What is the brain for? Active inference is widely discussed as a unifying framework for understanding brain function, yet its empirical status remains debated. Our review identifies core predictions across the action-perception cycle and evaluates their empirical support: osf.io/preprints/ps...

In the domain of decision making, active inference evaluates actions by how much they reduce expected future prediction error, integrating pragmatic and epistemic value. It predicts information seeking when utilities are equal and that random exploration scales with policy precision.

"The Self-Evidencing Agent" - my new book - is out now with @mitpress.bsky.social Can be purchased, or just download the whole thing for free, via the 'Open Access' option. I'm grateful to @anilseth.bsky.social and Karl Friston for the generous endorsements. mitpress.mit.edu/978026255389...

Yay, finally!

Uh oh .... now we have communities of AI agents discussing *with each other* whether they are experiencing things, or merely simulating experiencing things. Humans can only observe, not interact www.moltbook.com/post/6fe6491...

This idea was first empirically validated in Suzuki (@ksks.bsky.social) et al. (2017) with the Hallucination Machine: panoramic DeepDream videos presented in VR reliably induced altered states with similarities to psilocybin experiences. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Der Wahnsinn ist noch sehr viel größer: Die Tanklager und Pipelines liefern Kerosin für Militärflugplätze in Deutschland. Warren / die USA haben damit Zugang zu deutscher militärischer Infrastruktur ... Und das BMWi genehmigt sowas ... www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/p...

Erklärt mir bitte noch einmal, warum X in der EU noch immer nicht verboten ist. Und warum viele PolitikerInnen dort noch immer aktiv sind. Ich habe da Verständnisprobleme.

Wanna know how to infer the presence or absence of consciousness in artificial systems? Check out my new preprint: philarchive.org/rec/WIEITP #PhilMind #PhilConsc #Consciousness

AI Will Change Us open.substack.com/pub/daveshap...

Was genau ist jetzt der europäische Plan für Grönland?

Last night I dreamt I gave a very detailed and precise lecture about lucid dreaming. The dream was not lucid.

this guy represents all of humanity right now

Alexander Pope decried the cruelty of cooking lobsters alive in 1713. 313 years later the practice will finally be banned. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.

Jetzt schwarz auf weiß: Das Wirtschaftsministerium von Katherina Reiche bestellt einen Expertenbericht (schon mit nahegelegtem Spin), bekommt ihn - und schreibt ihn dann vor Veröffentlichung so um, dass das darin steht, was Reiche will. "mehr EE nötig"(l.) - gestrichen.

Und hier sind vier Seiten aus „Männer, die die Welt verbrennen“. Ich sage seit Jahren: Der Kampf um die Zukunft Deutschlands wird im Inneren der Union entschieden. Wenn sich die pro-MAGA Fossilfreunde in der Partei durchsetzen, können wir alle einpacken. Dann hat Putin gewonnen.

Ich habe gerade nachgesehen: über die entstehende „rechte Internationale“, die sich jetzt auch in der offiziellen Sicherheitsstrategie des Trump-Regimes wiederfindet, habe ich zum ersten mal 2016 geschrieben.

A new book by @metzinger.bsky.social lays out an epistemically responsible and spiritually deep response to the looming climate crisis, one that pulls no punches in its critique of religion and capitalism. It's the unflinching, honest appraisal we need right now. www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0FZ...

Hey all, Thomas Metzinger has a new book out, have a look: www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0FZ... @metzinger.bsky.social

Frei verfügbar: Brailovskaia, J., Buchmann, J., Hertwig, R., Metzinger, T., Montag, C., et a. (2025): Soziale Medien und die psychische Gesundheit von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Diskussion Nr. 40, Halle (Saale): Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina. thomasmetzinger.com/wp-content/u...

With J. Brailovskaia, J. Buchmann, R. Hertwig, C. Montag, A.-R. Sadeghi, S. Schneider, I. Spiecker gen. Döhmann, I. & A. Waldherr. Social Media and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents. Discussion No 40, Halle (Saale): German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. doi.org/10.26164/leo....

What if there were a drug that allowed us to study consciousness in its most basic form? Christopher Timmermann describes the potential of 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic that strips away everything but awareness. Read the full article here: bigthink.com/neuropsych/5...

Towards a computational phenomenology of meditative deconstruction: modelling ‘letting go’ and the deconstruction of experience with active inference osf.io/preprints/ps...

Christopher Timmermann profiles.imperial.ac.uk/c.timmermann... wins the €20.000,- "2025 Neuroscience of Pure Awareness Prize" with this contribution: osf.io/preprints/ps...

George Deane and Daphne Demekas win the € 20.000,- Computational Phenomenology of Pure Awareness Prize mpe-project.info/wp-content/u... for 2025 with this contribution: osf.io/preprints/ps...

George Deane and Daphne Demekas win the € 20.000,- Computational Phenomenology of Pure Awareness Prize mpe-project.info/wp-content/u... for 2025 with this contribution: osf.io/preprints/ps...

The 25 most powerful ideas of the 21st century: 1. Dream engineering "For years, trying to convince scientists to take dreams seriously was a nightmare. Now the tide has turned ..." www.sciencefocus.com/future-techn...

Here is the full report: www.anthropic.com/news/disrupt...

New preprint: Modelling meditative deconstruction via letting go! 🧘 Model shows how the phenomenology of defabrication naturally emerges from the dynamics of hierarchical active inference. I take a computational phenomenology approach, with a model that is in-silico and formalised.🧵

"... a sense that the field has reached an uneasy stasis." "... most extant experimental research (...) is geared toward supporting them rather than attempting to falsify or compare them, reflecting a confirmatory posture that hinders progress. " www.frontiersin.org/journals/sci...

Internationaler Strafgerichtshof ersetzt Microsoft Office

"... a sense that the field has reached an uneasy stasis." "... most extant experimental research (...) is geared toward supporting them rather than attempting to falsify or compare them, reflecting a confirmatory posture that hinders progress. " www.frontiersin.org/journals/sci...

Die Antwort auf die Kleine Anfrage zur #Patientenakte, die auch mich in den letzten Tagen schon ziemlich hat staunen lassen, ist jetzt öffentlich. Sie ist nicht sicher und es ist auch nicht verhinderbar, dass die Gesundheitsdaten in den USA landen. Wow.