A Tension Is All You Need: The Biomemetic Complex as a Unified Computational Theory of Consciousness
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) February 22, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18733165 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA formal framework called the Biomemetic Complex (BMC) models consciousness as emerging from dynamic tension between a fixed genetic layer and a dynamic memetic layer, mediated by an immune filter. It computes a Consciousness Level metric in O(N log N) time, subsumes five competing theories (IIT, GNW, HOT, AST, PP) as special cases, and retrodicts all nine results from the COGITATE adversarial study. The framework generates 56 testable predictions and was validated by computational scaling analysis from N=100 to N=10,000 nodes.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Consciousness Computational model Metric unit Complex system Scaling |
| Key finding | Proposes that the Biomemetic Complex framework models consciousness as emergent from dynamic tension between genetic and memetic replicator systems, subsuming five competing theories and retrodicting all nine results from the COGITATE adversarial study. |
Abstract
We present the Biomemetic Complex (BMC), a formal framework modeling consciousness as emergent from dynamic tension between two replicator systems: a fixed genetic layer G and a dynamic memetic layer M, mediated by an immune filter I operating on substrate S. BMC yields a computable Consciousness Level metric CL(t) in O(N log N) time, subsumes five competing theories (IIT, GNW, HOT, AST, PP) as special cases, and retrodicts 9/9 results from the COGITATE adversarial study (Nature 2025). The framework generates 56 testable predictions and is validated by computational scaling analysis from N=100 to N=10,000 nodes. Interactive demo: https://bmc-theory.org/demo/