About
Professor Michael Levin
I work at the intersection of developmental biology, computer science, and cognitive science, seeking answers to ancient philosophical questions about life and mind that lead to practical advances in biomedicine and engineering. I seek general principles of life-as-it-can-be and mind-as-it-can be, using a wide range of natural animal models and novel synthetic and chimeric life forms. My goal is to develop new ways to understand embodied minds that break through limiting ancient categories around the topics of life and intelligence. My lab studies memory, decision-making, and problem-solving (collective intelligence) at scales ranging from the molecular machinery inside cells to that of groups of organisms and everything in between. Advances on these questions will not only lead to essential breakthroughs in regenerative medicine but also help us detect, understand, and ethically relate to truly diverse intelligences around and within us, including cells, tissues, organs, synthetic living constructs, robots, and software-based AIs. As part of this research, I give talks about new results and the implications of the work, and have working meetings with amazing colleagues, all of which will be available here as part of the effort to make fascinating new science available to all.