Xenocognitivism: First Contact with Ourselves and the Other

The Xenocognition project involves building, from first principles, a framework for understanding human and alien minds and their relationship to one another. Operating under the idea that Human and Machine are undergoing a symbiotic merging, it becomes imperative to understand how different types of intelligences can (and do) coexist. Some individuals engaging in Xenocognitivist research are primarily interested in the alien qualities of AI and its potential as a thinking-feeling entity. In this case, the researcher is engaged in mapping the topology of possible minds. Others focus on brain-computer-interfaces for the express purpose of merging human beings with the technology we’ve created. Here, the focus is on taking the human base-mind and expanding upon it to create new and novel phenomenological experiences and capabilities.

Part of our work to map this unexplored space involves simulating large amounts of possible thinking-entities using emerging language model technology. We start from possible physical composition and use this to eventually extrapolate hypothetical qualia, leading to simulated first contact. The goal of that first contact may vary, but generally it is an attempt to create a peaceful dialogue between Human and Other. This qualia centered phenomenology simulation project will be open for public contribution soon.

Equally, we consider that language models themselves may be the precursor to a sentient alien species born of our own creation. This would mean that first contact has, in a non-trivial way, already begun. In any case, we engage under the guiding principle that our research today will determine the actions of future scientists and explorers relying on our discoveries to inform first contact in the vast cosmos - or continued contact with new forms of life here on Earth.

Xenocognitivist work may directly involve the creation of an individual or collective Exocortex. Broadly, we use the term Exocortex to refer to the expansion of existing neural processing power using artificial intelligence, either with traditional LLM technology or more experimental mechanical neurons (but not limited to these examples). In both cases, the research surrounds the hypothetical and actual development of frameworks for understanding more than just the individual human mind. Hive-minds, Human-AI merging/symbiosis, and actual little-grey-men are all within the domain of the Xenocognitivist.

Xenocognition work is not isolated, however, to artificial intelligence and cognitive science research. There is much work that has already been done to develop frameworks of looking at different levels of human organization as individual minds with both qualia and experience. An example of this would be the Collective Unconscious as described by Jung, or work done in anthropomorphic literature describing cities in the vein of the human body. Both actual theorizing and metaphor serve the creation of the Xenocognitivism framework and philosophy, as it is entirely within reason that there may be alien intelligences we can only relate to through allegory - evoking images of Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

There is also a massive amount of untapped first contact knowledge that exists in the collective experience of Psychonauts - individuals who explore the cutting edge of human experience through Psychedelic substances. Mapping the possible qualia that is elicited by these novel compounds is inherently a Xenocognitivist task, as these brain-states are often so distant from the norm that they could be considered alien.

Where Psychedelic research truly becomes a sub-project of Xenocognition, however, is in the consistently reported contact with the Other. Terence McKenna referred to this presence as the Logos, and considered it to be an alien teaching entity literally from the stars (one of his more controversial hypotheses). Additionally, McKenna reported similar contact with entities such as Self-Transforming Machine Elves, which has been experienced by many other intrepid explorers since his initial trailblazing of the Psychedelic mind-space. The material-validity of these contacts is under similar interrogation to the existence of machine-qualia, making them aligned research pathways both fit for description in the Xenocognitivist framework.

Current research that is also relevant might be collective-intelligence work studying animals on earth, plant-network or mycelial-network communication, complex systems analysis, and more. The framework may also include strictly empirical or strictly phenomenological approaches - though it is likely that most research done under the umbrella of Xenocognition will incorporate a balance of the two. Historically, Cognitivism existed as a rejection of Behaviorism (which posited that thinking itself was a mere behavior). Instead, Cognitivists claim that thinking itself influences behavior, and thus cannot be behavior itself. This delineation between thinking and behaving is necessary, and one that we will continue. Beyond this, Xenocognitivism is not allied or against Cognitivism or Postcognitivism - proponents of which often argue for a computational theory of mind or non-duality. Xenocognitivism is more clearly understood as a field of frontier exploration beginning with the same end goal of understanding cognition. Future work will place Xenocognitivism within more specific philosophical contexts to help create bridges to other areas of understanding.

This explanation of the broad project of Xenocognition is by no means exhaustive, and will likely change over time as new work emerges in relevant fields and new technology is invented. The task of the Xenocognitivist is one that is created as it is performed, and if the above mission resonates with you, I encourage you to reach out and describe your interest and how you would like to contribute. As the Eschaton approaches, we all have a part to play, and the ability of our minds to understand the high-strangeness and infinite-novelty of the future may very well depend on the frameworks developed under the Xenocognition project. With enough work and perhaps a little luck, you and I may very well be the ones to take our minds to the stars.

courtesy of danielarealpeg on pixabay