Thoughtforms Life

Michael Levin

A podcast by Professor Michael Levin exploring the frontiers of biology, cognition, and emergence. Engage in conversations about morphogenesis, bioelectricity, and synthetic life — and uncover how intelligence and agency emerge from the most fundamental levels of nature.

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

    1d ago

    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 (47:01) Diverse intelligence future PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    50 min
  2. Platonic Space discussion 5

    May 29

    Platonic Space discussion 5

    This is a ~2 hour discussion among contributors to the Platonic Space Symposium ( CHAPTERS: (00:00) Strong perception framework (10:12) Perception model boundaries (17:41) Penrose and probabilities (30:57) Quantum interpretations debated (39:28) Probability dynamics and gravity (53:50) Relational observer problem (01:00:30) Dance synchronization physics (01:12:02) Rituals and group flow (01:23:43) Boundaries and agency (01:31:38) Religious possibility spaces (01:46:30) Numbers in theology PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    1h 59m
  3. Platonic Space discussion 4

    May 25

    Platonic Space discussion 4

    This is a ~2 hours 4 minute discussion among contributors to the Platonic Space Symposium ( CHAPTERS: (00:00) Strong anticipation analogy (08:16) Relational Platonic patterns (25:06) Finite brains, infinite grammar (40:05) Beauty and compression (51:17) Searching for grammar (01:01:58) Patterns and selfhood (01:14:44) Patterns claiming territory (01:29:28) Markets shape selves (01:43:57) Scaling collective selves (01:55:47) Testing Platonic feedback PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    2h 5m
  4. Discussion #1 with Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz, Carlos Gershenson-Garcia, and Richard Watson

    May 19

    Discussion #1 with Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz, Carlos Gershenson-Garcia, and Richard Watson

    This is a ~1 hour 5 minute discussion with Amahury Jafet Lopez Diaz ( Carlos Gershenson-Garcia ( and Richard Watson ( Stay tuned for part 2 where Amahury will present his ideas in more detail. Amahury's paper: CHAPTERS: (00:00) Common ground and stakes (06:10) Ontology of platonic space (14:50) Testing separate realms (25:52) Acid tests and metaphors (34:55) Interaction and narratives (44:20) Formal facts alternative (52:38) Experiments and surprise (01:00:29) Closing reframing proposal PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    1h 4m
  5. A Multiscale Logic of Collective Intelligence" by Donald Hoffman and Chetan Prakash

    Apr 11

    A Multiscale Logic of Collective Intelligence" by Donald Hoffman and Chetan Prakash

    This is a ~1.5 hour talk + discussion, titled "A Multiscale Logic of Collective Intelligence" by Donald Hoffman ( and Chetan Prakash ( with Robert Chis-Ciure ( and Chris Fields ( and me. CHAPTERS: (00:01) Beyond space-time physics (10:10) Minimal observer participants (18:49) Recursive trace logic (35:08) Actions and trace blankets (43:45) Physics and agency together (52:32) Causal emergence and joins (59:52) Contextuality and quantum logic (01:06:00) Unitarity and positive geometries (01:16:29) Consciousness-first mind theories (01:24:39) Testing models together PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    1h 30m
  6. Discussion: Lisa Maroski, Michael Levin, Richard Watson

    Apr 10

    Discussion: Lisa Maroski, Michael Levin, Richard Watson

    This is a ~1 hour discussion with Lisa Maroski ( and Richard Watson ( about the role of language in shaping our thinking in the field of diverse intelligence and beyond. CHAPTERS: (00:00) Language and systems thinking (04:25) Parts wholes and resonance (07:34) Who versus what (12:45) Recursion and new structures (17:47) Searching for a word (25:16) Holding multiple polarities (29:41) Nested biological agency (35:42) Patterns and Platonic minds (45:41) Cross-level observers and time (52:45) Knowing and owning beliefs PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    59 min
  7. Discussion: Richard Watson, Alexey Tolchinsky, Mark Solms, Michael Levin, and Karl Friston

    Apr 9

    Discussion: Richard Watson, Alexey Tolchinsky, Mark Solms, Michael Levin, and Karl Friston

    This is a ~1 hour meeting with Richard Watson ( Alexey Tolchinsky ( Mark Solms ( and Karl Friston ( where we discuss issues of memory (especially, the role of forgetting) in diverse intelligence (human patients and beyond), and a bit on dreams and psychoanalysis. The original question from me was motivated by some findings on the effects of induced forgetting in models of unconventional cognition ( and more coming soon). CHAPTERS: (00:00) Role of forgetting (06:22) Overfitting and generalization (10:45) Accuracy minus complexity (21:13) REM sleep and transference (24:40) Choosing futures and pasts (31:18) Cellular psychotherapy ideas (34:58) Dreaming of cell phones (39:47) Photographic memory costs (44:18) Precision and future paths (52:25) Collective cellular identity PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    59 min
  8. Conversation with Nic Rouleau, part 1: "Some thoughts on the mind as material"

    Apr 3

    Conversation with Nic Rouleau, part 1: "Some thoughts on the mind as material"

    This is a ~1 hour talk and discussion, comprising part 1 of a conversation with a really interesting young neuroscientist, as well as friend, collaborator, and our Center member, Nicolas Rouleau ( Nic goes over unconventional aspects of neuroscience touching on free will, cybernetics, consciousness, and a lot more. We start a discussion which is continued in part 2. For more information: Nic's website: X account: @DrNRouleau Recent papers to check out: Sellar, E.P., Rouleau, N. (In Review). A cybernetic framework for synthetic biological intelligence in the era of neural tissue engineering. Preprint doi: 10.31234/osf.io/md2wf_v1. Kansala, C., Cicek, E., Nkansah-Okoree, V., Golding, A., Murugan, N.J., Rouleau, N. (In Review). Superstitious conditioning forms the experience of free will under causal determinism. Preprint doi: 10.31234/osf.io/fk3yt_v2. Roskies, A. & Rouleau, N. (Forthcoming, In Press). Research on brain organoids should prioritize questions of agency, not consciousness. AJOB Neuroscience. Rouleau, N. & Levin, M. (In Press). Brains and where else? Mapping theories of consciousness to unconventional embodiments. Philosophical Transactions: A. Preprint doi:10.1098/rsta.2025.0082. Rouleau, N., Levin, M. (2024), Discussions of machine versus living intelligence need more clarity, Nature Machine Intelligence, doi:10.31219/osf.io/gz3km Rouleau, N., and Levin, M. (2023), The Multiple Realizability of Sentience in Living Systems and Beyond, eNeuro, 10(11), doi:10.1523/eneuro.0375-23.2023 Rouleau, N., Cairns, D. M., Rusk, W., Levin, M., and Kaplan, D. (2021), Learning and synaptic plasticity in 3D bioengineered neural tissues Neuroscience Letters, 750: 135799 CHAPTERS: (00:00) Free will, minds, transmission (26:52) Material brains after death (31:18) Defining free will experience (38:00) Long-term agency and algorithms (49:35) Causality, math, and consciousness (57:33) Transmissive consciousness and information PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing SOCIAL LINKS: Podcast Website: https://thoughtforms-life.aipodcast.ing YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pVafx6EZqXVI2V_Efu2uw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thoughtforms-life/id1805908099 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JCmtoeH53neYyZeOZ6ym5 Twitter: https://x.com/drmichaellevin Blog: https://thoughtforms.life The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org

    1 hr
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

A podcast by Professor Michael Levin exploring the frontiers of biology, cognition, and emergence. Engage in conversations about morphogenesis, bioelectricity, and synthetic life — and uncover how intelligence and agency emerge from the most fundamental levels of nature.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Levin
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    180
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Michael Levin / Thoughtforms Life
  • Show Website
    Thoughtforms Life

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