VII — Mind: The Essence of Humanity
This conference explored neuroscience, consciousness, and the philosophy of mind, asking what makes the human brain unique and how we understand cognition.
Key Themes
This edition brought together neuroscientists, philosophers, and computer scientists to explore what makes the human mind unique. From the neural basis of consciousness to the computational principles of intelligence, the conference examined the most fundamental questions about human cognition.
Daniel Dennett presented his philosophical perspective on consciousness, while Tomaso Poggio discussed computational models of the brain and their implications for artificial intelligence. Paleoanthropologists Ian Tattersall and Telmo Pievani explored the evolutionary origins of human cognition and symbolic thought.
The conference also addressed the clinical dimensions of brain science, including neurodegenerative diseases, mental health, and the potential of brain-computer interfaces. Speakers debated whether machines could ever truly replicate human consciousness, a question that has only grown more urgent with the rise of large language models and generative AI.