E87: Embodied Minds and Cognitive Agents with Dr. Michael Levin

"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

In this episode, Dr. Michael Levin, Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University, joins Nathan Labenz of The Cognitive Revolution Podcast to discuss embodied minds, his research into limb regeneration and collective intelligence, cognitive light cones, and much more. Dr. Levin and the Levin Lab work at the intersection of biology, artificial life, bioengineering, synthetic morphology, and cognitive science.

Nathan just recorded a second episode with Michael Levin and Leo Pio Lopez here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PsvToTZVtZkdTemV6ntUk?si=85e4614f079a4fcd

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LINKS:

The Levin Lab and Dr. Michael Levin’s research: https://drmichaellevin.org/resources/

Dr Michael Levin’s blog: https://thoughtforms.life/about/

Tufts University Faculty Profile: https://as.tufts.edu/biology/people/faculty/michael-levin

Michael Levin @ Wyss Institute: https://wyss.harvard.edu/team/associate-faculty/michael-levin-ph-d/

Dr. Levin’s Research on Limb Regeneration: https://news.uchicago.edu/how-bioelectricity-could-regrow-limbs-and-organs

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X / TWITTER:

@labenz (Nathan)

@drmichaellevin (Michael)

@CogRev_Podcast

@TurpentineMedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(04:50) Xenobots, anthrobots and the other creatures created by Mike Levin

(08:50) Bioelectric memory rewriting

(14:09) Sponsors: Dealcraft | Notion

(16:17) The difficulty of conducting simulations, which involve running forward passes to predict and alter electrical patterns

(20:38) The concept of backpropagation and mode switching in AI models

(23:12) Why humans do not regenerate their limbs

(37:10) Sponsor: Squad

(38:19) Learning from small and biological systems onto the concept of possible emergence

(45:01) The criticality of multiple scale questions and would a single scale?

(55:40) The concept of the cognitive light cone

(59:34) Advice on habits of mind and suggestions for inspiration on the AI side

(1:13:19) Mike's suggested directions for the AI developers

(1:23:41) Wrap