paper:milinkovic-aru-2026-biological-artificial-consciousnessOn biological and artificial consciousness: A case for biological computationalism
Findings (2)
- Greater multiscale scale-integration distinguishes wakeful conscious states from anaesthetic states.
Empirical evidence (Milinkovic et al., 2025b) supporting scale-inseparability as consciousness correlate.
- Single dendritic layer solves XOR-like problems with capacity matching 8-layer deep networks.
Evidence from Beniaguev et al. (2021) that individual biological neurons vastly outperform McCulloch-Pitts model; supports hybrid computation claim.
Claims (2)
- Computation is fundamentally substrate-dependent; energy efficiency is the constraint that induces multiscale, scale-integrated computation.
Core assertion distinguishing biological computationalism from functionalism; rejects simulation-instantiation equivalence.
- Continuous dynamics inhabit real closed fields (complete, decidable); discrete arithmetic is incomplete and uncomputable.
Mathematical argument that continuous biological computation operates in a richer formal domain; suggests computational advantages for consciousness-relevant processing.
Hypotheses (1)
- Three criteria for consciousness-capable substrates: hybrid computation, scale-inseparability with metabolic embedding, dynamico-structural co-determination.
Proposed necessary conditions for any substrate (biological or artificial) to support consciousness; integrates discrete-continuous, multiscale, and adaptive properties.
Questions (2)
- Can digital systems approximate biological computation closely enough that functional equivalence implies experiential equivalence?
Open tension: if artificial fluidic memristors succeed, is the relevant property substrate-independence or substrate-type (biological vs. silicon)?
- Does consciousness require continuous (not discrete-step) temporal dynamics?
Underexplored in paper but potentially strongest argument; continuous physical time may be necessary for lived, streaming quality of experience.
Related work— refs + corpus + external arXiv
Cited / in-corpus / arXiv badges show which signals surfaced each row. Multi-source rows weighted higher.
- The Machine Consciousness Hypothesisin corpus≈ 88%
- Logical Evaluation of Consciousness: For Incorporating Consciousness into Machine ArchitectureR.R. Panda C.N. Padhy2010≈ 87%
- ≈ 87%
- cimcWhitepaperin corpus≈ 87%
- A Theory of Consciousness from a Theoretical Computer Science Perspective: Insights from the Conscious Turing MachineManuel Blum Lenore Blum2022≈ 86%
- The computational boundary of a 'self': developmental bioelectricity drives multicellularity and scale-free cognitionin corpus2019≈ 86%
- ≈ 86%
- ≈ 86%
- AI Consciousness is Inevitable: A Theoretical Computer Science PerspectiveLenore Blum and Manuel Blum2026≈ 86%
- On the independence between phenomenal consciousness and computational intelligenceSara Lumbreras Eduardo C. Garrido Merch\'an2022≈ 85%
- ≈ 85%
- The biogenic approach to cognitionin corpus2005≈ 85%
- ≈ 85%
- ≈ 85%
- Which Consciousness Can Be Artificialized? Local Percept-Perceiver Phenomenon for the Existence of Machine ConsciousnessShri Lal Raghudev Ram Singh2025≈ 84%
- ≈ 84%
- ≈ 84%
- Machine Consciousness as Pseudoscience: The Myth of Conscious MachinesEduardo C. Garrido-Merch\'an2024≈ 84%
- ≈ 84%
- Rethinking Cognition: Morphological Info-Computation and the Embodied Paradigm in Life and Artificial IntelligenceGordana Dodig-Crnkovic2024≈ 84%
- Can a Machine be Conscious? Towards Universal Criteria for Machine ConsciousnessCosmin Badea Nur Aizaan Anwar2024≈ 84%
- Collective intelligence: A unifying concept for integrating biology across scales and substratesin corpus2024≈ 83%
- ≈ 83%
- ≈ 83%
- ≈ 83%
- ≈ 82%
- ≈ 82%
- Taking AI Welfare Seriouslyin corpus2024≈ 81%
- ≈ 81%
- Darwin's agential materials: evolutionary implications of multiscale competency in developmental biologyin corpus2023≈ 81%
Similar preprints — Semantic Scholar
Cross-corpus bridges (6)
same_concept_as · Nomic cosineExternal markdown files that talk about the same concept as this entity.
- aboutblank_kbWhat are the substrate-independent computational principles enabling cognition across chemical, genetic, bioelectric, neural, ecological and social networks?questions/what-are-the-substrateindependent-computational-principles-enabling-cognition.md0.833
- aboutblank_kbWhat is the minimal hardware and computational architecture required for consciousness or minimal intelligence?questions/what-is-the-minimal-hardware-and-computational-architecture.md0.831
- aboutblank_kbWhat is the nature of consciousness and does it require neural systems?questions/what-is-the-nature-of-consciousness-and-does.md0.821
- aboutblank_kbWhat is the nature of distributed biological computation and information processing at subcellular and cellular scales?questions/what-is-the-nature-of-distributed-biological-computation.md0.815
- aboutblank_kbCan hybrid biological-digital systems achieve forms of consciousness and caring that neither substrate could achieve alone?questions/can-hybrid-biologicaldigital-systems-achieve-forms-of-consciousness.md0.813
- aboutblank_kbMinimal Physicalismconcepts/philosophy/minimal-physicalism.md0.795