Michael Edward Johnson

Research paths

Consciousness & valence
Making consciousness scientifically tractable, starting with a precise hypothesis about what makes it pleasant
Essays
Principia Qualia · Qualia Formalism and a Symmetry Theory of Valence · A Primer on the Symmetry Theory of Valence · Against Functionalism · Taking Monism Seriously · It From Bit, Revisited
Threads
A container for knowledge · Jhanas, symmetry, and the substrate of consciousness · Partial origin story of STV and Principia Qualia
Vasocomputation / embodied cognition
Headliner: a novel, anatomically-grounded theory of how vascular tension holds neural context
Essays
Principles of Vasocomputation · Neural Annealing · A Future for Neuroscience · The Neuroscience of Meditation · Presence Neurotechnology · Autism as a Disorder of Dimensionality
Threads
Hands & the Origin of Samsara · Vasocomputation and Vascular Tension · Sensation, Language, and Foom · Neurotechnology as Applied Philosophy · The vasomuscular origin story for humanity · Greedy compression, type safety, and suffering
AI consciousness
Topics in AI & alien consciousness & game theory of the far future
Essays
A Paradigm for AI Consciousness · AIs Aren’t Conscious, but Computers Are · Qualia Astronomy & Proof of Qualia · What's Out There? · After Kardashev, the Holy War
Threads
Computationalism and qualia-completeness · Philosophy before superintelligence