Physicist and Neuroscience Pioneer Prof. Haim Sompolinsky Argues Free Will Is an Illusion
Translated & summarized from Globes by baba
Prof. Haim Sompolinsky, a physicist and neuroscientist at Hebrew University, argues free will does not exist, as decisions arise from physical brain processes. His research on neural networks and AI explores brain function, memory, and language, revealing randomness and order in cognition. He models memory in rats and humans and challenges traditional views on consciousness and morality.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Prof. Haim Sompolinsky won the Dirac Prize for contributions to physics and brain research.
- He studies neural networks to understand brain function and AI behavior.
- Sompolinsky’s experiments show AI responses vary due to randomness but can be stabilized.
- He models memory formation and recall in rats and humans using neural networks.
- Sompolinsky denies free will exists as an independent force influencing brain activity.
- He views morality and responsibility as emergent from physical brain processes, not free will.
Prof. Haim Sompolinsky, a leading physicist and neuroscientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, recently won the prestigious Dirac Prize for his groundbreaking work in theoretical physics and brain research. A pioneer in neural network studies, Sompolinsky applies principles from physics to understand brain function and artificial intelligence. His research explores the balance between order and randomness in neural systems, raising profound questions about free will and human decision-making.
In his experiments, Sompolinsky developed complex AI neural networks that initially gave different answers to the same questions due to inherent randomness. By controlling variables, he achieved consistent responses, but found that small linguistic changes could cause the system to diverge unpredictably. This work sheds light on language structure and cognitive processing, with implications for understanding how the human brain handles information.
Sompolinsky emphasizes that while AI models share some principles with the brain, biological neural networks are far more complex and energy-efficient. He advocates studying the brain from a top-down perspective, focusing on large-scale patterns rather than individual neurons. His research also models memory storage and recall, successfully predicting how rats remember multiple environments and how episodic memories form and consolidate in humans.
Philosophically, Sompolinsky rejects the existence of free will as an independent force. He argues that all decisions and desires emerge from natural physical processes in the brain, with no evidence of an external agent influencing neurons. He views morality and responsibility as natural phenomena arising from brain activity, not as products of a free, immaterial soul. Sompolinsky’s views are informed by his upbringing in a religious yet scientific household, where he learned to appreciate both spiritual meaning and scientific inquiry.
His ongoing work includes creating AI models with simulated autobiographical memories to study what such systems remember or forget, potentially illuminating human memory decline with age. Sompolinsky’s research bridges physics, neuroscience, and philosophy, challenging traditional notions of self and consciousness while advancing understanding of complex brain functions.