AI. Brain. Consciousness.

Issue 82 March 2024

A social evolutionary purpose for consciousness

Scientific accounts of consciousness are a growing subject of public interest, but also academic disagreement with several rival theories in contention. Reasons include the ambiguous use of the polysemous term, the contamination of scientific accounts by intuitive explanations, and the neglect of an evolutionary perspective. Taking a social evolutional account, we propose that much of the mind’s cognitive architecture developed to promote species survival and social well-being and that subjective awareness is not causally efficacious, but rather a brain generated accompaniment for neuro-cognitive outputs that facilitate collective social communication and social change through the cultural transmission of beliefs, feelings, ideas, and behaviours.

The Archetypal Influences of Film: Revelations from the Collective Unconscious and Interdimensional Realities

Humanity is faced with serious decisions. Will it follow the dangerous path toward transhumanism, or will we commit to the unfolding of a greater intention: the discovery of a more meaningful power, purpose, and truth within each one of us, the call to Individuation? Carl G. Jung discovered unifying themes, regardless of whether they came from a hidden tribe in the Amazon, African desert, or a major world religion and called it the Collective Unconscious. He named specific Archetypes manifesting from this realm. This Archetypal journey is Alchemical in nature as described in ancient writings by early Alchemists and Mystics. Mystics have always pointed toward an inner process leading us to spiritual individuation and unity. Ultimately, this is a psychospiritual quest. Along this journey we can be motivated by archetypal influences of compassion and fierceness. As we assimilate these initiatory qualities, we come nearer to the knowing of the authentic spiritual power within us. Many modern movies and television series are doing a better job of illustrating this journey than most religious traditions. The battle between good and evil (what benefits compared to what destroys or prevents consciousness and related development) is real as are the images and stories of interdimensional realities expanding our understanding of new possibilities. They manifest via media and entertainment forms. The themes and messages are influential at both conscious and unconscious levels, preparing people for the end of an old paradigm and the beginning of the next. The threat of Transhumanism is addressed in this article as it moves humanity away from the work of individuation (Carl Jung) and Self-Actualization (Abraham Maslow). The emphasis toward wholeness includes love and human feeling. Transhumanism, focused on efficiency through artificial intelligence, is a threat to the path of becoming an authentic, courageous and compassionate human being. Thus, movies and series depicting superheroes, aliens, portals, and alternative realities are rapidly increasing at a time when many people have lost direction. This article supports their messages.

On the relationship between AI, Human and Art.

Freddie Hong is a London-based researcher and computational artist. His work delves into the impact of emerging technology on our relationships with the physical world and society. With a PhD in the advanced manufacturing of interactive devices, he has critical insights into merging art and technology. Through interactive art installations and performances, Freddie explores the boundaries between authorship and control in Human-Computer Interaction. He is interested in capturing the current issues in digital technologies and creates compelling interactive artworks that encourage participants to experiment with “intelligent things,” fostering conversations about the role of digital agents in our lives. Freddie is currently a resident researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge, where he focuses on robotics research within the CRAFT group (Creative Robotics and Future Technologies).

Exploring Segments of Dissociation in Neurological Disorder

Luca M Damiani is an Artist, Author and University Fellow, focusing his ongoing creative practice and research on neuroscience/health, technology and nature. His work also crosses over with human rights and social design. Luca has a neurological disability and has had various visual art books and academic articles published, as well as being exhibited internationally.

“Focusing on my neurological-brain trauma (caused by an accident in 2018), my ongoing research-based practice looks at various areas of applied art and design, with the main focus on my own sensory disability as well as various branches of neuroscience, social design and technology.”

Cortical

Artist and writer, Richard Bright, has addressed the relationship between art, science and consciousness for over 40 years. He studied Fine Art and Physics before founding The Interalia Centre in 1990. Since then, he has lectured extensively on art and science and written articles on James Turrell, Andy Goldsworthy and Susan Derges, among others. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and was the recipient of the ‘Visions of Science’ Award, The Edge, Andrew Brownsward Gallery, University of Bath (Second Prize Winner). Co-author of ‘The Art of Science’ (Welbeck Publishers, 2021).

Consciousness: why a leading theory has been branded ‘pseudoscience’

Philip Goff is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Durham University. Goff’s main research focus is consciousness, but he is interested in many questions about the nature of reality. Goff is most known for defending panpsychism, the view that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical world.
Goff has authored an academic book with Oxford University Press – ‘Consciousness and Fundamental Reality’ – and a book aimed at a general audience – ‘Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness.’ His new book ‘Why? The Purpose of the Universe,’ argues that the universe has a purpose, and will be published by Oxford University Press in November 2023. Goff has published 48 academic articles as well as writing extensively for newspapers and magazines, including Scientific American, The Guardian, Aeon and the Times Literary Supplement. The interview with Goff by Pulitzer Prize winning author Gareth Cook was one of the most viewed of the most viewed articles in Scientific American of 2020. Goff has appeared on many high-profile podcasts, including the Joe Rogan Experience and Lex Fridman’s podcast.

Have we got the brain all wrong? A new study shows its shape is more important than its wiring

James Pang is a Research Fellow, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University. Visiting Scientist, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

Alex Fornito is Professor of Psychology, Turner Institute for Brain & Mental Health, Monash University. Prof Fornito’s research concentrates on developing new imaging techniques for mapping human brain connectivity and applying these methods to shed light on brain function in health and disease. A major emphasis of his work concerns understanding foundational principles of brain organization and their genetic basis; characterizing brain connectivity disturbances in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia; and mapping how brain networks dynamically reconfigure in response to changing task demands.

Animal consciousness: why it’s time to rethink our human-centred approach

Patricia MacCormack is Professor of Continental Philosophy, Anglia Ruskin University.

Patricia has published extensively in the areas of Continental philosophy, feminism, queer theory, posthuman ethics, animal studies and horror films. The REF test rated all her work at 4*. Her work has been cited and reviewed internationally resulting in many invites to HEIs to speak both to Faculty and public lectures. Her monographs Cinesexuality, Posthuman Ethics and The Animal Catalyst collection have been key reading on curricula internationally, including Monash University, Brock University, UCSB and universities in Europe, North and South America and Australia.

The brain is the most complicated object in the universe. This is the story of scientists’ quest to decode it – and read people’s minds

Nicholas J. Kelley is an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, University of Southampton.
“I am a social psychologist who uses neuroscientific tools to investigate the nature of the self. Among the topics I study how the self is represented in the brain as well as what guides and drives the self.”

Stephanie Sheir is a Research Associate, Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub, University of Bristol. Stephanie takes a broad interest in emerging biotechnologies, particularly in neuroscience and genomics. Previously, she worked as a Research Associate as part of the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) Hub at the University of Bristol, conducting research on how different individuals reason about trust in AI.

Timo Istace is a PhD researcher at the University of Antwerp, conducting research into the interplay between neurotechnology and the law, with a specific emphasis on human rights law and medical law. His areas of expertise encompass human rights law, medical law, philosophy of law, and bioethics. Timo specialises in exploring the implications of emerging technologies, with a particular focus on neurotechnology, within these domains.

AI-generated faces look just like real ones – but evidence shows your brain can tell the difference

Robin Kramer is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Lincoln.

“In recent years, my direction within psychology has led to the emergence of two related paths of research:
1. Face perception and social cognition – Utilising an evolutionary approach, I have been focusing on the signalling of personality and health information from the face, both in humans and chimpanzees, and have proposed the idea of a shared system across species. This investigation into social signals has also included own- and other-race faces, as well as information signalled through gait (using motion capture techniques).

2. Facial recognition and within-person variability – I have been using computational modelling in order to investigate the nature of within-person variability. I am trying to understand how we are able to recognise a familiar person from multiple (unstandardised) photographs, despite how varied these images often are. Through the use of principal components analysis and other techniques, I hope to model the variability of an individual and explore how idiosyncratic this variation might be.”

Hello Brain!

The Francis Crick Institute, London has opened a new exhibition about the brain – the most complex and least understood part of the body – and the journey to map its intricate connections.

Hello Brain! explores the brain’s ‘connectome’: how trillions of connections between billions of cells – more than there are stars in the sky – shape our thoughts, behaviours and experiences. Crick scientists are aiming to understand how these connections impact how different species, including humans, interact with each other and the world.