Related papers: Consciousness, brains and the replica problem
When viewed at a certain coarse grain, the brain seems a relatively small dynamical system composed by a few dozen interacting areas, performing a number of stereotypical behaviors. It is known that, even relatively small dynamical systems…
Could an AI have conscious experiences? Any answer to this question should conform to Evidentialism - that is, it should be based not on intuition, dogma or speculation but on solid scientific evidence. I argue that such evidence is hard to…
Whether machines can be conscious depends not only on what they compute, but \emph{when} they compute it. Most deployed artificial systems realise their functions via sequential or time-multiplexed updates, yet a moment of conscious…
The cognitive functions of human and non-human primates rely on the dynamic interplay of distributed neural assemblies. As such, it seems unlikely that cognition can be supported by macroscopic brain dynamics at the proximity of…
The hard problem in consciousness is the problem of understanding how physical processes in the brain could give rise to subjective conscious experience. In this paper, I suggest that in order to understand the relationship between…
The pursuit of artificial consciousness requires conceptual clarity to navigate its theoretical and empirical challenges. This paper introduces a composite, multilevel, and multidimensional model of consciousness as a heuristic framework to…
Neuroscientists frequently use a certain statistical reasoning to establish the existence of distinct neuronal processes in the brain. We show that this reasoning is flawed and that the large corresponding literature needs reconsideration.…
A model of consciousness is proposed which, having a logical basis, lends itself to simulation using a simple mathematical model called Consciousness as Entropy Reduction (CER). The approach has been inspired by previous models such as GWT,…
Cognition is supported by neurophysiological processes that occur both in local anatomical neighborhoods and in distributed large-scale circuits. Recent evidence from network control theory suggests that white matter pathways linking…
The doomsday argument is a probabilistic argument that claims to predict the total lifetime of the human race. By examining the case of an individual lifetime, I conclude that the argument is fundamentally related to consciousness. I derive…
We present a behavioral definition of an agent's perceived implication that uniquely identifies a subjective state-space representing her view of a decision problem, and which may differ from the modeler's. By examining belief updating…
This work summarizes part of current knowledge on High-level Cognitive process and its relation with biological hardware. Thus, it is possible to identify some paradoxes which could impact the development of future technologies and…
Since Descartes' dualism, with his res extensa and res cogitans, six fundamental problems in the philosophy and natural history of mind are these: 1. how does mind act on matter? 2. If mind does not act on matter is mind a mere…
In many body systems, constituents interact with each other, forming a recursive pattern of mutual interaction and giving rise to many interesting phenomena. Based upon concepts of the modern many body theory, a model for a generic many…
The scope of human consciousness includes states departing from what most of us experience as ordinary wakefulness. These altered states of consciousness constitute a prime opportunity to study how global changes in brain activity relate to…
The architecture of a neural network controlling an unknown environment is presented. It is based on a randomly connected recurrent neural network from which both perception and action are simultaneously read and fed back. There are two…
Can computers overcome human capabilities? This is a paradoxical and controversial question, particularly because there are many hidden assumptions. This article focuses on that issue putting on evidence some misconception related with…
This article presents a heuristic view that shows that the inner states of consciousness experienced by every human being have a physical but imaginary hypercomplex basis. The hypercomplex description is necessary because certain processes…
This article presents an operationalized solution to the mind-body problem which relies on rigorously defined theoretical reasoning rather than philosophical argument. We identify a specific operation which is a necessary property of all…
An analysis has been performed of the theories and postulates advanced by von Neumann, London and Bauer, and Wigner, concerning the role that consciousness might play in the collapse of the wave function, which has become known as the…