Life is a sequence of experiences. Each experience may involve perception, action, and reward. Perception is the gathering of information at our sensory interface to the universe. Action involves information processing and affecting internal and external states. Reward comprises three components — extrinsic rewards (ER), intrinsic conformity reward (CR), and…

Part 0: Change and Changelessness नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सत: | उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभि: || The above verse from Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2, Verse 16) provides an insightful description of the changing and changeless. The import can depend on our position, our locus. If our locus is changing, then it is usually beneficial to…

The traditional Vendantic discussion on pots. The default view we have is that the following is a pot. If pushed a bit hard, we may say that there is clay in the pot. But let’s think of this: There was clay before the pot was created. And if the pot…

It seems that the tiniest of particles — a quark — is “intelligent”. It obeys properties governed by very complex quantum laws. In this sense, intelligence seems to be omnipresent. There is a separate view. Consider an artificial neural network with millions of untrained parameters intelligently computing an output, which…

A contrarian take on how AI could shape the trajectory of humanity. And how the apparent polarities of religion and cutting-edge technology are perhaps two ends of a necklace joining to form the asymptotic whole. Many articles on AI do evoke a sense of mystery, doubt, and even fear amongst…

Here is a list of parallels between the free energy principle (FEP) attributed to Karl Friston and the Vedantic text from the 1300s called Drg Drshya Viveka (DDV). These are only cursory curiosities. Perhaps the only motivation is the inescapable one of reducing entropy. In FEP, the (biological) system under…

oh divided path with a promise of freewill you offer conflict oh stingy dark rock in offer for a foot rest you steer off the creek oh greedy grey clouds to quicken your gift of night you steal my red sun child, i don’t see you but i hear your sweet crackle cracking me tender