Will The Public See AI As Conscious? – Ali Ladak

​🧠 Sentio
Sentio is an initiative building the digital minds field in London & beyond. We host the Sentio Series, fortnightly London events that combine a talk, Q&A, and networking. Talks explore empirical, governance and moral questions in areas such as AI consciousness, sentience, agency, and welfare. A home for those working on or interested in digital minds to gather regularly.

​🎙️ Overview
Some researchers argue that, in the near future, there will be widespread attributions of consciousness to AI systems, while others think the public is likely to remain sceptical.

In this event, Ali will discuss the empirical literature on public perceptions of AI consciousness and will argue that while both outcomes are possible, the current evidence points more toward scepticism.

The talk will be followed by Q&A and networking – vegan snacks and drinks (alcoholic and alcohol-free) included. Whether you work in digital minds, are considering it, or are just curious from a related field like AI safety – this one's for you.

👤 Speaker
Ali Ladak is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Cambridge Digital Minds. His research focuses on how people perceive mind and moral status in AI systems and other non-human entities.

​Ali previously worked at the Sentience Institute, an interdisciplinary think tank researching long-term social and technological change, particularly digital minds and moral circle expansion. He holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, as well as Masters degrees in Cognitive and Decision Sciences and in Economics.

​🏢 Attend In-Person (BST)
6:30pm - Doors Open
7pm - Talk
7:45pm - Q&A
8:15pm - Networking (snacks/drinks provided)
10pm - Wrap-up

​💻 Attend Online (BST)
7pm - Talk
7:45pm - Q&A
8:15pm - Stream ends (networking is in person only)

​✉️ Contact
Message Joe at team@sentioai.org