"On Biological and Artificial Consciousness" by Borjan Milinkovic and Jaan Aru

Quick Overview

Borjan Milinkovic argues for biological computationalism, asserting that consciousness is not solely dependent on abstract computational organization (like in digital systems) but requires specific biological, multi-scale, and continuous dynamics, such as ephaptic coupling and scale-integration, which digital systems currently lack.

Key Points: The presentation advocates for biological computationalism, arguing that consciousness arises from biological processes that are fundamentally different from standard digital computation. Digital computation is characterized by scale-separability, algorithmic closure, and dependence only on discrete states (e.g., binary), unlike biological systems. Biological computation involves scale-integration across multiple scales (microcolumn, field effects, macro-scale brain dynamics), leading to a heterarchy rather than a strict hierarchy. Metabolic constraints, such as energy limits and ATP efficiency tuning of ion channels, structurally and dynamically shape neural interactions. Dendrites play a crucial role by blurring digital boundaries through local non-linear integration and back-propagating spikes, meaning a single biological neuron is not simply a perceptron neuron. The core question shifts from 'Can synthetic systems be conscious?' to 'Are we building the right machines?' that can realize these hybrid, scale-integrated, and dynamically constrained computations. The presentation includes references to work on ion-channel kinetics, graded potentials, and BOLD signals as active areas of research supporting these biological constraints.

Context: This presentation, titled "On Biological and Artificial Consciousness: A case for biological computationalism," is delivered by Borjan Milinkovic (Boki) of the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neurosciences (NeuroPSI), CNRS, as part of the Michael Levin Lab Talk series. The talk challenges the traditional computational functionalism view of consciousness, which posits that consciousness is substrate-independent and purely algorithmic, by arguing that biological consciousness relies on specific physical and multi-scale dynamics inherent to living systems.