Table of Contents: :: Library Catalog

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Woodward, Vance
Format:	Recurso digital
Language:
Published:	Zenodo 2026
Subjects:	Computational Evolution Physicalism Sentience Recursive Modeling Artificial Intelligence Biological Computation Sewch Terch Meatbot Cognitive Science Philosophy of Mind Homeostasis Predictive Modeling Meta-sentience Super-sentience Technological Singularity Vance Ashley Woodward
Online Access:	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18448453
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Table of Contents:

Published in 2013.  This book presents a physicalist theory of evolution viewed through the lens of computation. The author argues that biological life is not just like a computer but is a computer by definition, specifically distinguishing between biological hardware, termed "sewch," and engineered hardware, termed "terch". The text defines a computer as a special machine that transforms symbols rather than just physical objects, a process that requires the presence of a mind to assign meaning. The author outlines a hierarchy of computational evolution starting from pre-intelligence (the tendency to endure) and moving through stages of proto-intelligence (homeostasis), intelligence (robust memory systems), pre-sentience (predictive modeling), and sentience. A significant portion of the book explains how sentience, control, and free will emerge mechanically from robustly recursive predictive modeling. The theory concludes by projecting the future of computation into meta-sentience (rationality) and super-sentience (self-programming), suggesting that sentient engineered beings are an inevitable next step in evolutionary history.

Similar Items