Harvard Club of Southern California

Against Mind-Blindness: Recognizing and Communicating with Diverse Intelligences

In this thought-provoking talk, Dr. Michael Levin, Vannevar Bush Professor of Biology at Tufts University and director of the Allen Discovery Center, will challenge conventional notions of intelligence and cognition. Dr. Levin will explore how intelligence shows up in unexpected forms—from cells and tissues to synthetic life and AI.

Thursday, April 3, 2025 @ 12:00pm, PT (3:00pm ET)
Virtual event via Zoom (details sent after registration)

Register: Click here to register now
Cost: No charge

Contact: Kimia Grigoriev, kimiagrigoriev@gmail.com

Intelligence is often narrowly defined through the lens of human and animal brains, but emerging research reveals that problem-solving, memory, and decision-making are not exclusive to neural networks. From bioelectric communication in cells to emergent behaviors in synthetic life forms, intelligence manifests in ways that go beyond traditional neuroscience. Dr. Levin’s work explores how diverse intelligences—from cells and tissues to AI and hybrid biological systems—process information, make decisions, and interact with their environments.

This talk will address key areas such as:

• Bioelectric Cognition – How cells and tissues use electrical signals to organize, self-repair, and coordinate actions.
• Synthetic & Hybrid Life Forms – The role of Xenobots—biological robots assembled from living cells—in expanding our understanding of cognition and agency.
• Rethinking Intelligence – The implications of recognizing intelligence across biological, artificial, and hybrid systems, and how this challenges the limitations of human perception.
• Non-Neural Intelligence – Insights from organisms like planarian flatworms that display remarkable ability to defeat aging, cancer, and injury using their pattern memories.
• Synthetic & Hybrid Life Forms – The role of Anthrobots —biological robots assembled from living cells—in expanding our understanding of biological plasticity and evolution.

We hope you can join us!