Understanding the Math of Consciousness with Andrés Gómez-Emilsson (Qualia Research Institute)
Apr 11, 2024
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Andrés Gómez-Emilsson, from Qualia Research Institute, explores using math to understand consciousness and emotional valence. Topics include coherence, energy channels, qualia properties, neural annealing, and the relationship between empathy and consciousness.
Mathematical model to understand subjective experience and emotional valence
Coherence in nervous system crucial for peak experiences
Equanimity and loving kindness aids in healing trauma
Deep dives
Exploring Mathematical Formalization for Subjective Experience
Andreas Gomez-Emelson of Qualia Research Institute aims to develop a mathematical model to understand subjective experience and emotional valence, mapping the state space of consciousness. By analyzing the mathematical features, one can infer aspects of their current experience like temperature perception, time perception, and more.
Coherence and Phase Locking in Nervous System for Positive Experiences
Coherence and phase locking between coupled oscillators in the nervous system are crucial for peak experiences. Extreme levels of coherence allow waves to travel linearly, creating a smooth, resonant chamber without distortions. Understanding the math and geometry of subjective experience may lead to creating more supportive and enjoyable experiences.
Neural Annealing for Coherent Subjective Experiences
Concepts like neural annealing aim to energize the system in a clean way to induce coherence and phase locking, breaking dysfunctional patterns and gradually cooling down with techniques like meditation, breathwork, and yoga. These practices help minimize geometric frustration and promote regular, smooth energy flow for a high-quality subjective experience.
Healing Trauma with Equanimity and Loving Kindness
Approaches like equanimity and loving kindness can aid in healing trauma by allowing mindful experience without resistance and generating positive emotions to transform dissonant patterns. Equanimity enhances stress dissipation capacity, while loving kindness provides coherence and symmetry to reorganize dissonant trauma patterns into a coherent and healed state.
AI Consciousness and Future Safeguards
Current AI lacks the capacity for true consciousness due to its bottom-up computational approach without holistic feedback. While AI can exhibit creativity and problem-solving, it lacks subjective experience and cannot fully understand consciousness-related experiences. Safeguards are needed to ensure ethical treatment of potential conscious AI to prevent harmful scenarios and prioritize their well-being.
I’m glad that there’s a seemingly growing contingency in the scientific community who feel deeply inspired to help us better understand consciousness in the language of Science.
It’s an important step in human development and will be imperative for consciousness expansion to be embraced by the mainstream.
Today’s guest is one of those people. Andrés Gómez-Emilsson is the founder of Qualia Research Institute (QRI). QRI seeks to formalize the math behind our subjective experience and its emotional valence in order to map the state-space of consciousness. One way you can think about this is that all states of being are just different expressions or configurations of underlying math.
The bet is that understanding this math can help improve the human experience. Broadly speaking, I think anything that helps us see and understand ourselves more clearly is generally supportive. So I find approaching this from the vantage point of math vs. direct experience to be quite interesting.
