This video features rare, in-depth conversations between Denise Holt, Karl Friston, and Gary Marcus, recorded at the International Workshop on Active Inference 2025 in Montreal, Canada, October 15-17, 2025. #ActiveInference #KarlFriston #GaryMarcus

Filmed on site during the conference, this episode brings together two of the most influential thinkers in AI, neuroscience, and cognitive science to discuss where artificial intelligence is today and where it must go next.

In an extended one-on-one interview, Karl Friston explores Active Inference, the Free Energy Principle, agency, uncertainty, and why current generative AI systems lack true understanding. Friston explains why intelligence must be grounded in generative models of the world, how uncertainty and curiosity drive real intelligence, and why Active Inference represents a first-principles approach to building adaptive,autonomous systems.

The episode also includes a candid interview with Gary Marcus, one of the most prominent critics of large language models. Marcus discusses the limitations of LLMs, the dangers of hallucination and overconfidence, the need for explicit world models, and why symbolic reasoning and probabilistic structure must return to the core of AI systems. He alsoaddresses governance, energy efficiency, and why scaling data and compute alone will not lead to reliable intelligence.

Finally, the video features a joint on-stagediscussion with Karl Friston and Gary Marcus, moderated by Tim Verbelen at the International Workshop on Active Inference, where they debate the future of AIbeyond deep learning, the role of uncertainty, world models, agency, and what it will take to move from pattern generation to genuine understanding.

This episode was recorded live at IWAI 2025, where researchers from around the world gathered to advance Active Inference as a foundational framework for intelligence in neuroscience, robotics, and artificial systems.

Topics covered in this video include:

· Karl Friston on Active Inference and the FreeEnergy Principle

· Karl Friston on Yann LeCun

· Gary Marcus on the limits of large languagemodels

· Why uncertainty is essential for intelligence

· Agency, curiosity, and information-seekingbehavior

· World models vs generative AI

· Energy efficiency and sustainability in AI

· Why scaling deep learning is not enough

· The future of adaptive, autonomous AI systems

This conversation is essential viewing for anyone interested in the future of AI, neuroscience, cognitive science, and the next generation of intelligent systems.

Recorded at the International Workshop on Active Inference 2025 in Montreal, Canada.

Learn more about Active Inference AI at https://aix.us.com/

#ActiveInference #KarlFriston #GaryMarcus #AIX #SeedIQ #IWAI

August 7, 2025 #ActiveInference - In this thought-provoking episode of the Spatial Web AI Podcast, host Denise Holt (Founder & CEO of AIXGlobal Media and Learning Lab Central) sits down with two renowned expertsshaping the future of intelligent systems:

🔹 Dr. Mahault Albarracin, Head of ResearchStrategy & Product Innovation at VERSES AI
🔹Dr. David Bray, DistinguishedFellow at the Stimson Center and CEO of Lead Do Adapt Ventures

Together, they explore the cutting edge of Active Inference AI and the SpatialWeb Protocol – HSTP & HSML, showcasing VERSES' latestbreakthroughs in distributed intelligence, federated agent systems, andreal-time learning.

🚀 Key Topics Covered:

· Breakthrough performance of VERSES’ AXIOM model and its edge-compatible,biomimetic design

· How federatedActive Inference enables multi-agent coordination in dynamicenvironments

· The role of shared protentions and collective intelligence in human-AI collaboration

· The SpatialWeb Protocol and HyperspaceModeling Language (HSML) as a foundation for context-aware,decentralized AI

· Societal implications for global governance, policy, trust, and explainability

· AI learning of social norms, Theoryof Mind, and adaptive behaviorin homes, cities, and critical systems

· Dramatic energyefficiency advantages through VariationalBayes Gaussian Splatting (VBGS) and scale-free modeling

🧠 Learn how this newclass of explainable, energy-efficient, and truly intelligent systems is set torevolutionize everything from roboticsand governance to disaster response and personalized living environments.

🎧 Whether you're an AIresearcher, policymaker, tech innovator, or future-focused leader—this is amust-watch conversation on the future of intelligence.

🔗 Learn more and startyour training & certification in Active Inference AI and the Spatial Web at:
👉https://learninglab.emmersionpublishing.com

🔴 In this public releaseof my May 2025 Learning Lab LIVE session, I walk through the foundations ofActive Inference AI and the newly ratified IEEE 2874 Spatial Web Protocol, andexplain how these two technologies converge to create adaptive, decentralized,real-time intelligent systems that far surpass the limitations of today’sgenerative AI. #ActiveInference #SpatialWeb #HSML

This 40-minute executive-level briefingis designed to orient business and technology leaders to what comes next—beyondLLMs and centralized models—and why Active Inference, paired with the SpatialWeb, represents the most scalable, efficient, and explainable path forward forenterprise AI and distributed computing.

➡️ What You’ll Learn:

◾ Why deep learning andgenerative AI are hitting limits in scale, safety, and cost

◾ How Active Inference worksas a unified framework for perception, learning, reasoning, and action

◾ What RenormalizingGenerative Models (RGMs) are, and how they outperform traditional models usingfar less data

◾ How the Spatial WebProtocol (HSTP + HSML) brings context, identity, and interoperability to theinternet

◾ What enterprises can dotoday to prepare for the transition and start experimenting with IntelligentAgents

🔸 🔸 This massive shift in AI will transform all industries.Education is a top priority.

➡️ For more FREE educationalresources—and to join our monthly Learning Lab LIVE sessions—visit:

🔗 https://learninglab.emmersionpublishing.com/

💡 Learn moreabout the only available Executive Certification for this technology stack: CertifiedSpecialist: Active Inference AI & Spatial Web Technologies

🔗 https://emmersionpublishing.com/course-executive-program

🔴 Executive leaders who achieve thiscertification gain a distinct advantage, positioning themselves as confirmedleaders in shaping the next evolution of intelligent, decentralized systems. Ina rapidly changing technological landscape, this certification signifies yourmastery and readiness to lead in the era of Active Inference AI and Spatial Webtechnologies.

🔔 Subscribe to ourYouTube Channel stay up to date on future episodes from the Spatial Web AIPodcast.

#ActiveInferenceAI #SpatialWebTraining#HSML #HSTP #EnterpriseAI