Episode · Big Technology Podcast · 2026-02-25

Books mentioned on Can AI Become Conscious? — With Michael Pollan

4 books · With Michael Pollan · Listen · Watch on YouTube

Michael Pollan is the author of A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness. Pollan joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether AI can ever become conscious and what that question reveals about the nature of mind.

Alex Kantrowitz discussed A World Appears by Michael Pollan and The Blind Spot by Adam Frank and others. Michael Pollan discussed The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness by Mark Solms and How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

We earn a commission if you buy through the store links below, at no cost to you.

1. 

   A World Appears

   Michael Pollan · at 0:27 · mentioned 10 times

   A World Appears by Michael Pollan is a non-fiction journey into consciousness that explores meditation, psychedelics, and the nature of the self.

   Discussed

   “He is the author of the book A World Appears, a journey into consciousness, that is out this week from Penguin Press.”

   Alex Kantrowitz Can AI Become Conscious? — With Michael Pollan 2026-02-25 Listen at 0:27

   Where to get it

   AmazonListen on Audible
2. 

   The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness

   Mark Solms · at 26:15

   The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness by Mark Solms is a work of neuroscientific exploration that bridges psychoanalysis and modern brain science to propose a novel theory regarding subjective experience.

   Discussed

   “And Solms wrote a really interesting book called uh The Hidden Spring. Uh and he makes the case that consciousness begins in the brainstem, not in the cortex as people had previously thought.”

   Michael Pollan Can AI Become Conscious? — With Michael Pollan 2026-02-25 Listen at 26:15

   Where to get it

   AmazonListen on Audible
3. 

   The Blind Spot

   Adam Frank; Marcelo Gleiser; Evan Thompson · at 44:55

   The Blind Spot by Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, and Evan Thompson is a philosophical critique of Western science that examines the limitations of materialism and advocates for the inclusion of human experience in scientific inquiry.

   Discussed

   “And there people who argue with I I talked to philosophers um Evan Thompson is somebody in particular author of an amazing book called the blind spot.”

   Alex Kantrowitz Can AI Become Conscious? — With Michael Pollan 2026-02-25 Listen at 44:55

   Where to get it

   AmazonListen on Audible
4. 

   How to Change Your Mind

   Michael Pollan · at 46:21

   How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan is an exploration of the renaissance in psychedelic research and therapy.

   Discussed

   “I mean, one of the inspirations for the book was the experiments with psychedelics I did for How to Change Your Mind.”

   Michael Pollan Can AI Become Conscious? — With Michael Pollan 2026-02-25 Listen at 46:21

   Where to get it

   AmazonListen on Audible