When I read philosophy or neuroscience papers about consciousness, I don't get the sense we're any closer to understanding it than we were 50 years ago.

The singularity has nothing to do with consciousness.

Its really important to understand the difference between sentience and consciousness, which are important for human beings.

I used to say that if you gave me a trillion dollars to build a sentient or conscious machine I would give it back. I could not honestly say I knew how it works.

No one has a clue how to build a conscious machine, at all. We have less clue about how to do that than we have about build a faster-than-light spaceship.

Everything we have of value as human beings - as a civilization - is the result of our intelligence.

It's unlikely that machines would spontaneously decide they didn't like people, or that they had goals in opposition to those of human beings.

I expect that people are going to feel differently about that once they're aware that AI systems can watch through a camera and can, in some sense, understand what it's seeing.

Google or other search engines are examples of AI, and relatively simple AI, but they're still AI. That plus an awful lot of hardware to make it work fast enough.

Some PhD physicists write software or work for hedge funds, but physics still has a problem with having very smart people but not enough opportunities.

It's very hard to predict what kind of uses we'd make of assistants that could read and understand all the information the human race has ever generated. It could be really transformational.

The slogans “hang on” and “press on” have solved and will continue to solve the problems of humanity.

I am learning to flow with rhythm of nature.

When did creating a flawless facade become a more vital goal than learning to love the person who lives inside your skin?

Every time I make American film I just trust American directors and American writers.

My mom has always been my champion. She was very smart and grounded. She said, 'Save your money. Pay your taxes. Don't put everything in one basket, ' but she let me explore and be creative.

Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.

What one needs to know in order to appraise a man morally is not: what did his mother say or do when he was three? The proper question is: what does he say and do now?

A Cambridge lady, hearing of the latest Suicide, said to her friend, turning off TV for tea, "Well, my dear, doesn't it seem a little like going where you haven't been invited?"

If civilians are going to be killed, I would rather have them be their civilians than our civilians.