# Erik Hoel: Free Will, Consciousness, and Hopeful Futures

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hope-axis-by-anna-g-t-7076854/erik-hoel-free-will-consciousness-and-hopeful-futures
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hope-axis-by-anna-g-t-7076854/erik-hoel-free-will-consciousness-and-hopeful-futures.md
Podcast: [The Hope Axis by Anna Gát](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hope-axis-by-anna-g-t-7076854)
Published: 2025-07-14T23:23:49+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-gat/episodes/Erik-Hoel-Free-Will--Consciousness--and-Hopeful-Futures-e359auo
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/f8e5b408/podcast/play/105212312/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-6-8%2F587e01d0-0051-9cd6-80af-3d37bdace055.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-hope-axis-by-anna-g-t-7076854/episodes/erik-hoel-free-will-consciousness-and-hopeful-futures
Duration seconds: 4870

## Resource

The very great Erik Hoel joins me for a conversation on AI, free will, emergence, creativity, neuroscience, consciousness and much more. Hope you enjoy! For the full transcript of our conversation, click here . Important Links: The Intrinsic Perspective Erik on Twitter/X Show Notes: (0:00:00) Guest Introduction (0:05:12) Innovative Structures in Fiction (0:09:43) Gender Dynamics in Publishing (0:13:19) Erik Hoel's Origin Story (0:20:11) An Unorthodox Literary Trajectory (0:30:34) Consciousness and Information Theory (0:35:45) Science At the Edges (0:45:07) Is There a Bull Case for Neuroscience? (0:48:38) AI's Stunning Progress (0:51:05) AI as an Annoying Toddler (0:55:19) The Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Perspectives of Consciousness (1:00:59) Understanding Free Will (1:17:53) Closing Remarks Books, Essays & Key People Mentioned: When the Map is Better than the Territory by Erik Hoel “How I taught my 3-year-old to read like a 9-year-old” by Erik Hoel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco The Revelations by Erik Hoel Ulysses by James Joyce Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman The Novels of Italo Calvino The World Behind the World by Erik Hoel Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter Moby Dick by Herman Melville Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare Hamlet by Shakespeare King Lear by Shakespeare The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann War and Peace by Tolstoy Researchers & Thinkers Søren Kierkegaard Francis Crick Giulio Tononi Karl Friston Robert Sapolsky Judea Pearl Gary Marcus Julian Jaynes Francis Fukuyama Carl Sagan Boethius

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## Transcript

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