Cozy QRI Community Meetup: the Hard Problem of Valence

​​​Qualia Research Institute is non-profit building a science of consciousness to improve lives of sentient beings. This is an unofficial informal meetup for the community around QRI in London.

Asher Soryl (AsherSoryl.com; @aaarataki on twitter) is a PhD candidate researching wild animal well-being & animal sentience. He's visiting London for a couple of days — and this is our chance to hang out with him. Asher will give a 30-minute talk titled "The 'Hard Problem' of Valence: Efforts to Date and Why More Research is Needed". Then we will socialise for a few hours.

​The talk will be based on the paper Asher co-authored with Chris Percy and Andrés Gómez Emilsson. The 'hard problem' of valence: why do some experiences feel better or worse than others, and what mechanism(s) might ground such differences in perceived affect? Asher will collate 11 main variants of solution across four categories so far: algorithmic, low-level physical features, high-level physical features, and non-physical phenomena.

​Note: this meetup is going to happen on the first floor of Newspeak House (one level above the hall where QRI community meetups usually happen) — expect cozier vibes and more relaxed atmosphere.

Please bring your own drinks and snacks.

Schedule
18:00 Meetup starts, socialising
19:00 Asher gives a talk on his most recent paper, Q&A
19:30 till late: hang out and socialise