What is Consciousness?

The rise of AI has lead to widespread concern, ranging from fears of job losses and environmental destruction, to a total replacement of humanity.

This has raised important (though hardly new) questions for science and philosophy, surrounding the future of humanity, the feasibility of creating “Generalized Artificial Intelligence,” and the nature of consciousness itself.

In this presentation, Jeremy Swinarton explains the problem of consciousness, what science tells us, and how Marxist philosophy can help us understand the question.

📖 Further reading:
Ted Grant & Alan Woods — Reason in Revolt: Marxist Philosophy and Modern Science (Chapter 13: The Genesis of Mind)

(Buy a copy)

Engels — The Part played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man

Daniel Morley — Artificial Intelligence: doomsday for humanity, or for capitalism?

Karl Marx — Theses On Feuerbach

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Recorded live in Toronto on June 12, 2026.