ASEF Podcast (ENG): Free Energy Principle with Karl Friston: Mathematical Modeling of Consciousness [Episode #40]

In this episode, Karl Friston unpacks the Free Energy Principle, a unifying theory explaining how the brain minimizes surprise by constantly predicting and updating its model of the world. We explore how this principle sheds light on perception, consciousness, and even psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia.

Karl also shares how his journey took him from psychiatry to neuroscience, driven by a passion for applying math and physics to deepen understanding of the brain.

The host of the science vertical on the ASEF Podcast is ASEF Fellow Tanja Janko.

About the guest speaker

Karl Friston is a British neuroscientist and one of the most influential thinkers in modern neuroscience.He is currently a professor at University College London (UCL) and originally trained as a medical doctor and psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia before transitioning into neuroscience. He has made significant contributions to brain imaging by developing key methods that are widely used in neuroimaging research. However, he is best known for formulating the Free Energy Principle (FEP), which we discuss in this episode. This principle provides a unifying framework for understanding how the brain minimizes uncertainty by continuously predicting and updating its model of the world. His work has profoundly influenced theories of consciousness, learning, and decision-making, establishing him as one of the most cited neuroscientists in history.