Thoughtforms Life Conversation between Joscha Bach, Chris Fields, and Michael Levin
Jun 6, 2024
Joscha Bach, a cognitive scientist and AI researcher, joins Chris Fields, a researcher blending physics with cognition, for a fascinating discussion. They explore how error-correcting codes underpin cognition and life. The dialogue spans consciousness as a coherence maximizer and the role of memory in sense-making. They dive into the intersection of quantum theory and free energy principles, probing how organisms interpret and utilize past experiences. Their insights challenge traditional views on intelligence and propose innovative frameworks for understanding minds and perception.
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Minds Are Software Invariances
- Joscha calls minds 'software invariances' layered on physics that compress reality into controllable models.
- Control requires compressed models and a single overriding concern per agent for tractable regulation.
Errors Need Shared Classical Protocols
- Chris ties usable error-correcting codes to classical communication and shared protocols.
- An 'error' is a mismatch between expected and received classical information given shared semantics.
Classicality Enables Action and Observation
- Chris and Joscha stress thermodynamic irreversibility as the basis for classicality and actionable information.
- Observers require classical models to act; consciousness exists only in collapsed timelines from that view.
