The Trajectory

This installment of the Stewarding the Flame series is an interview with Lee Cronin, Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, founder and CEO of Chemify, and one of the world's leading researchers in the origins of life, systems chemistry, and Assembly Theory.

Lee argues that life is best understood as an evolutionary process that carries memory from the past into the future. Rather than viewing biology as the beginning of life, he suggests that the processes underlying evolution begin long before the first cell exists.

We explore what makes life, life, how Assembly Theory may help explain the transition from chemistry to biology, why understanding causation is essential to understanding the living process, and what it means to build a "thicker" present that gives the greater process of life the best chance to continue flourishing.

The interview is the second installment of The Trajectory's newest series, Stewarding the Flame, where we explore what intelligence is and ask what "flame" life possesses that non-life does not.

This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:

-- Stewarding the Flame - How to Build an Ideal Future for Intelligence: https://danfaggella.com/stewarding/
-- Michael Levin – Making the Process-of-Life Flourish in Bio and Beyond (Stewarding the Flame, Ep 1): https://danfaggella.com/levin2/
-- Nick Bostrom – AGI That Saves Room for Us (The Trajectory Series 2: Worthy Successor Series, Episode 1): https://danfaggella.com/bostrom1/
-- Henry Shevlin – The Life Force Beyond Biology (Worthy Successor, Episode 31): https://danfaggella.com/shevlin1/
-- Nicolas Gisin - Indeterminism in Physics and Intuitionistic Mathematics: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2011.02348

Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/A-mVvyX_zQ4

See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/cronin1

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About The Trajectory:

AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life?

From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy.

Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls:
https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle

Stay in touch:
-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw
-- X: x.com/danfaggella
-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory
-- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This installment of the Stewarding the Flame series is an interview with Michael Levin, Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University, Director of the Allen Discovery Center, and one of the world's leading researchers in developmental biology, regeneration, bioelectricity, and collective intelligence.

Michael argues that cognition may be more fundamental than biology itself. Rather than viewing life as the origin of intelligence, he suggests that life is one particularly effective way of hosting broader cognitive patterns that extend far beyond conventional biological systems.

We explore what makes life, life, what humanity still needs to discover in order to better understand the "flame" of life, and how regenerative medicine and freedom of embodiment may reshape the future of intelligence and the living process.

The interview is the first installment of The Trajectory's newest series, Stewarding the Flame, where we explore what intelligence is and ask what "flame" life possesses that non-life does not.

This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:
-- Michael Levin - Unfolding New Paradigms of Posthuman Intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 7): https://danfaggella.com/levin1
-- Stewarding the Flame - How to Build an Ideal Future for Intelligence: https://danfaggella.com/stewarding/
-- Timur Kuran, Private Truths, Public Lies
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674707580
-- John Vervaeke, "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis"
https://johnvervaeke.com/series/awakening-from-the-meaning-crisis/
-- Multi-Scale Longevity: Defeating Aging from Cells to Embodied Human Minds, and the Future of the Species - Leo Pio-Lopez & Michael Levin: https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202602.1770.v1

Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZsGNYjH14

See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/levin2

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About The Trajectory:

AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life?

From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy.

Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls:
https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle

Stay in touch:
-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw
-- X: x.com/danfaggella
-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory
-- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Hod Lipson, Professor of Engineering at Columbia University and one of the world's leading researchers in robotics, machine self-modeling, and artificial intelligence.

Hod argues that intelligence is not a single destination, but an expanding landscape of possibilities. Rather than asking whether machines can perform human tasks, he asks a deeper question: what happens when machines begin to understand themselves as agents acting within the world?

We explore self-modeling as a possible foundation for consciousness, why increasingly capable AI systems may inevitably turn their attention inward as well as outward, and what it might mean for humanity to co-evolve alongside emerging posthuman intelligences rather than attempt to permanently constrain them.

The interview is the thirty-second installment of The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.

This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:
-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy
-- Henry Shevlin – The Life Force Beyond Biology (Worthy Successor, Episode 31): https://danfaggella.com/shevlin1/
-- Aza Raskin – Why AGI Demands New Global Coordination (AGI Governance, Episode 12): https://danfaggella.com/raskin1/
-- Michael Levin – Unfolding New Paradigms of Posthuman Intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 7): https://danfaggella.com/levin1/

Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RYW1DGmFs4I

See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/lipson1

...

About The Trajectory:

AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life?

From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy.

Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls:
https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle

Stay in touch:
-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw
-- X: x.com/danfaggella
-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory
-- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Henry Shevlin, philosopher of cognitive science and AI ethicist at the University of Cambridge.

In this conversation, Henry argues that many of the qualities we associate with life, intelligence, and moral value may not be confined to humans-or even to biology itself. As AI systems become increasingly agentic and autonomous, he suggests we may need to rethink some of our most fundamental assumptions about minds, consciousness, agency, and what kinds of beings deserve moral consideration.

We talk about machine consciousness, animal minds, animacy, social AI, the future of intelligence, and what it would mean for life to flourish beyond humanity.

The interview is the thirty-first installment of The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.

This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:
-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy
-- John Smart – Evolution from Cells to Super-intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 21): https://danfaggella.com/smart1/
-- Nick Bostrom – AGI That Saves Room for Us (Worthy Successor, Episode 1): https://danfaggella.com/bostrom1/
-- Peter Singer – Optimizing the Future for Joy, and the Exploration of the Good (Worthy Successor, Episode 10): https://danfaggella.com/singer1/
-- Henry’s paper: Three frameworks for AI mentality - https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/f68213ab-908e-4363-a65f-b2ef68f0327d

Books mentioned by Henry:
-- Solaris by Stanisław Lem: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/95558.Solaris
-- Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/135479.Cat_s_Cradle

Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q2z0I8xZrFo

See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/shevlin1

...

About The Trajectory:

AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life?

From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy.

Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls:
https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle

Stay in touch:
-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw
-- X: x.com/danfaggella
-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory
-- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Benjamin Bratton, Professor of Philosophy of Technology at UC San Diego and Director of Antikythera.

In this conversation, Benjamin argues that intelligence is not exclusively human or biological, but a planetary-scale process shaped by technology, evolution, and complex systems. We talk about planetary intelligence, machine cognition, Gaia, AI governance, and humanity’s role in the future trajectory of life.

The interview is our thirtieth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.

This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:
-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy
-- Potentia and Potestas: Achieving The Goldilocks Zone of AGI Governance: https://danfaggella.com/potestas/
-- Blaise Agüera y Arcas – AGI Symbiosis and the Arrow of Intelligence (Worthy Successor, Episode 14): https://danfaggella.com/arcas1/
--Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence, by James Lovelock: https://books.google.co.za/books?id=yOoCEAAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
-- A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brain, by Max Bennett: https://books.google.co.za/books/about/A_Brief_History_of_Intelligence.html?id=G99UzwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
-- The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty, by Benjamin H. Bratton: https://books.google.co.za/books?id=dEGdCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
-- The Terraforming, by Benjamin H. Bratton: https://books.google.pt/books?id=ysknzAEACAAJ

Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OHzwgX793bs

See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/bratton1

...

About The Trajectory:

AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life?

From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy.

Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls:
https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle

Stay in touch:
-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw
-- X: x.com/danfaggella
-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory
-- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai