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Podcast: Stay Human, from the Artificiality Institute
Episode: Blaise Agüera y Arcas and Michael Levin: The Computational Foundations of Life and Intelligence
Description: In this remarkable conversation, Michael Levin (Tufts University) and Blaise Agüera y Arcas (Google) examine what happens when biology and computation collide at their foundations. Their recent papers—arriving simultaneously yet from distinct intellectual traditions—illuminate how simple rules generate complex behaviors that challenge our understanding of life, intelligence, and agency.Michael’s "Self-Sorting Algorithm" reveals how minimal computational models demonstrate unexpected problem-solving abilities resembling basal intelligence—where just six lines of deterministic code exhibit dynamic adaptability we typically associate with living systems. Meanwhile, Blaise's "Computational Life" investigates how self-replicating programs emerge spontaneously from random interactions in digita...