As we age our personalities shift in predictable directions—to the point that it makes sense to speak of "personality age." But what drives these changes? Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, a conversation w/ René Mõttus! Listen: disi.org/the-big-five-a…

My new installation Alaka’i 1777, which imagines the lost song culture of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, debuts in NYC 6/21-22! Come hear real-time simulations of extinct birdsongs in 24-channel spatial audio 🦜 Made possible by Cornell Lab Cultural Evolution Society Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI

New episode!! 🎙️📣 A chat w/ Dr. Gordon Burghardt about animal play. It's not just kids, apes, and dogs that play. Play abounds—often in unexpected places. It takes different forms, has different functions, and still presents puzzles. Listen: disi.org/the-primeval...

New episode!! 📣📣 A conversation with M.J. Crockett about AI and science! AI is fundamentally reshaping the entire research pipeline. These changes may well boost scientific productivity. Will they also boost understanding? Listen: disi.org/science-ai-and…

Professor David Krakauer from Santa Fe Institute delivering a poignant account of how LLMs might affect our cognition in the long run. Filmed at Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI

I am excited to join the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI for the 2025 fellowship here at the University of St Andrew, Scotland. Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring the world of diverse intelligence and how our understanding of living systems and can inspire new directions in AI.

New episode!! 🎙️📣 A chat w/ Dorsa Amir & sheina lew-levy about childhood across cultures. Humans everywhere go through childhood—a time of learning, growth, and play. But this universal stage of life can look very different in different places. Listen: disi.org/varieties-of-c…

New episode!!🎙️📣 A conversation with manvir singh about the many faces of shamanism. Shamanism is not a relic of the past or a curio from far-off lands—it is alive and well, all around the world. The roots of shamanism lie within us all. Listen: disi.org/the-shaman-w...

There are no other species that have developed the same level of sophistication in communication as humans. - Erica Cartmill, Professor of Anthropology, Animal Behavior, Cognitive Science, and Psychology at Indiana University

Collaborate with researchers from around the world. Chart your own transdisciplinary path. Applications for the 2026 Santa Fe Institute Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships are open! With competitive salary, collaborative and discretionary funds, a generous benefits package

We had a great conversation with Michael Timothy Bennett at Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI - you folks should check out his Ph.D thesis "How To Build Conscious Machines"

i went on MLST and had this great chat. a real highlight of this year. huge thanks to Tim Scarfe Machine Learning Street Talk for inviting me on! (and Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI for creating such an inspiring environment!)

Where are memories stored in the brain? The textbook answer is that memories live in the synaptic connections between neurons. But not everyone agrees. From the archive, our interview with Sam Gershman! Listen: disi.org/of-molecules...

New episode!! 🎉🎉 A chat w/ Dr. Marc Berman about "environmental neuroscience." Time in nature often leaves us feeling replenished. But why? What aspects of nature are most restorative? And what is it, really, that's being restored? Listen: disi.org/how-nature-r...

Nature is good for us. It can lift our spirits, reset our attention, even help us heal. But what drives these effects? Can we isolate nature's active ingredients? Just one of the topics from in our latest episode, with Dr. Marc Berman! Listen: disi.org/how-nature-r...

New episode!! 🎉🎙️ A chat w/ Andrew Iwaniuk & Georg Striedter about avian neuroscience. Birds do some astonishing things. They sing, fly, migrate, cache food, and hunt in total darkness. How do their brains make all this possible? Listen: disi.org/brains-of-a-...

Bird brains aren't the same as mammal brains. They took their own twisty evolutionary path. So what can they teach us about brains in general? A lot, it turns out. Discussed in our latest episode, w/ Andrew Iwaniuk & Georg Striedter! Listen: disi.org/brains-of-a-...

New episode!! 🎙️🎉 A conversation with Henry Shevlin about "social AI." Digital lovers. AI coaches and tutors. Griefbots and artificial friends. What will this mean for our relationships, our social skills, and our society as a whole? Listen: disi.org/the-age-of-s...

Many fear that AI companions will lead to social "deskilling," particularly in young people. But could we harness these bots for "upskilling" instead? Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ Dr. Henry Shevlin (Henry Shevlin)! Listen: disi.org/the-age-of-soc…

New episode!! 🎉😱 A conversation with Surekha Davies & Natalie Lawrence about monsters of all kinds. Monsters are everywhere—our myths, our maps, our children's books, our political discourse. What do they tell us about ourselves? Listen: disi.org/monsters-and...