Karl Friston, a leading neuroscientist and advisor at Verses AI, discusses fascinating concepts like active inference and non-equilibrium steady states. He explores how these ideas relate to organizational adaptability and the dynamics of change. The conversation critiques superficial innovation in businesses, advocating for meaningful engagement and genuine transformation. Friston highlights the contrast between human curiosity and AI behavior, addressing the critical role of empathy and adaptive systems. Join in for a deep dive into the delicate balance of stability and transformation in both minds and machines.
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insights INSIGHT
Non-Equilibrium Steady State and Organizational Change
The non-equilibrium steady state, core to Friston's theory, mirrors how organizations must change to remain stable.
Like a river, entities must embrace change to preserve their identity.
insights INSIGHT
The Universality of Non-Equilibrium Steady States
Non-equilibrium steady states are evident at all scales, from cells to celestial bodies.
Constant adaptation and assimilation are crucial for maintaining stability within these states.
insights INSIGHT
The Definition of Life and Balancing Challenges with Opportunities
Being alive, for organisms and organizations, is defined by existing in a non-equilibrium steady state.
This requires constantly balancing challenges (problems) and opportunities (exploration).
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In this episode of The Only Constant, Lasse Rindom speaks with prof. Karl Friston, one of the most distinguished neuroscientists of all time, and an advisor on intelligence for Verses AI. Karl is one of the most highly cited scientists of all time, and his perspectives and insights from neuroscience brings much needed anchoring to the discussion of intelligence - also in AI. Their discussion focuses on:
The concept of non-equilibrium steady states and how they mirror organizational change and adaptability.
Active inference as a cornerstone of intelligence, curiosity, and decision-making.
A provocative perspective on innovation: why disruption without grounding can be self-destructive and how sustainable innovation demands ecosystem harmony.
The parallels between enterprise strategy and the perpetual dynamics of self-organizing systems.
Bring your curiosity - and sharp attention - for this truly insightful, deep and razor sharp episode of The Only Constant with a generational genius and true thought leader. Bio:Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. He invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and dynamic causal modelling (DCM). These contributions were motivated by schizophrenia research and theoretical studies of value-learning, formulated as the dysconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia. Mathematical contributions include variational Laplacian procedures and generalized filtering for hierarchical Bayesian model inversion. Friston currently works on models of functional integration in the human brain and the principles that underlie neuronal interactions. His main contribution to theoretical neurobiology is a free-energy principle for action and perception (active inference).
Do you want to know more about Karl Friston?
Friston received the first Young Investigators Award in Human Brain Mapping (1996) and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999). In 2000 he was President of the international Organization of Human Brain Mapping. In 2003 he was awarded the Minerva Golden Brain Award and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006. In 2008 he received a Medal, College de France and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of York in 2011. He became of Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in 2012, received the Weldon Memorial prize and Medal in 2013 for contributions to mathematical biology and was elected as a member of EMBO (excellence in the life sciences) in 2014 and the Academia Europaea in (2015). He was the 2016 recipient of the Charles Branch Award for unparalleled breakthroughs in Brain Research and the Glass Brain Award, a lifetime achievement award in the field of human brain mapping. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of York, Zurich and Radboud University.
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