The Multiple Realizability of Sentience in Living Systems and Beyond

Rouleau, Nicolas; Levin, Michael

doi:10.1523/eneuro.0375-23.2023

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…This drives hopes of being able to infer the design principles by which cognitive systems of different levels can be built, by creating novel active agents and studying the rich examples provided for us across the web of life (Baluška & Levin, 2016;Vallverdu et al, 2018). We strongly support Rahwan et al, 2019;Rouleau & Levin, 2023) the definition of intelligence as problem-solving, utilizing an objectively observable 3rd person perspective in order to distinguish these highly tractable questions from the thorny debates of 1st-person consciousness (Friston et al, 2020;Frith & Metzingher, 2016;Tononi & Koch, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Classical Sorting Algorithms as a Model of Morphogenesis: self-sorting arrays reveal unexpected competencies in a minimal model of basal intelligence

Zhang,

Goldstein,

Levin

2023

Preprint

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The Diverse Intelligence research seeks to understand commonalities in behavioral competencies across a wide range of implementations. Especially interesting are simple systems that provide unexpected examples of memory, decision-making, or problem-solving in substrates that at first glance do not appear to be complex enough to implement such capabilities. We seek to develop tools to determine minimal requirements for such capabilities, and to learn to recognize and predict basal forms of intelligence in unconventional substrates. Here, we apply novel analyses to the behavior of classical sorting algorithms - short pieces of code studied for many decades. To study these sorting algorithms as a model of biological morphogenesis and its competencies, we break two formerly-ubiquitous assumptions: top-down control (instead, each element within an array of numbers can exert minimal agency and implement sorting policies from the bottom up), and fully reliable hardware (instead, allowing elements to be “damaged” and fail to execute the algorithm). We quantitatively characterize sorting activity as traversal of a problem space, showing that arrays of autonomous elements sort themselves more reliably and robustly than traditional implementations in the presence of errors. Moreover, we find the ability to temporarily reduce progress in order to navigate around a defect, and unexpected clustering behavior among elements in chimeric arrays consisting of two different algorithms. The discovery of emergent problem-solving capacities in simple, familiar algorithms contributes a new perspective showing how basal forms of intelligence can emerge in simple systems without being explicitly encoded in their underlying mechanics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Classical Sorting Algorithms as a Model of Morphogenesis: self-sorting arrays reveal unexpected competencies in a minimal model of basal intelligence

Zhang,

Goldstein,

Levin

2023

Preprint

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“…We will delve into questions that are seldom addressed in mainstream neuroscientific discourse, topics that are perplexing, intriguing, and, at times, unsettling.The first papers will deal with degeneracy (Bernard, 2023), with a topical twist in relationship with global warming (Marder, 2023), a central biological issue that remains to be accounted for in our research strategies. At the end of the spectrum lies the question, what is consciousness or sentience, a question that I wish will open a debate (Rouleau and Levin, 2023;Gomez-Marin, 2023). But science is not only having ideas and hypotheses and testing them, it starts with the means to do it.…”

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confidence: 99%

Brain Mysteries: Complexity beyond Imagination

Bernard

2023

eNeuro

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I am always marveled by the brain's vast capabilities. Each discovery, each revelation, seems to open a door only to reveal myriad others yet unopened. The brain, with its vast intricacies, consistently reminds us that its complexity transcends the limits of our imagination. It is in this spirit that I wish to introduce "Brain Mysteries: Complexity Beyond Imagination" in eNeuro.All neuroscientists have been contributing for decades to the mapping of brain networks and to the unraveling of its codes. While every stride has been fruitful in terms of knowledge, with each answer, newer, deeper questions have arisen. Just when we believe we are nearing an understanding, the brain unveils another layer of its profound intricacy.In this series, we dare to venture into the depths of these layers. "Brain Mysteries: Complexity Beyond Imagination" is not just a sequence of articles: it is a call to think beyond, to challenge our existing knowledge, and to embrace the vastness of what we do not yet know. We will delve into questions that are seldom addressed in mainstream neuroscientific discourse, topics that are perplexing, intriguing, and, at times, unsettling.The first papers will deal with degeneracy (Bernard, 2023), with a topical twist in relationship with global warming (Marder, 2023), a central biological issue that remains to be accounted for in our research strategies. At the end of the spectrum lies the question, what is consciousness or sentience, a question that I wish will open a debate (Rouleau and Levin, 2023;Gomez-Marin, 2023). But science is not only having ideas and hypotheses and testing them, it starts with the means to do it. Should big challenges be addressed with big money? Building on the outcome of the Human

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