Altered States Of Conversation E129| Influence, Value and Transhumanism: Questions for the frontier of techno-biology w/ Dr Michael Levin & Tim Adalin
Jun 6, 2025
Dr Michael Levin, a biologist blending computer science and cognitive science, pioneers research on bioelectricity and morphogenesis. He discusses the TAME framework and the idea of minds beyond brains. Short, provocative conversations cover persuadability across systems, cells as cognitive agents, intentional influence on future selves, and debates around transhumanism and the primacy of values.
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Philosophy Should Enable Discovery Not Constrain It
- Michael Levin prioritizes philosophical views that enable empirical discovery and practical progress in biology, AI, and cognition.
- He treats science as both first-person transformation and third-person engineering, using frameworks that open new research programs and clinical applications.
TAME Unifies Minds Across Origins
- The TAME framework (Technological Approach to Mind Everywhere) unifies diverse cognitive agents across origins and embodiments onto a single continuum.
- It forces explicit, engineering-style specifications of interaction protocols and practical utility rather than relying on ancient categorical assumptions.
Choose Interaction Protocols By Persuadability
- Levin's Spectrum of Persuadability ranks systems by which interaction protocols change them, from mechanical rewiring (clocks) to relational influence (humans).
- Interaction success depends on choosing tools matched to a system's autonomy, e.g., control theory for thermostats, behavioral training for animals.