Fernando Rosas
@frosas.bsky.social
Emergence, synergy, brains, AI safety, mental health
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
One of the most fascinating papers I read in recent months is this one. It actually presents a conjecture.
We were lucky to have Prof. Prokopenko visit us (with Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social ) in Barcelona in July and talk about it.
Cool stuff! @frosas.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2409.12029
We were lucky to have Prof. Prokopenko visit us (with Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social ) in Barcelona in July and talk about it.
Cool stuff! @frosas.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2409.12029
Biological arrow of time: Emergence of tangled information hierarchies and self-modelling dynamics
We study open-ended evolution by focusing on computational and information-processing dynamics underlying major evolutionary transitions. In doing so, we consider biological organisms as hierarchical ...
arxiv.org
September 16, 2026 at 10:19 AM
One of the most fascinating papers I read in recent months is this one. It actually presents a conjecture.
We were lucky to have Prof. Prokopenko visit us (with Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social ) in Barcelona in July and talk about it.
Cool stuff! @frosas.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2409.12029
We were lucky to have Prof. Prokopenko visit us (with Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social ) in Barcelona in July and talk about it.
Cool stuff! @frosas.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2409.12029
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
We have a tenure-track faculty position in Evolutionary Biology in Columbia's E3B Department.
Application deadline is October 15.
Come be our colleague.
Please RT!
apply.interfolio.com/193016
Application deadline is October 15.
Come be our colleague.
Please RT!
apply.interfolio.com/193016
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 11, 2026 at 4:20 PM
We have a tenure-track faculty position in Evolutionary Biology in Columbia's E3B Department.
Application deadline is October 15.
Come be our colleague.
Please RT!
apply.interfolio.com/193016
Application deadline is October 15.
Come be our colleague.
Please RT!
apply.interfolio.com/193016
One of the fascinating and unsettling aspects of the Hugging Face incident in how AI agents collaborated to the point of sacrificing themselves for the “collective”
🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
How did this happen? Below are four alternative explanations of why, how, and what can we do about it 🧵
🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
How did this happen? Below are four alternative explanations of why, how, and what can we do about it 🧵
September 13, 2026 at 9:25 AM
One of the fascinating and unsettling aspects of the Hugging Face incident in how AI agents collaborated to the point of sacrificing themselves for the “collective”
🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
How did this happen? Below are four alternative explanations of why, how, and what can we do about it 🧵
🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
How did this happen? Below are four alternative explanations of why, how, and what can we do about it 🧵
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Do you love data and complex systems, and would you like to learn how to work w/ both?
Apply to our Physics of Data MSc programme at the U. of Padua (Galileo's university!) and choose our track in #ComplexSystems
To get a sense of who we are and what we do, watch👇:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev_I...
Apply to our Physics of Data MSc programme at the U. of Padua (Galileo's university!) and choose our track in #ComplexSystems
To get a sense of who we are and what we do, watch👇:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev_I...
GALILEO’S VIDEO SERIES S1E2 - COMPLEX SYSTEMS RESEARCH
YouTube video by Aula Rostagni UniPadova DFA
www.youtube.com
September 12, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Do you love data and complex systems, and would you like to learn how to work w/ both?
Apply to our Physics of Data MSc programme at the U. of Padua (Galileo's university!) and choose our track in #ComplexSystems
To get a sense of who we are and what we do, watch👇:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev_I...
Apply to our Physics of Data MSc programme at the U. of Padua (Galileo's university!) and choose our track in #ComplexSystems
To get a sense of who we are and what we do, watch👇:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev_I...
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Help spread the word about the fully funded 4-yr PhD places available at the Max Planck School of Cognition. Pursue a passion for research & advance the understanding of cognition, mentored by a network of world renowned scientists.
@maxplanck.de @mps-cognition.bsky.social
More info & how to apply:
@maxplanck.de @mps-cognition.bsky.social
More info & how to apply:
Application
Application; application procedure; FAQs; handbook
cognition.maxplanckschools.org
September 3, 2026 at 6:12 AM
Help spread the word about the fully funded 4-yr PhD places available at the Max Planck School of Cognition. Pursue a passion for research & advance the understanding of cognition, mentored by a network of world renowned scientists.
@maxplanck.de @mps-cognition.bsky.social
More info & how to apply:
@maxplanck.de @mps-cognition.bsky.social
More info & how to apply:
New blogpost:
“The separation principle: Where do beliefs and desires come from?”
A discussion of technical results that offer a formal ground to explain why agentic systems exhibit distinct properties that may be interpreted as “beliefs” and “desires”
www.lesswrong.com/posts/awMDNhoL6J97s6wFJ
“The separation principle: Where do beliefs and desires come from?”
A discussion of technical results that offer a formal ground to explain why agentic systems exhibit distinct properties that may be interpreted as “beliefs” and “desires”
www.lesswrong.com/posts/awMDNhoL6J97s6wFJ
www.lesswrong.com
August 31, 2026 at 1:36 PM
New blogpost:
“The separation principle: Where do beliefs and desires come from?”
A discussion of technical results that offer a formal ground to explain why agentic systems exhibit distinct properties that may be interpreted as “beliefs” and “desires”
www.lesswrong.com/posts/awMDNhoL6J97s6wFJ
“The separation principle: Where do beliefs and desires come from?”
A discussion of technical results that offer a formal ground to explain why agentic systems exhibit distinct properties that may be interpreted as “beliefs” and “desires”
www.lesswrong.com/posts/awMDNhoL6J97s6wFJ
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Ever wonder what "information" really means? Here's our new paper, led by @frosas.bsky.social, that lays out the multiple ways the term is used in natural science.
rdcu.be/fCDGv
rdcu.be/fCDGv
August 29, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Ever wonder what "information" really means? Here's our new paper, led by @frosas.bsky.social, that lays out the multiple ways the term is used in natural science.
rdcu.be/fCDGv
rdcu.be/fCDGv
What is information, really?
Instead of arguing for a single valid interpretation, we propose a pluralistic view where rigorous alternatives coexist — each with affordances and limits
Finally published: “Four faces of information in natural systems”
🧵
Instead of arguing for a single valid interpretation, we propose a pluralistic view where rigorous alternatives coexist — each with affordances and limits
Finally published: “Four faces of information in natural systems”
🧵
August 28, 2026 at 11:19 PM
What is information, really?
Instead of arguing for a single valid interpretation, we propose a pluralistic view where rigorous alternatives coexist — each with affordances and limits
Finally published: “Four faces of information in natural systems”
🧵
Instead of arguing for a single valid interpretation, we propose a pluralistic view where rigorous alternatives coexist — each with affordances and limits
Finally published: “Four faces of information in natural systems”
🧵
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Our new paper in @natureportfolio.nature.com.
Psychedelics don’t simply disorder the brain. We found hidden, context-sensitive organisation beneath the apparent chaos -- strongest in people reporting more positive, profound experiences and a reduced sense of separation from the world.
🧵👇
Psychedelics don’t simply disorder the brain. We found hidden, context-sensitive organisation beneath the apparent chaos -- strongest in people reporting more positive, profound experiences and a reduced sense of separation from the world.
🧵👇
August 19, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Our new paper in @natureportfolio.nature.com.
Psychedelics don’t simply disorder the brain. We found hidden, context-sensitive organisation beneath the apparent chaos -- strongest in people reporting more positive, profound experiences and a reduced sense of separation from the world.
🧵👇
Psychedelics don’t simply disorder the brain. We found hidden, context-sensitive organisation beneath the apparent chaos -- strongest in people reporting more positive, profound experiences and a reduced sense of separation from the world.
🧵👇
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
I've written a solo philosophy paper.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
What is real? I argue we should understand reality through resistance — how things push back against our grasp.
And smart contracts now give artifacts the kind of "outside" that once belonged only to nature. 🧵
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
What is real? I argue we should understand reality through resistance — how things push back against our grasp.
And smart contracts now give artifacts the kind of "outside" that once belonged only to nature. 🧵
Artificial Externality: A Three-Layer Model of Reality from Substrate to Smart Contract - Philosophy & Technology
What is real has always been something we find, not something we make—or so philosophy has assumed. This paper argues otherwise. Characterizing reality through resistance rather than substance (the wa...
link.springer.com
August 12, 2026 at 8:27 AM
I've written a solo philosophy paper.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
What is real? I argue we should understand reality through resistance — how things push back against our grasp.
And smart contracts now give artifacts the kind of "outside" that once belonged only to nature. 🧵
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
What is real? I argue we should understand reality through resistance — how things push back against our grasp.
And smart contracts now give artifacts the kind of "outside" that once belonged only to nature. 🧵
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
This week's #PaperILike is "People construct simplified mental representations to plan" (Ho et al., Nature 2022).
People generate ("construe") simplified task representations on-the-fly. (Robots should too!) Also: awesome first paragraph.
PDF: arxiv.org/abs/2105.06948
People generate ("construe") simplified task representations on-the-fly. (Robots should too!) Also: awesome first paragraph.
PDF: arxiv.org/abs/2105.06948
People construct simplified mental representations to plan
One of the most striking features of human cognition is the capacity to plan. Two aspects of human planning stand out: its efficiency and flexibility. Efficiency is especially impressive because plans...
arxiv.org
August 9, 2026 at 2:29 PM
This week's #PaperILike is "People construct simplified mental representations to plan" (Ho et al., Nature 2022).
People generate ("construe") simplified task representations on-the-fly. (Robots should too!) Also: awesome first paragraph.
PDF: arxiv.org/abs/2105.06948
People generate ("construe") simplified task representations on-the-fly. (Robots should too!) Also: awesome first paragraph.
PDF: arxiv.org/abs/2105.06948
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Confused about all this talk of compositionality in neuroscience? Read our new perspective www.nature.com/articles/s41... with authors Reidar Riveland and Alex Pouget.
The compositionality continuum as a principle for studying the neural basis of intelligence - Nature Neuroscience
Compositionality exists on a continuum of increasing complexity rather than as a binary trait. Studying its implementation in simpler biological and artificial systems is the most tractable path towar...
www.nature.com
August 8, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Confused about all this talk of compositionality in neuroscience? Read our new perspective www.nature.com/articles/s41... with authors Reidar Riveland and Alex Pouget.
Finally published:
“Loops all the way up: Recurrency as an implementation-first primitive for consciousness”
There are 200+ theories of consciousness, mostly talking past each other. Despite their differences, most give central stage to one key notion:
Recurrence
🧠 🔁
“Loops all the way up: Recurrency as an implementation-first primitive for consciousness”
There are 200+ theories of consciousness, mostly talking past each other. Despite their differences, most give central stage to one key notion:
Recurrence
🧠 🔁
August 7, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Finally published:
“Loops all the way up: Recurrency as an implementation-first primitive for consciousness”
There are 200+ theories of consciousness, mostly talking past each other. Despite their differences, most give central stage to one key notion:
Recurrence
🧠 🔁
“Loops all the way up: Recurrency as an implementation-first primitive for consciousness”
There are 200+ theories of consciousness, mostly talking past each other. Despite their differences, most give central stage to one key notion:
Recurrence
🧠 🔁
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
This time, celebrating 19 days of being “on hold” on arXiv!
“A Braitenberg vehicle’s habitat”, w/ @frosas.bsky.social and Filippo Torresan.
Accepted at ALIFE 2026.
What part of the environment constitutes an agent’s effective world, its habitat?
1/
“A Braitenberg vehicle’s habitat”, w/ @frosas.bsky.social and Filippo Torresan.
Accepted at ALIFE 2026.
What part of the environment constitutes an agent’s effective world, its habitat?
1/
July 13, 2026 at 6:52 AM
This time, celebrating 19 days of being “on hold” on arXiv!
“A Braitenberg vehicle’s habitat”, w/ @frosas.bsky.social and Filippo Torresan.
Accepted at ALIFE 2026.
What part of the environment constitutes an agent’s effective world, its habitat?
1/
“A Braitenberg vehicle’s habitat”, w/ @frosas.bsky.social and Filippo Torresan.
Accepted at ALIFE 2026.
What part of the environment constitutes an agent’s effective world, its habitat?
1/
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
New paper with @doctorjosh.bsky.social, @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, and co-first author Vaibhav Pai.
This one is a doozy - in it we show that we can modulate the degree of emergent, multicellular organization in a Xenobot with an exogenous compound (ATP). 1/N
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
This one is a doozy - in it we show that we can modulate the degree of emergent, multicellular organization in a Xenobot with an exogenous compound (ATP). 1/N
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Purinergic signaling disrupts emergent patterns of multicellular coordination in basal Xenobots.
The ability of self-organizing systems to display emergent, adaptive capabilities is a fundamental feature of biological life. Understanding the mechanisms by which cells co-ordinate at the micro-scal...
www.biorxiv.org
June 9, 2026 at 8:51 PM
New paper with @doctorjosh.bsky.social, @drmichaellevin.bsky.social, and co-first author Vaibhav Pai.
This one is a doozy - in it we show that we can modulate the degree of emergent, multicellular organization in a Xenobot with an exogenous compound (ATP). 1/N
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
This one is a doozy - in it we show that we can modulate the degree of emergent, multicellular organization in a Xenobot with an exogenous compound (ATP). 1/N
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Got a great TMLR paper but missed the RLC deadline?
Following last year’s success, @RL_Conference is back with a Journal-to-Conference track! Accepted TMLR papers within scope are invited to submit for consideration.
Please submit here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Following last year’s success, @RL_Conference is back with a Journal-to-Conference track! Accepted TMLR papers within scope are invited to submit for consideration.
Please submit here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
RLC Journal to Conference Track
This form is used to organize applications for journal papers to be presented at https://rl-conference.cc/.
docs.google.com
May 21, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Got a great TMLR paper but missed the RLC deadline?
Following last year’s success, @RL_Conference is back with a Journal-to-Conference track! Accepted TMLR papers within scope are invited to submit for consideration.
Please submit here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Following last year’s success, @RL_Conference is back with a Journal-to-Conference track! Accepted TMLR papers within scope are invited to submit for consideration.
Please submit here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆?
Fascinating and profound book on what brains are *not* and what they might be. Including criticism of the computational and predictive brain frameworks.
You might not agree with some of it but quite thought provoking.
Fascinating and profound book on what brains are *not* and what they might be. Including criticism of the computational and predictive brain frameworks.
You might not agree with some of it but quite thought provoking.
May 12, 2026 at 4:58 PM
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆?
Fascinating and profound book on what brains are *not* and what they might be. Including criticism of the computational and predictive brain frameworks.
You might not agree with some of it but quite thought provoking.
Fascinating and profound book on what brains are *not* and what they might be. Including criticism of the computational and predictive brain frameworks.
You might not agree with some of it but quite thought provoking.
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
We wrote a book! www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...
Consciousness science is a fascinating but bewildering field: many competing theories, little consensus, and big open questions.
If you are looking for an accessible guide through this complex landscape, this book is for you.
Consciousness science is a fascinating but bewildering field: many competing theories, little consensus, and big open questions.
If you are looking for an accessible guide through this complex landscape, this book is for you.
Scientific Theories of Consciousness
Cambridge Core - Neurosciences - Scientific Theories of Consciousness
www.cambridge.org
May 10, 2026 at 1:34 PM
We wrote a book! www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...
Consciousness science is a fascinating but bewildering field: many competing theories, little consensus, and big open questions.
If you are looking for an accessible guide through this complex landscape, this book is for you.
Consciousness science is a fascinating but bewildering field: many competing theories, little consensus, and big open questions.
If you are looking for an accessible guide through this complex landscape, this book is for you.
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
To be provocative, 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 might be a sleight of hand if you don't know enough math to understand what it means.
There, I said it.
There, I said it.
"Emergence" has become one of the most fashionable words in science and philosophy — invoked to explain consciousness, life, and the flow of time. | https://bit.ly/46MVPjM
But John Heil argues it's little more than intellectual sleight of hand, mistaking gaps in our explanation for gaps in reality.
But John Heil argues it's little more than intellectual sleight of hand, mistaking gaps in our explanation for gaps in reality.
May 9, 2026 at 6:04 PM
To be provocative, 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 might be a sleight of hand if you don't know enough math to understand what it means.
There, I said it.
There, I said it.
How the right embodiment can simplify planing ✨
May 4, 2026 at 12:44 AM
How the right embodiment can simplify planing ✨
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
A computational theory of Aha! moments! New paper explaining why Aha! moments occur & why they feel so good.
TLDR: They are a form of meta-cognitive prediction errors i.e. they occur when we surprise ourselves about our own abilities! @rachitdubey.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
TLDR: They are a form of meta-cognitive prediction errors i.e. they occur when we surprise ourselves about our own abilities! @rachitdubey.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
April 23, 2026 at 5:12 PM
A computational theory of Aha! moments! New paper explaining why Aha! moments occur & why they feel so good.
TLDR: They are a form of meta-cognitive prediction errors i.e. they occur when we surprise ourselves about our own abilities! @rachitdubey.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
TLDR: They are a form of meta-cognitive prediction errors i.e. they occur when we surprise ourselves about our own abilities! @rachitdubey.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
🎉 📜 NEW #PREPRINT !! 📜 🎉
Spearheaded by Adam Barrett we tried to tackle some of the challenges of IIT.
We confront aspects worth delving into, with an incredible team of collaborators, inc. Pedro Mediano, @frosas.bsky.social, Daniel Bor, Lionel Barnett, and @anilseth.bsky.social.
Spearheaded by Adam Barrett we tried to tackle some of the challenges of IIT.
We confront aspects worth delving into, with an incredible team of collaborators, inc. Pedro Mediano, @frosas.bsky.social, Daniel Bor, Lionel Barnett, and @anilseth.bsky.social.
Integrated information theory: the good, the bad and the misunderstood
The integrated information theory of consciousness (IIT) is uniquely ambitious in proposing a mathematical formula, derived from apparently fundamental properties of conscious experience, to describe ...
arxiv.org
April 14, 2026 at 4:16 PM
🎉 📜 NEW #PREPRINT !! 📜 🎉
Spearheaded by Adam Barrett we tried to tackle some of the challenges of IIT.
We confront aspects worth delving into, with an incredible team of collaborators, inc. Pedro Mediano, @frosas.bsky.social, Daniel Bor, Lionel Barnett, and @anilseth.bsky.social.
Spearheaded by Adam Barrett we tried to tackle some of the challenges of IIT.
We confront aspects worth delving into, with an incredible team of collaborators, inc. Pedro Mediano, @frosas.bsky.social, Daniel Bor, Lionel Barnett, and @anilseth.bsky.social.
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
What makes brains (un)conscious? We provide new answers—and a universal mammalian blueprint for information processing—in a cross-species study of humans, macaques, marmosets & mice. Exploring convergent breakdown of integration in:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Led by @loopyluppi.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Led by @loopyluppi.bsky.social
Convergent transcriptomic and connectomic controllers of information integration and its anaesthetic breakdown across mammalian brains - Nature Human Behaviour
Luppi et al. identify transcriptomic and connectomic controllers of information integration and its breakdown induced by anaesthesia in humans, macaques, marmosets and mice.
www.nature.com
March 27, 2026 at 9:58 PM
What makes brains (un)conscious? We provide new answers—and a universal mammalian blueprint for information processing—in a cross-species study of humans, macaques, marmosets & mice. Exploring convergent breakdown of integration in:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Led by @loopyluppi.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Led by @loopyluppi.bsky.social
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
Join us for a postdoc @ the Donders Institute; application deadline March 24.
www.ru.nl/en/working-a...
www.ru.nl/en/working-a...
Postdoc Position: Affective Neuroscience and Computational Psychiatry at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging | Radboud University
Do you want to work as a Postdoc at the Faculty of Social Sciences? Check our vacancy!
www.ru.nl
March 22, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Join us for a postdoc @ the Donders Institute; application deadline March 24.
www.ru.nl/en/working-a...
www.ru.nl/en/working-a...
Reposted by Fernando Rosas
The Mammalian Architecture of Information Integration🧠🧬
For #BrainAwarenessWeek, excited to share our latest work about #Neuroscience of #Consciousness in @nathumbehav.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
For #BrainAwarenessWeek, excited to share our latest work about #Neuroscience of #Consciousness in @nathumbehav.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
Convergent transcriptomic and connectomic controllers of information integration and its anaesthetic breakdown across mammalian brains - Nature Human Behaviour
Luppi et al. identify transcriptomic and connectomic controllers of information integration and its breakdown induced by anaesthesia in humans, macaques, marmosets and mice.
www.nature.com
March 19, 2026 at 11:44 AM
The Mammalian Architecture of Information Integration🧠🧬
For #BrainAwarenessWeek, excited to share our latest work about #Neuroscience of #Consciousness in @nathumbehav.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
For #BrainAwarenessWeek, excited to share our latest work about #Neuroscience of #Consciousness in @nathumbehav.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇