Dr. Gašper Beguš is a UC Berkeley professor of linguistics who studies the interface between human, machine, and animal language. We head into the conversation with a question - is there something fundamentally different about the way that humans learn and the way that machines like LLMs learn? Vector embeddings of the relatedness of language and the map that we carry in our heads of abstract concepts don’t seem that different at the end of the day. This leads us into a discussion of the ways in which humans acquire language, how language evolves, evidence for abstract thought in animals, where the bright line of consciousness can be drawn, and if taking a different approach to training computers to think can generate a machine that can match us in drive and curiosity.  Don't miss the historic cosmology summit in Portugal this summer!!! DEMYSTICON 2025 ANNUAL MEETING June 12-16: https://demystifysci.com/demysticon-2025 PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/all AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98 SUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7hY48eZZSLw@demystifysci 00:00 Go! 00:07:55 Language, Thought, and AI Models 00:13:25 Animal Communication and Intelligence 00:25:02 Recursion and Human Language 00:37:51 AI, Consciousness, and Human Cognition 00:49:02 The Role of Human Curiosity in the Future of AI 00:58:13 Bridging Human-Like Learning in AI Models 01:08:07 Exploring Human-Like Structures in AI Models 01:17:19 Evolution and Brain Capacity 01:26:31 Language Structure and Differences 01:37:11 Evolution of Language and Its Universality 01:46:17 Social Identity and Linguistic Diversity 01:59:08 Thought and Language: The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis 02:09:18 Language Evolution and Human History 02:16:02 Cognitive Development and Language 02:24:39 Ancient Human Cooperation 02:35:04 Cultural and Cognitive Evolution 02:42:27 AI’s Role in Scientific Discovery #Linguistics, #AI, #AnimalCommunication, #ArtificialIntelligence, #Language, #Cognition, #AnimalIntelligence, #Recursion, #ThoughtAndLanguage, #AnimalBehavior, #AnimalLearning, #AIModels, #CognitiveScience, #AnimalCognition, #EvolutionOfLanguage, #LanguageStructure, #LanguageEvolution, #philosophypodcast, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671