arXiv (Cornell University)
May 15, 2026
Jonas Mago, Edmundo Lopez-Sola, Jakub Vohryzek et al.
Minimal Phenomenal Experiences (MPEs) are states of consciousness in which wakefulness is preserved but phenomenal content is low or absent. The Entropic Brain Hypothesis (EBH) is a model of conscious processes that regards the entropy of spontaneous brain activity as a marker of 'phenomenal richness', exemplified by high-content psychedelic experiences (HCPEs). Yet recent human neuroimaging...
Artificial General Intelligence
2026
Ruben Laukkonen, Fionn Inglis, Shamil Chandaria et al.
1 citation
As artificial intelligence (AI) improves, current alignment strategies may falter in the face of unpredictable self-improvement and the sheer complexity of AI. Rather than trying to control behavior, we show how four principles from contemplative traditions can help intrinsically align (super) intelligence. First, mindfulness enables self-monitoring and recalibration of emergent subgoals....
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
September 1, 2025
Ruben Laukkonen, Karl Friston, Shamil Chandaria
17 citations
Can active inference model consciousness? We offer three conditions implying that it can. The first condition is the simulation of a world model, which determines what can be known or acted upon; namely an epistemic field. The second is inferential competition to enter the world model. Only the inferences that coherently reduce long-term uncertainty win, evincing a selection for consciousness...
July 21, 2025
Jonas Mago, Shamil Chandaria, Mark Miller et al.
preprint
Minimal Phenomenal Experiences (MPEs) represent states of consciousness reduced to their most fundamental elements, posing a unique challenge and opportunity for modeling consciousness. This paper introduces a novel computational framework based on Bayesian and active inference to model MPEs. We propose that MPEs arise when precision weighting shifts predominantly to the lower levels of a...
Neuropharmacology
December 27, 2022
Robin Carhart-Harris, Shamil Chandaria, David Erritzøe et al.
106 citations
This theoretical article revives a classical bridging construct, canalization, to describe a new model of a general factor of psychopathology. To achieve this, we have distinguished between two types of plasticity, an early one that we call 'TEMP' for 'Temperature or Entropy Mediated Plasticity', and another, we call 'canalization', which is close to Hebbian plasticity. These two forms of...