is your lucky day! www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqkO...
Reactivity and Illusion: A Post-Cartesian Perspective on the Distribution Question. Keith Frankish - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqkO...
Reactivity and Illusion: A Post-Cartesian Perspective on the Distribution Question. Keith Frankish
YouTube video by International Center for Consciousness Studies
www.youtube.com
September 28, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Reactivity and Illusion: A Post-Cartesian Perspective on the Distribution Question. Keith Frankish - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqkO...
Reposted by Keith Frankish
📚 Our Cambridge Element on Mental Fictionalism is out now and available free until 19th October! 📚 Download it here: doi.org/10.1017/9781... @keithfrankish.com @universitypress.cambridge.org #philsky #philmind #philpsy #cogsci
September 21, 2026 at 11:30 AM
📚 Our Cambridge Element on Mental Fictionalism is out now and available free until 19th October! 📚 Download it here: doi.org/10.1017/9781... @keithfrankish.com @universitypress.cambridge.org #philsky #philmind #philpsy #cogsci
Reposted by Keith Frankish
We keep asking LLMs whether they're conscious. I got more interested in WHO and WHEN taught them how to answer.
I traced such self-report through 66 training checkpoints, 3 post-training stages, ~90k continuations.
Paper: philarchive.org/archive/EKRWPT
#philosophy #llm #ai #science #consci #cogsci
I traced such self-report through 66 training checkpoints, 3 post-training stages, ~90k continuations.
Paper: philarchive.org/archive/EKRWPT
#philosophy #llm #ai #science #consci #cogsci
August 25, 2026 at 11:05 AM
We keep asking LLMs whether they're conscious. I got more interested in WHO and WHEN taught them how to answer.
I traced such self-report through 66 training checkpoints, 3 post-training stages, ~90k continuations.
Paper: philarchive.org/archive/EKRWPT
#philosophy #llm #ai #science #consci #cogsci
I traced such self-report through 66 training checkpoints, 3 post-training stages, ~90k continuations.
Paper: philarchive.org/archive/EKRWPT
#philosophy #llm #ai #science #consci #cogsci
Reposted by Keith Frankish
What if consciousness isn't real? By @timbayne.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social
"we should ask whether bees, babies or bots are conscious. But in asking that question, we should be alive to the possibility that the question itself might need replacing."
www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
"we should ask whether bees, babies or bots are conscious. But in asking that question, we should be alive to the possibility that the question itself might need replacing."
www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
What if ‘consciousness’ isn’t real?
Our understanding of consciousness could be fundamentally wrong
www.scientificamerican.com
September 18, 2026 at 10:17 AM
What if consciousness isn't real? By @timbayne.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social
"we should ask whether bees, babies or bots are conscious. But in asking that question, we should be alive to the possibility that the question itself might need replacing."
www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
"we should ask whether bees, babies or bots are conscious. But in asking that question, we should be alive to the possibility that the question itself might need replacing."
www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
I've heard that Magister Productions are bidding for the new Dr Who contract. This is their Head of Production, Victor Magister.
September 18, 2026 at 6:26 PM
I've heard that Magister Productions are bidding for the new Dr Who contract. This is their Head of Production, Victor Magister.
Would anyone be interested in my thoughts on generative AI? (I'm thinking of writing a series of blog posts on it.)
September 18, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Would anyone be interested in my thoughts on generative AI? (I'm thinking of writing a series of blog posts on it.)
In my class at school, there was a boy whose name was Waugh. At the start of each new year, the poor lad repeatedly had to stand up and say, "Please sir/miss, it's pronounced 'waff'"
September 17, 2026 at 11:34 PM
In my class at school, there was a boy whose name was Waugh. At the start of each new year, the poor lad repeatedly had to stand up and say, "Please sir/miss, it's pronounced 'waff'"
-So, our first contender. Your name, please?
-Mae Freund
-Your specialist subject is rhetorical questions, and your time starts now. How may roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
-Nine?
-No, the answer Mae Freund is blowing in the wind
-Doh!
-How many times must the cannon balls...
-Mae Freund
-Your specialist subject is rhetorical questions, and your time starts now. How may roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
-Nine?
-No, the answer Mae Freund is blowing in the wind
-Doh!
-How many times must the cannon balls...
September 17, 2026 at 8:14 PM
-So, our first contender. Your name, please?
-Mae Freund
-Your specialist subject is rhetorical questions, and your time starts now. How may roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
-Nine?
-No, the answer Mae Freund is blowing in the wind
-Doh!
-How many times must the cannon balls...
-Mae Freund
-Your specialist subject is rhetorical questions, and your time starts now. How may roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
-Nine?
-No, the answer Mae Freund is blowing in the wind
-Doh!
-How many times must the cannon balls...
Kids used to be vaccinated against fascism by listening to the stories of fathers, uncles, and grandfathers who had fought in the war. But people seem to be anti-vax these days.
September 17, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Kids used to be vaccinated against fascism by listening to the stories of fathers, uncles, and grandfathers who had fought in the war. But people seem to be anti-vax these days.
We each see the world through a lens
That's been ground by our past to intens-
ify things that might harm us;
But too often these armours
Show foes where there could be new friends.
That's been ground by our past to intens-
ify things that might harm us;
But too often these armours
Show foes where there could be new friends.
September 17, 2026 at 5:11 PM
We each see the world through a lens
That's been ground by our past to intens-
ify things that might harm us;
But too often these armours
Show foes where there could be new friends.
That's been ground by our past to intens-
ify things that might harm us;
But too often these armours
Show foes where there could be new friends.
"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." - W. M. Lewis
September 17, 2026 at 4:42 PM
"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." - W. M. Lewis
Reposted by Keith Frankish
Chapter Zero of my new book in draft, Humanlike: A Defense of AI Rights (comments warmly welcomed!), here:
schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2026/09/huma...
schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2026/09/huma...
Humanlike: A Defense of AI Rights -- Chapter Zero
schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com
September 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Chapter Zero of my new book in draft, Humanlike: A Defense of AI Rights (comments warmly welcomed!), here:
schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2026/09/huma...
schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2026/09/huma...
Piddington Bear
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSLY...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSLY...
London's Most Immersive Experience | SNL UK
YouTube video by Saturday Night Live UK
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Piddington Bear
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSLY...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSLY...
Reposted by Keith Frankish
"The St Cuthbert Gospel (formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel) retains its original binding and is the oldest intact European book."
BL Add MS 89000; Early 8th century; The St Cuthbert Gospel; Wearmouth-Jarrow; ff.1r-1v @blmedieval.bsky.social
BL Add MS 89000; Early 8th century; The St Cuthbert Gospel; Wearmouth-Jarrow; ff.1r-1v @blmedieval.bsky.social
September 16, 2026 at 7:09 PM
"The St Cuthbert Gospel (formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel) retains its original binding and is the oldest intact European book."
BL Add MS 89000; Early 8th century; The St Cuthbert Gospel; Wearmouth-Jarrow; ff.1r-1v @blmedieval.bsky.social
BL Add MS 89000; Early 8th century; The St Cuthbert Gospel; Wearmouth-Jarrow; ff.1r-1v @blmedieval.bsky.social
The plan is working www.bbc.com/news/article...
Part-human part-mouse brain developed in science breakthrough
Researchers at Stanford University genetically altered mice to be able to receive and function with human brain cells.
www.bbc.com
September 16, 2026 at 6:46 PM
The plan is working www.bbc.com/news/article...
"Johnny? He's in the basement . . . I don't know, mixing up the medicine probably . . . Me? I'm outside . . . Where exactly? On the pavement . . . What? Talking. I'm talking . . . About the government, mainly. Look, I've got to go now. There's a man in a coonskin cap who wants something."
September 15, 2026 at 4:38 PM
"Johnny? He's in the basement . . . I don't know, mixing up the medicine probably . . . Me? I'm outside . . . Where exactly? On the pavement . . . What? Talking. I'm talking . . . About the government, mainly. Look, I've got to go now. There's a man in a coonskin cap who wants something."
This picture needs Bob Dylan in it
A cozy coffee with Agatha Christie ☕️
I believe that's Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband
📷 Hubert de Segonzac, 1956
I believe that's Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband
📷 Hubert de Segonzac, 1956
September 15, 2026 at 4:05 PM
This picture needs Bob Dylan in it
If you would not intervene in the case described, how favourable would your opinion of the person on the tracks have to be for you to be moved to pull the lever that saves them?
New trolley problem. A politician you hate is tied to the tracks, and a runaway trolley is heading straight for them. You can divert the trolley onto another track where it will hard no one. What do you do?
September 14, 2026 at 10:05 PM
If you would not intervene in the case described, how favourable would your opinion of the person on the tracks have to be for you to be moved to pull the lever that saves them?
New trolley problem. A politician you hate is tied to the tracks, and a runaway trolley is heading straight for them. You can divert the trolley onto another track where it will hard no one. What do you do?
September 14, 2026 at 9:38 PM
New trolley problem. A politician you hate is tied to the tracks, and a runaway trolley is heading straight for them. You can divert the trolley onto another track where it will hard no one. What do you do?
I can't recommend this highly enough. A 1969 BBC documentary about Craghead Colliery and the community it supported. It's atmospherically shot in colour and told largely through the thoughtful, articulate voices of the miners themselves and their families. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQyx...
1969: Craghead Colliery | A Year in the Life | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
www.youtube.com
September 13, 2026 at 6:37 PM
I can't recommend this highly enough. A 1969 BBC documentary about Craghead Colliery and the community it supported. It's atmospherically shot in colour and told largely through the thoughtful, articulate voices of the miners themselves and their families. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQyx...