Guests:

• Alison Gopnik, SFI External Faculty; Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at University of California, Berkeley; Member of Berkeley AI Research Group
• John Krakauer, SFI External Faculty; John C. Malone Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Melanie Mitchell

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano

Podcast logo by Nicholas Graham

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Complexity Explorer:

Tutorial: Fundamentals of Machine Learning

Lecture: Artificial Intelligence

SFI programs: Education

Books:

• Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans by Melanie Mitchell
• Words, Thoughts and Theories by Alison Gopnik and Andrew N. Meltzoff
• The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains, and How Children Learn by Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Meltzoff, and Patricia K. Kuhl
• The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life by Alison Gopnik
• The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik

Talks:

• The Future of Artificial Intelligence by Melanie Mitchell
• Imitation Versus Innovation: What Children Can Do That Large Langauge Models’ Can’t by Alison Gopnik
• The Minds of Children by Alison Gopnik
• What Understanding Adds to Cambrian Intelligence: A Taxonomy by John Krakauer

Papers & Articles:

• “Why you can’t make a computer that feels pain,” by Daniel C. Dennett
• “Transmission versus truth, imitation versus innovation: What children can do that Large Language and Language-and-Vision models cannot (yet),” in Perspectives on Psychological Science (October 26, 2023), doi.org/10.1177/17456916231201401
• “Empowerment as Causal Learning, Causal Learning as Empowerment: A bridge between Bayesian causal hypothesis testing and reinforcement learning,” by Alison Gopnik
• “What can AI Learn from Human Exploration? Intrinsically-Motivated Humans and Agents in Open-World Exploration” by Yuqing Du et al, for Workshop: Agent Learning in Open-Endedness Workshop, NeurIPS 2024 conference
• “Two views on the cognitive brain,” by David L. Barack & John W. Krakauer, Perspectives in Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol 22 (April 15, 2021)
• “The intelligent reflex,” by John W. Krakauer, Philosophical Psychology (May 23, 2019), doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2019.1607281
• “Representation in Cognitive Science by Nicholas Shea: But Is It Thinking? The Philosophy of Representation Meets Systems Neuroscience” by John W. Krakauer

Guests:

• Heather Graham, Research Associate at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano

Additional sound credits: Digifish music; “Determination of Azimuth,” written by Heather Graham, staged at the Baltimore Rock Opera Society

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More info:

Apply for the 2024 Complexity Global School at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia

SFI programs: Education

• Complexity Explorer: Origins of Life: Introduction| Chris Kempes (Link to full playlist)
• Enroll for the course: Origins of Life

Videos:

• Asteroids, Agnostic Biosignatures, & Experimental Rock Opera with Dr. Heather Graham
• Heather Graham on Katherine Johnson

Papers & Articles:

• “Investigating the impact of x‐ray computed tomography imaging on soluble organic matter in the Murchison meteorite: Implications for Bennu sample analyses” in Meteoritics & Planetary Science (December 2023), doi.org/10.1111/maps.14111
• “The Vacant Niche Revisited: Using Negative Results to Refine the Limits of Habitability,” in bioRxiv (Nov 8, 2023), doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.06.565904
• “Observations of Elemental Composition of Enceladus Consistent with Generalized Models of Theoretical Ecosystems,” in bioRxiv (Oct 29, 2023), doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.29.564608
• “Planetary Subsurface Science and Exploration: An Integrated Consortium to Understand Subsurface Sources of Energy and the Unique Energetics of Subsurface Life,” in Mars Extant Life: What’s Next? (Nov 2019), hou.usra.edu/meetings/lifeonmars2019/pdf/5047.pdf
• “Detecting life on Earth and the limits of analogy,” in Planetary Astrobiology (June 16, 2020)
• “Identifying molecules as biosignatures with assembly theory and mass spectrometry,” in chemRxiv (Nov 16, 202), chemrxiv.org/engage/api-gateway/chemrxiv/assets/orp/resource/item/60c751e59abda27c1af8dce4/original/identifying-molecules-as-biosignatures-with-assembly-theory-and-mass-spectrometry.pdf
• “The Grayness of the Origin of Life,” in Life (May 29, 2021) doi.org/10.3390/life11060498
• “Generalized stoichiometry and biogeochemistry for astrobiological applications,” in Bulletin of Mathematical Biology (July 2021), link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11538-021-00877-5

Guests:

• David Krakauer, President and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute
• Sean Carroll, External Professor and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano

Additional sound credits: Digifishmusic, Trundlefly, Greenvwbeetle, Miksmusic, Brewlabboffin

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More info:

SFI programs: Education

Complexity Explorer:

• Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 1 | David Krakauer
• Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 2 | David Krakauer
• Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 3 | David Krakauer
• Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 4 | David Krakauer
• Complexity Explorer Lecture: David Krakauer • What is Complexity?

Books:

• Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the Future of Biology by Gregory Radick
• Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe by Sean Carroll
• Worlds Hidden in Plain Sight: The Evolving Idea of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute, 1984-2019 Edited by David Krakauer

Talks:

• The Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics Sean Carroll

Papers & Articles:

• “The Multiple Paths to Multiple Life,” in Journal of Molecular Evolution (July 12, 2021), doi.org/10.1007/s00239-021-10016-2

Guests:

• Melanie Moses, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Professor of Computer Science and Associate Professor of Biology at University of New Mexico
• Hyejin Youn, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Associate Professor at Institute of Northwestern University

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano

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SFI programs: Education

Complexity Explorer:

Fractals and Scaling

Fractals and Scaling: Toward a Theory of Urban Scaling

Introduction to Complexity: Ant Foraging and Task Allocation

• Books:
• Scale by Geoffrey West
• Complexity: a Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell

Talks:

• Toward a Scientific Theory of Cities by Hyejin Youn

Papers & Articles:

• “Synergy in ant foraging strategies: memory and communication alone and in combination,” in GECCO’13: Proceedings of the 15th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation (July 6, 2013), doi.org/10.1145/2463372.2463389
• “In vivo, in silico, in machina: Ants and Robots balance memory and communication to collectively exploit information,” in Proceedings of the European Conference on Complex Systems 2012
• “What makes individual I’s a Collective We; coordination mechanisms & costs” in arXiv (November 20, 2023), doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2306.02113
• “How does innovation push its boundaries?” in 43 Visions for Complexity, Exploring Complexity: Volume 3 (January 2017), doi.org/10.1142/9789813206854_0043

Guests:

• Brian Enquist, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Arizona
• Pablo Marquet, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Professor at Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano

Other music: Craig Smith, Justkiddink, MaestroALF, ComputerHotline, James Ro Davidson, SoundEnsemble, Trundlefly, Geoff Bremner, Newagesgroup, Oddmonoliths, Thepla

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SFI programs: Education

Complexity Explorer: Origins of Life: Astrobiology & General Theories for Life - Scaling with Pablo Marquet

Books:

• Scale by Geoffrey West
• Scaling Biodiversity (Ecological Reviews) edited by David Storch, Pablo Marquet , James Brown
• How Landscapes Change: Human Disturbance and Ecosystem Fragmentation in the Americas (Ecological Studies Book 162) edited by Gay A. Bradshaw and Pablo A. Marquet

Talks:

• Better Forecasting our Ecological Future: Taming Big Data with Big Theory, Brian Enquist

Papers & Articles:

• “More than 17,000 tree species are at risk from rapid global change,” in Nature Communications (January 2, 2024), doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44321-9
• “Metastatic cells exploit their stoichiometric niche in the network of cancer ecosystems,” in Science Advances (December 13, 2023), doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi79
• “Environmental heterogeneity as a driver of terrestrial biodiversity on a global scale” in PPG: Earth and Environment (August 11, 2023), doi.org/10.1177/03091333231189045
• “The number of tree species on Earth,” PNAS (Jan 31, 2022), doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115329119
• “Globally important plant functional traits for coping with climate change,” in Frontiers of Biogeography (October 2, 2021), doi.org/10.21425/F5FBG53774
• “Scaling from Traits to Ecosystems: Developing a General Trait Driver Theory via Integrating Trait-Based and Metabolic Scaling Theories,” Advances in Ecological
• Research (May 4, 2015), doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.02.001
• “A general quantitative theory of forest structure and dynamics,” PNAS (April 28, 2009), doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0812294106

Guests:

• Ricard Solé, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Head of the Complex Systems Lab at Universitat Pompeu Fabra
• Sara Walker, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Associate Director of the ASU-SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano

Other music: Matucha, Kijjaz, Klankbeeld, Aesterial-Arts, Dijifishmusic, Greenvwbeetle, Odilon Marcenaro, Jobro, Benboncan, Bone666138, Aiwha, Josh Berry, Rubenvvuuren, and Miksmusic

Follow us on: Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • Bluesky

SFI programs:

• Complexity Explorer: Origins of Life
• Education

Books & Films:

• Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, based on book by Mary Shelley
• The Computer and the Brain, by John von Neumann
• Signs of life: How complexity pervades biology by Ricard V. Solé and Brian C. Goodwin

Talks:

• Liquid and Solid Brains: Mapping the Cognition Space by Ricard Solé
• Evolving Brains: Solid, Liquid and Synthetic by Ricard Solé
• A Universal Theory of Life: Math, Art & Information by Sara Walker

Papers & Articles:

• “Assembly theory explains and quantifies selection and evolution” in Nature (October 4, 2023) doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06600-9
• “Time is an object” in Aeon, May 19, 2023
• “The Algorithmic Origins of Life” in Journal of the Royal Society Interface (February 6, 2013) doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2012.0869
• “Evolution of Brains and Computers: The Roads Not Taken” in Entropy (May 9, 2022), doi.org/10.3390/e24050665
• “Unicellular–multicellular evolutionary branching driven by resource limitations” (June 2, 2022) doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0018

Guests:

• Vijay Balasubramanian, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Cathy and Marc Lasry Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania
• Geoffrey West, Shannan Distinguished Professor and Past President, Santa Fe Institute

Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes

Producer: Katherine Moncure

Podcast theme music: Mitch Mignano

Other Music: Blue Dot Sessions, Pink House Music, Eardeer, and Craig Smith.

Follow us on: Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • Bluesky

SFI programs:

• Complexity Global School
• Complexity Explorer: Fractals & Scaling
• Education

Books & Stories:

• Tell Me Why by Arkady Leokum
• Scale by Geoffrey West
• “Funes, the Memorious” by Jorge Luis Borges

Talks:

• How the Brain Makes You: Collective Intelligence and Computation by Neural Circuits by Vijay Balasubramanian
• The Future of the Planet: Life, Growth and Death in Organisms, Cities and Companies by Geoffrey West
• Energy, Scaling & The Future of Life on Earth by Geoffrey West
• Complex Time Working Group: “What is Sleep?” with Geoffrey West, Van Savage, Alex Herman

Papers:

• “Brain Power” in PNAS (August 2, 2021) doi.org/10.1073/pnas.210702211
• “The Physical Effects of Learning” preprint published in biorxiv
• “Unraveling why we sleep: Quantitative analysis reveals abrupt transition from neural reorganization to repair in early development” in Science Advances (September 18, 2020) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba0398
• “The Scales That Limit: The Physical Boundaries of Evolution” in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (August 7, 2019) doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00242