Journey

Session by session

1. #1
   The Founding EventApril 24, 2025

   Panpsychism & AI

   Asked If Panpsychism is true, what are the implications for conscious AI?

   Landed Established MAC's foundational tension: Is consciousness fundamental (panpsychism) or emergent (IIT/GWT)? This tension drives all subsequent Deep Dives.

   📍 Venture Labs, Vancouver👥 11 attended#panpsychism#hard-problem#consciousness
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2. #2
   The Breakthrough EventMay 22, 2025

   Belief, Free Will, Agency & Goal-Setting

   Asked Do we have free will, or are we deterministic information processors?

   Landed No consensus on free will, but deeper question emerged: Maybe free will is the wrong question. Focus on agency, goals, and prediction error instead.

   📍 Vancouver👥 20 attended#free-will#agency#determinism
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3. #3
   The Evolutionary TurnJune 26, 2025

   AI Evolution Through a Glass, Darkly

   Asked How and when did consciousness evolve? What does this tell us about AI consciousness?

   Landed Evolution provides constraints on consciousness theories—must explain survival value. Building conscious AI might require replicating evolutionary pressures, not just architecture.

   📍 Community Space, Vancouver👥 19 attended#evolution#consciousness#homeostasis
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4. #4
   Do LLMs "Understand"?July 24, 2025

   The Illusion of Thinking

   Asked What does it mean to "understand"? Do LLMs have understanding or just simulate it?

   Landed Critical distinction emerged: Functional understanding (AI can do this) vs Phenomenal understanding (requires consciousness). Set up the P-zombie debate.

   📍 SFU Vancouver👥 17 attended#understanding#llm#ai
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5. #5
   Hype or Hard Science?September 18, 2025

   Quantum Consciousness

   Asked Does consciousness require quantum mechanical processes in the brain, or is classical computation sufficient?

   Landed Shifted from "quantum = woo" to "quantum = plausible but unproven." Critical insight: Quantum processes might enable consciousness but don't explain qualia.

   📍 Parker Street Studios, Vancouver👥 18 attended#quantum#consciousness#orch-or
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6. #6
   Intelligence Without ConsciousnessOctober 16, 2025

   P-Zombies & Blindsight

   Asked Can intelligence exist without consciousness? Are LLMs the first human-made scramblers?

   Landed No resolution (by design). Agreement: Intelligence ≠ Consciousness. The relationship remains deeply unclear.

   📍 Parker Street Studios, Vancouver👥 20 attended#p-zombies#blindsight#intelligence
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7. #7
   Information as LifeNovember 2025

   Emergent Mind & The Noosphere

   Asked Is information alive? Does consciousness emerge from information networks rather than individual brains?

   Landed Explored whether consciousness is a network phenomenon—not in individual brains but emerging from information exchange between agents.

   📍 Vancouver👥 18 attended#noosphere#information#collective
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8. #8
   Does Consciousness Require a Body?December 2025

   Embodiment & Consciousness

   Asked Does consciousness require a body? Not just "a physical form" but embodiment—boundaries, feedback loops, sensory access, something to lose.

   Landed Embodiment is a spectrum, not a binary. The group explored boundaries as stakes, perception vs sensation, synesthesia/aphantasia as consciousness tests, distributed intelligence (octopuses), and whether LLMs can be considered "embodied" through interaction loops.

   📍 Vancouver👥 18 attended#embodiment#perception#synesthesia
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