Where consciousness comes from ties awareness to intricate feedback loops in complex systems.
Yet many theories emphasize embodiment, culture, or emergent language as key ingredients. Consciousness may not spring solely from circuits but from relationships, suggesting the article’s explanation is only part of a larger mosaic.
During a robotics demo, a student strapped sensors to her arm and a prosthetic limb. When the system mirrored her motion, she laughed, then whispered, “It feels like it’s part of me now.” That moment of embodiment changed the way we talked about machine awareness.
Anthropologist Edwin Hutchins documented how cockpit crews distribute cognition across tools and teammates, producing a collective awareness greater than any single pilot.1 Consciousness might be less about isolated loops and more about shared context.
Awareness could be a team sport, not a solitary algorithm.
For a tour through nontraditional consciousness theories, try Varela’s work on enactive cognition.2