Raphael Milliere

Dr. Raphael Milliere is a Lecturer in Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence at Macquarie University, Australia. Previously, he held the Robert A. Burt Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at Columbia University. He earned his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oxford in 2020, focusing on Self in Mind: A Pluralist Account of Self-Consciousness.

His research bridges philosophy, cognitive science, and AI, focusing on understanding modern neural networks (e.g., large language models) and their implications for human cognition. Key interests include semantic competence in AI, the grounding problem, AI ethics, and consciousness studies. He explores interdisciplinary questions about machine-human comparisons, compositional representations, and the ethical deployment of AI.

Recent research highlights include analyzing transformer architectures, evaluating language model capabilities, and investigating psychedelic-induced states of consciousness. He has co-authored influential papers such as "Beyond the Imitation Game" (2023) and "Philosophy of Cognitive Science in the Age of Deep Learning" (2024).

Awards & Fellowships:

• AI2050 Fellowship (Schmidt Sciences)
• Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA Fellowship
• ARC Discovery Project Principal Investigator

Grants & Projects:

• Leading an ARC-funded project on AI alignment and cognitive modeling
• Initiated the Altered Xperience Project, a citizen science study on consciousness

Labs/Teams:

• Member of Macquarie's Ethics and Agency Research Centre
• Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams in AI ethics and neuroscience