Michael Levin—The Future of Intelligence: Synthbiosis

Michael Levin—The Future of Intelligence: Synthbiosis

Author: Helen and Dave Edwards February 5, 2025 Duration: 1:18:01

At the Artificiality Summit 2024, Michael Levin, distinguished professor of biology at Tufts University and associate at Harvard's Wyss Institute, gave a lecture about the emerging field of diverse intelligence and his frameworks for recognizing and communicating with the unconventional intelligence of cells, tissues, and biological robots. This work has led to new approaches to regenerative medicine, cancer, and bioengineering, but also to new ways to understand evolution and embodied minds. He sketched out a space of possibilities—freedom of embodiment—which facilitates imagining a hopeful future of "synthbiosis", in which AI is just one of a wide range of new bodies and minds. Bio: Michael Levin, Distinguished Professor in the Biology department and Vannevar Bush Chair, serves as director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. Recent honors include the Scientist of Vision award and the Distinguished Scholar Award. His group's focus is on understanding the biophysical mechanisms that implement decision-making during complex pattern regulation, and harnessing endogenous bioelectric dynamics toward rational control of growth and form. The lab's current main directions are: - Understanding how somatic cells form bioelectrical networks for storing and recalling pattern memories that guide morphogenesis; - Creating next-generation AI tools for helping scientists understand top-down control of pattern regulation (a new bioinformatics of shape); and - Using these insights to enable new capabilities in regenerative medicine and engineering. www.artificiality.world/summit


Hosted by Helen and Dave Edwards, Stay Human, from the Artificiality Institute is a conversation that lives in the messy, human space between our tools and our selves. Each episode digs into the subtle ways artificial intelligence is reshaping our daily decisions, our creative impulses, and even our sense of identity. This isn't a technical manual or a series of futuristic predictions; it's a grounded exploration of how we maintain our agency in a world increasingly mediated by algorithms. The podcast operates from a core belief: that our engagement with AI should be about more than just safety or efficiency-it needs to be meaningful and worthwhile. You'll hear discussions rooted in story-based research, where complex ideas about cognition and ethics are unpacked through relatable narratives and real-world examples. The goal is to provide a framework for thoughtful choice, helping each of us consciously design the relationship we want with the machines in our lives. Tuning in offers a chance to step back from the hype and consider how we can actively remain the authors of our own minds, preserving what makes us uniquely human even as the technology evolves. It's an essential listen for anyone curious about the personal and philosophical dimensions of our digital age.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Stay Human, from the Artificiality Institute
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