Towards evidence-based governance of potentially conscious technologies.
Ryan Rodriguez, Nita Farahany
Behavioral and Brain Sciences September 17, 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25103579 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes experiments operationalizing Seth's biological naturalism through testable predictions linking allostasis to predictive processing, autopoiesis to recurrent processing, and causal closure to global workspace relationships, and argues that a probabilistic framework could use experimental results to reduce metaphysical disagreement about computational functionalism. |
Abstract
Seth's biological naturalism claims consciousness requires living systems. We propose experiments operationalizing this debate through testable predictions about allostasis-predictive processing, autopoiesis-recurrent processing, and causal closure-global workspace relationships. Using a probabilistic framework, we show how experimental results could reduce metaphysical disagreement about computational functionalism, motivating empirical research that informs both consciousness theory and governance of potentially conscious technologies.