A hand-crafted compilation offered by the members of the MAC study group in support of their discussions and events. The rankings are subjective and intended to help those unfamiliar with the literary landscape to identify potential starting points for exploration. Any MAC member may add their personal views and opinions.

Consciousness - Wikipedia (article) (highly recommended)

• ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [Loki] A good all-around summary of current and historical perspectives on the exploration of consciousness, including basic terms, foundational and leading theories, and key figures

God, Human, Animal, Machine - Meghan O'Gieblyn (book - 2022) (recommended)

• ⭐⭐⭐ [Loki] Written from a personal perspective by a technology journalist, it merges historical, theoretical, subjective and social threads to put AI within a humanist frame. Very accessible and thoughtful, current and broad spectrum.

Being You - Anil Seth (book)

• ⭐⭐⭐ [Loki] One of the leading theorists of this age, Anil Seth offers his “beast machine” accounting of human intelligence and cognition. He posits that consciousness arises from the brain's predictive, survival-driven processes, forming controlled hallucinations that regulate the body and create selfhood through our biological nature as living organisms.

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence - Max Tegmark (book)

Conscious - Annaka Harris (book)

• ⭐⭐⭐[Loki] A light but serious work that unpacks the mystery of a simple question. It does not intend to answer the question so much as pose it well.

Facing up to the Problem of Consciousness - David Chalmers (article - 1995)

• ⭐⭐ [Loki] As a leading philosopher of mind, David Chalmers coined the widely repeated phrase “hard problem of consciousness” that effectively narrows discussion to a particular focus and definition. A must for its foundational framing for current theories.