BEINGON Institute
for ADVANCED FREE WILL
Directory of related organizations, persons, resources.
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Perception
QUALIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
◊ ~ https://qri.org/
Building a New Science of Consciousness
Develop a precise mathematical language for describing subjective experience
Understand the nature of emotional valence (happiness and suffering)
Map out the full space of possible conscious experiences
Build technologies to improve the lives of sentient beings
QUALIA COMPUTING
◊ ~ https://qualiacomputing.com/
In brief, epiphenomenalism cannot be true *{ the view that mental events are caused by physical events in the brain, but have no effects upon any physical events}
Qualia, it turns out, must have a causally relevant role in forward-propelled organisms, for otherwise natural selection would have had no way of recruiting it.
I propose that the reason why consciousness was recruited by natural selection is found in the tremendous computational power that it afforded to the real-time world simulations it instantiates through the use of the nervous system. More so, the specific computational horse-power of consciousness is phenomenal binding –the ontological union of disparate pieces of information by becoming part of a unitary conscious experience that synchronically embeds spaciotemporal structure. While phenomenal binding is regarded as a mere epiphenomenon (or even as a totally unreal non-happening) by some, one needs only look at cases where phenomenal binding (partially) breaks down to see its role in determining animal behavior.
Once we recognize the computational role of consciousness, and the causal network that links it to behavior, a new era will begin. We will (1) characterize the various values of qualia in terms of their computational properties, and (2) systematically explore the state-space of possible conscious experiences.
(1) will enable us to recruit the new qualia varieties we discover thanks to (2) so as to improve the capabilities of our minds. This increased cognitive power will enable us to do (2) more efficiently. This positive-feedback loop is perhaps the most important game-changer in the evolution of consciousness in the cosmos.
We will go from cognitive sciences to actual consciousness engineering. And then, nothing will ever feel the same.
Anil Seth
Anil Kumar Seth is a British neuroscientist and professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. A proponent of materialist explanations of consciousness, he is currently amongst the most cited scholars on the topics of neuroscience and cognitive science globally.
Donald Hoffman
◊ ~ https://x.com/donalddhoffman
◊ ~ https://sites.socsci.uci.edu/~ddhoff/
What does Donald Hoffman say about reality?
Hoffman proposes a solution to the hard problem of consciousness by adopting the converse view that consciousness causes brain activity and, in fact, creates all objects and properties of the physical world. To this end, Hoffman has developed and combined two theories: the “multimodal user interface” (MUI) theory of perception and “conscious realism”.
David Eagleman
◊ ~ David Eagleman (@davideagleman) / X
David Eagleman is an American neuroscientist, author, and science communicator. He teaches neuroscience at Stanford University and is CEO and co-founder of Neosensory, a company that develops devices for sensory substitution.
Sheila L. Macrine, PhD.
◊ ~ https://embodiedcognitionandlearning.com/sheila-macrine-phd/
Sheila Landers Macrine, PhD, is a Professor, a Cognitive Scientist and Psychologist. Her expertise includes embodied cognition, cognitive development, alternative assessment, and the learning sciences. Her work has challenged traditional approaches to learning and assessment, including developing alternative IQ testing, developing assessments for students from culturally diverse backgrounds, students with intellectual disabilities, and those with learning differences. She recently published papers on Embodied Cognition in Frontiers, the International Journal of School and Educational Psychology, and in the Oxford Research Encyclopedias-Education at Oxford University Press. She is also a critical feminist who has published numerous articles and books. She completed two Ph.D.’s in Cognition Psychology and School Psychology at Temple University. Her current book with Professor Jennifer Fugate, “Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning” is published by MIT Press.
Sheila is currently a Full Professor in the Department of STEM Education and Teacher Development at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where she coordinates the Special Education Program. Her teaching and mentoring have been recognized with the Kappa Delta Excellence in Teaching & Advising Award.
Jennifer M.B. Fugate, PhD.
◊ ~ https://embodiedcognitionandlearning.com/jennifer-fugate-phd/
Dr. Jennifer Fugate is a world-wide expert of emotion theory and perception, trained in the cognitive underpinnings of how people construct emotion through their language. She is the author of numerous empirical and theoretical pieces on the role of language in emotion, as well as a certified Facial Action Coder. She received her PhD from Emory University in Comparative Social Cognition, completing two postdocs in human emotion with the renowned psychologist and author, Lisa Feldman Barrett at Northeastern University. Dr. Fugate received tenure and promotion at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she worked for nine years. During this time, her work was featured in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Talking to Strangers. She was awarded Scholar of the Year in 2019.
Dr. Fugate is now (January, 2022) an Associate Professor in Psychology at Kansas City University and directs the ABLE (affective, behavior, learning and embodiment) lab for able mind and body.
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BCI
ORBIT.engineering
◊ ~ https://www.orbit.engineering/
Founder: Steven Pang
A new kind of brain/computer interface. It stimulates your brain from outside of your head, so no surgery needed like a @neuralink requires.
They are building smaller patches that will stick behind your ears. So, you’ll wear them while in a new kind of AI-driven headset. You’ll see many of those announced 2025. These will be ready for 2026, and should only cost a couple of hundred dollars at retail.
What does it do?
It messes with both your own bodies motor system and how you feel about things while experiencing new realities in, say, a VR headset.
“When I got to wear it I felt myself leaning to the left or right. I could control that myself, or someone else (or an AI) could control me too. One mode made my body wig out, felt like a wave was going through my body. Sounds scary, but will enable a whole new range of VR/AR experiences that won’t be possible without it.
This has deep implications for how you feel when playing games, for instance. It also should be able to finally solve the “VR nausea” many feel when inside a VR headset.
