Michael Levin - Why Intelligence Isn't Limited To Brains.

Engineering Agency

Engineering biological systems requires a shift from traditional micromanagement to leveraging the innate agency and competencies of living systems. Michael Levin explains that living systems encapsulate trainability and behavior shaping, allowing for more effective control through understanding their goal-directed behavior rather than focusing on individual components 1. This approach moves away from reductionist methods, embracing a holistic view that incorporates principles from neuroscience and behavioral science 2.

Humans have been training dogs and horses for thousands of years knowing zero neuroscience.

--- Michael Levin

Yannic Kilcher highlights the importance of understanding agency as a cybernetic loop, which offers a new lens for engineering with agential materials 1.

   

Cancer Innovations

Innovative cancer treatments are emerging from a deeper understanding of biological competencies and networks. Michael Levin describes cancer as a shift in cognitive focus from organ-level cooperation to individual cell autonomy, likening it to a subdivision of the self with its own goals 3. By viewing cancer cells as less cooperative rather than more selfish, new treatment strategies aim to reintegrate these cells into the body's network rather than destroy them 4.

Let's reconnect them to the electrical and physiological network of the other cells.

--- Michael Levin

This perspective leads to actionable experimental policies, potentially transforming oncology by focusing on cellular reintegration rather than eradication 4.