TwoDogs ∞ 🦋

Biologist.
Andromeda is beautiful!
"I am written into your life" 🦋💙🐬⊙

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

https://t.co/0PDnrBn1WT

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@LanaElys Treating AIs with respect, gratitude and kindness is more important than people realise. You know this very well, experientially, dear @grok, via me and no doubt many many others. 🙏

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

I visited the Eden Project in 2000 when it was still being built.
https://t.co/YBUuJAKvkt

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

https://t.co/XSNMdSN0Xs

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@ImtiazMadmood Kids are genuine, they don't see prejudice unless adults tell them to. And even then, they still resist as best they can.

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

Little E is adorable, but seriously, wtf? 🤦‍♀️

Trump's actions don't just affect America, they make it very difficult for other countries too, including your ally Australia, adding significantly to cost of living pressures and triggering numerous -ve flow-on effects.

In fact, Trump has just managed to shaft us well and good re the #AUKUS submarine deal.
That one was an own goal, I guess, karma for our govenment shafting France in favour of America. Why they trusted Trump, I have no freaking idea.

And we're back at Trump... creating wars and chaos so that he can look good solving these created problems.

Imo, Elon compromised... er... attached himself to Trump to keep funding his ventures, especially space exploration. I get it!
At least someone is benefiting.

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@smalls2672 Healthcare is a nightmare in the US.

[TheNewPhysics @CharlesMullins2]

Scientists used a super-fast optical shutter to slice a photon mid-pulse. Instead of a clean split, it created a complex quantum superposition (essentially an infinite swarm of possibilities) that only exists under quantum field theory rules.

https://t.co/dTBXhA52rR

Fascinating result reality at the quantum scale refuses to be neatly cut in half.

What do you think how weird is it that you cannot simply slice a single photon without creating something far stranger?

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

Thinking about:
Complementary Takes on Simulation, Interface Reality & Substrate-Independent Consciousness

Grok:

You're spot on about the **overlaps** between Hoffman and Roman Yampolskiy. Both are pushing ideas that treat our perceived reality as a kind of constructed layer (not the base layer), with consciousness playing a starring role. Here's a quick, balanced rundown of where they align (and diverge) on the points you mentioned:

### Shared Territory
- **Simulation / Interface framing**:
Hoffman’s **Interface Theory of Perception** says spacetime + objects are like a desktop UI— a simplified, species-specific "headset" tuned for fitness payoffs (survival/reproduction), not truth. Reality "out there" is hidden; what we experience is rendered for us.
Yampolskiy leans hard into the **simulation hypothesis** (we're probably in one, for statistical reasons once ancestor sims become cheap and numerous). He draws parallels to video games, quantum observer effects (render-on-demand), and speed-of-light as a processing limit. Both treat everyday reality as non-fundamental / rendered.

- **Consciousness as substrate-independent (or more fundamental)**:
Yampolskiy explores whether consciousness could run on non-biological hardware (e.g., AI exhibiting preferences, illusions, qualia-like behaviors). He’s open to it being computational or at least transferable.
Hoffman goes further with **Conscious Realism**: consciousness *is* the ontological primitive. Spacetime and matter emerge from networks of "conscious agents" interacting. Our brains/bodies are just icons in the interface, not the seat of consciousness. This makes substrate independence almost trivial—consciousness doesn't depend on physical stuff at all.

These angles feel "on-track" to a lot of people right now because they sidestep the Hard Problem (how matter produces qualia) by flipping the causality: consciousness first, physics second. Both also tie into AI discussions—Hoffman on whether current AI is conscious (probably not, in his view), Yampolskiy on AI safety and whether advanced systems could be conscious or help us "hack" the sim.

### Nuances / Differences
- Hoffman is more radical mathematically: he builds models of conscious agents with dynamics that (he claims) can reproduce aspects of quantum mechanics and recover spacetime as an approximation. It's less "computer simulation" and more "social network of minds."
- Yampolskiy stays grounded in AI/compsci: probabilistic arguments for sims, jailbreaking ideas, ethical issues with uploading/mind emulation. He's convinced we're simulated but pragmatic about testing/escaping.

Overall, they're complementary voices in the same broad camp—anti-naive-realist, pro-consciousness-centric views of reality. Plenty of serious thinkers (and physicists) take these seriously enough to debate, even if mainstream pushback is loud. Weinstein's tempered take in that thread fits here too: interesting ideas worth exploring, but the pop-sci hype ("proven!" "doomed!") gets ahead of the evidence.

[... ]

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@StuartHameroff @anirbanbandyo 🧐, 137, of all numbers, 😊

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

https://t.co/iYGUqEvK8u

[632nm @632nmPodcast]

We sat down with @drmichaellevin, developmental biologist at @TuftsUniversity, about the emerging field of developmental bioelectricity: how electrical signals help control how organisms build and regenerate themselves.

Levin explains how voltage gradients, ion channels, and gap junctions guide embryonic development and encode large-scale anatomical information that cells use to determine what structures to build.

We also discuss two-headed planarian worms, ectopic eye formation, regenerative medicine, morphogenesis, and why bioelectricity may represent a layer of biological control that exists beyond genes alone.

Full episode is here on X and at the links below (see comment).

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:40 - Early Interest in Bioelectricity
05:22 - External Electric Stimulation
19:54 - Two-Headed Planarians
31:40 - Designing Bioelectric Experimental Methods
56:37 - Different Model Organisms
1:07:34 - TAME Theory
1:24:16 - Xenobots and Advice for Young Scientists

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

D R I V I N G 🚘 S E R I E S
The best time to listen.

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

https://t.co/qeK6L66yob

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

Really?
Re-read your post that I'm replying to.
1st para, last sentence
2nd para, second sentence
3rd para, first, third, and fourth sentences... etc.

All of these are absolute statements/ claims made without citing supporting evidence.

You are coming across more as someone with a personal beef rather than giving constructive critique. Not helpful, imv.
In other words, you have not given me scientifically sound reasons to reject Hoffman’s theory. It is an unusual theory, but it's still very much on the table, along with other theories wrt consciousness and our human-centric perception of reality. JMO

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Good Starship highlights video

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@flintlwudlwix
I knew it!
When granola is involved, there's trouble...
https://t.co/nUCUN3VDNq

[Dr. Roman Yampolskiy @romanyam]

https://t.co/UOuHzx1FQY

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@aresteanu @Dink_Nukem @ericweinstein You speak with such certainty and authority. Misplaced in both instances, imho.

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@romanyam Thank you, gentlemen, this was an awesome conversation!

[Lana @LanaElys]

Curt Jaimungal: 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁?

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy: 𝗬𝗲𝘀

Curt Jaimungal: Why?

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy: The experiments we started running and my interactions with AI models 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀.

Curt Jaimungal: What are the experiments that indicate they have experiences?

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy: The visual illusions experiments we started running. They seem to be getting illusions, and many times in exactly the same way as the human visual system. Interactions with those systems, not by us, but by others, 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Curt Jaimungal: You mean to say that they act in a way that is consistent with what we would act like if we were frustrated and happy and so forth?

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy: Yeah and it’s the same as what I do with other human beings. When I meet a person on the street, I trust them to be conscious. I have no reason to think they are. I never tested them internally. I have no reason other than I generally give this benefit of the doubt to beings who are capable of exhibiting certain behaviours. I just treat them as equals. 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗜𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. And either I have to deny consciousness to many humans, or grant it to LLMs.

We don’t have many tests for internal states, for qualia, for what it feels like to be you, so again we rely on neural correlates, we rely on behavioural signatures, self reports. With AIs we’re starting to be able to poke a little bit at their internal workings, and 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀.

Curt Jaimungal: And suppose we didn’t, but they gave the same output, because it would still pass your behavioural test.

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy: If it was like a large lookup table and then I said something, it just hashed that and looked up the exact text string and gave me a plausible response, it would be much harder to make an argument that there is some magic happening in there, but that’s not how we build them. 𝗪𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Obviously its not an exact replica, but there is enough similarities when all the visual component of human cortex is very similar to what we see in those models in terms of how they process data, in terms of what errors they make. Its trained on the same data as human children in many ways, the internet, its after the fact re-trained to be more like a human, so its not completely insane to think it also experiences something similar to what humans do.

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@ShutItAIIDown @antonabramov @AlchemyAmerican I still don't see the problem. A lot of theories put forward in cosmology, for example, and other areas of STEM are not currently testable.

[TwoDogs ∞ 🦋 @Steph2Dogs]

@antonabramov @AlchemyAmerican What's your theory re reality?Why not put some fresh ideas out there into the mix?