Conversation #1 with

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1. 

   13 Sep 2026 · 59 min

   A conversation with Andrey Vyshedskiy about the evolution of language and brain development

   This is a ~1 hour conversation with Andrey Vyshedskiy ( https://www.bu.edu/prsocial/profile/andrey-vyshedskiy/ ) about the evolution of language, brain mechanisms, implications for autism and developmental disorders, and Andrey's work to develop therapeutic approaches. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Syntactic language network development (05:37) Three levels of comprehension (28:55) Neurobiology of sensitive periods (36:46) Recognizing the syntactic phenotype (42:24) Theory of mind mechanisms (48:51) Future levels of intelligence PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website:…

2. 

   3 Sep 2026 · 59 min

   Conversation #1 with Diego Bohórquez and Mijail D. Serruya: how information moves levels in bodies

   This is a ~59 minute working meeting where I introduce two very interesting neuroscientists to each other - Diego Bohórquez ( https://medicine.duke.edu/profile/diego-v-bohorquez ) and Mijail D. Serruya ( https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/skmc/departments/neurology/faculty/serruya.html ) and we discuss ideas around how information moves from the molecular to the behavioral level in bodies and how we might be able to interface with that system via technologies that could lead to biomedical applications and deep insight into diverse intelligence. At the end we…

3. 

   22 Aug 2026 · 56 min

   Conversation #1 with Steven Strogatz

   This is a ~56 minute conversation with mathematician Steven Strogatz ( https://www.stevenstrogatz.com/ ) covering issues of explanation in mathematics, Platonism, and related questions. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Mathematical explanation and AI (07:28) Reductionism across scientific fields (11:04) Intuition and mathematical deduction (18:31) Geometry versus algebraic thinking (24:32) Euler and negative logarithms (29:38) Mathematical anomalies and patterns (36:26) Scale of mathematical constants (46:55) Nature of fundamental constants (50:08) Pi beyond simple circles PRODUCED BY:…

4. 

   21 Aug 2026 · 52 min

   "Inspiration Across Substrates: free lunches, diverse intelligence and surprise" by Michael Levin

   This is a ~52 minute talk on inspiration across substrates and my model of "free lunches" and the Platonic space. CHAPTERS: (00:00) The concept of inspiration (03:47) Defining the free lunch (08:47) Surprising biological plasticity (14:33) Causal emergence in networks (17:05) Competencies of synthetic organisms (25:37) Computational free lunches (33:50) Navigating diverse problem spaces (38:53) The platonic cognitive space (44:00) Ingressions and active patterns (50:16) Future of ethical symbiosis PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website:…

5. 

   29 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 2 min

   Conversation #1 with Alexey Tolchinsky, Anthony Weiss and Chris Fields

   This is a ~1 hour conversation on the future of mental health from the perspective of the diverse intelligence field, with Alexey Tolchinsky ( https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=tiBKmrsAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate ), Anthony Weiss ( https://www.anthonypweiss.com/about-anthony-weiss ), and Chris Fields ( https://chrisfieldsresearch.com/ ). CHAPTERS: (00:00) Psychiatry's stalled progress (04:54) Faulty mental models (11:36) Tools and treatment goals (24:06) Nonlinear living systems (31:21) Energy shaping agency (41:51) Technology entangles minds (53:08) Effort and…

6. 

   10 Jul 2026 · 54 min

   "Diverse Intelligence: new frontier for Origins, Possibilities, and Diseases of Minds by" M. Levin

   This is a ~54 minute talk titled "Diverse Intelligence: a new frontier for Origins, Possibilities, and Diseases of the Mind(s)" which I gave for an audience composed of mental health professionals and neuroscientists. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Roadmap and stakes (04:13) Minds as continuum (08:04) Diverse intelligence framework (11:12) Biological plasticity examples (18:18) Morphogenesis as intelligence (22:31) Multiscale cellular agency (26:39) Anatomical problem solving (32:40) Ancient bioelectric networks (35:34) Communicating somatic goals (42:02) Cancer and medicine (46:37) Novel living agents…

7. 

   27 Jun 2026 · 57 min

   "Energy Constraints and Tradeoffs" by Martin Picard

   This is a ~57 minute talk titled "Energy Constraints and Tradeoffs: the mitochondrial daily energy expenditure MDEE study" by Martin Picard ( https://www.neurology.columbia.edu/profile/martin-picard-phd ) and a brief set of ideas by me at the end, presaging a full discussion of this for our next meeting. I mentioned these 2 papers: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303264722001435 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bies.201900245 CHAPTERS: (00:00) Mitochondria energy tradeoffs (52:14) Scarcity coordinates biology (54:44) Anthrobot aging evidence (56:31)…

8. 

   26 Jun 2026 · 23 min

   "Aging, goal-directedness, and bioelectricity" by Michael Levin

   This is ~23 minute talk overviewing our recent results and the way we think about aging and longevity. It was for a conference with quite short speaking slots so I had to talk fast... Longer talk coming with more data but this outlines some ideas and overviews our published recent work on aging. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Aging framework overview (01:16) Bodies as setpoints (03:08) Anatomical homeostasis examples (06:40) Bioelectric pattern memory (08:41) Rewriting biological setpoints (12:31) Aging bioelectric fuzziness (14:18) Sharpening brain patterns (17:34) Cognitive aging hypothesis (19:42)…

9. 

   22 Jun 2026 · 57 min

   Computationalism and consciousness with Nic Rouleau, Jaan Aru, and Borjan Milinkovic.

   Discussion #2 (57 minutes on computationalism and consciousness) with Borjan Milinkovic ( https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AwaZbzsAAAAJ&hl=en ), Jaan Aru ( https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=FvFOzS8AAAAJ&hl=en%29 ), and Nicolas Rouleau ( https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=FyOpVTAAAAAJ&hl=en ). CHAPTERS: (00:00) AI consciousness middle ground (04:46) Substrate dependent minds (08:07) Analog computer substrates (13:44) Zombies and digital computers (18:56) Polycomputing and observers (25:01) Felt experience defined (30:08) Action first embodiment (34:08) Causal emergence…

10. 

    20 Jun 2026 · 50 min

    Free Lunches: Model Systems for Studying the Agential Gifts from the Platonic Space by Michael Levin

    This is a talk I gave, ~49 minutes long, titled "Free Lunches: Model Systems for Studying the Agential Gifts from the Platonic Space", to a philosophy audience. It covers some more ways I think about the latent space of patterns that in-forms biology and cognitive science. CHAPTERS: (00:02) Research program overview (05:15) Dissolving old categories (10:54) Goal-directed morphogenesis basics (14:11) Rewriting bioelectric patterns (19:23) Novel embodied abilities (23:35) Molecular agency ratchet (27:33) Math and living forms (33:31) Evolutionary accounting breaks (41:04) High agency patterns…