Shifting the paradigm
We stand on the brink of a new understanding of life and cognition—a vision that transcends centuries of fragmented perspectives. For decades, the field of cognition has grappled with a perplexing reality: we lack a universal definition of cognition, an architecture to describe its structures, and a coherent methodology to study it.
For too long, cognition has been constrained by narrow definitions, limited to brain-bearing organisms and hierarchical notions of intelligence.
These gaps have been deftly avoided in many scientific disciplines, but the dawn of General and Human-Like Artificial Intelligence demands answers. The urgency has never been greater - without understanding cognition—its essence, architecture, and evolutionary trajectory—we cannot hope to replicate it on artificial carriers.
It’s time to challenge these boundaries and embrace a more inclusive, universal framework: Behavior Change (BC). Behavior Change is the unifying thread of all life. It is the language through which organisms—from the simplest microbe to the most complex human—address their adaptive tasks. BC is more than movement or reaction; it is the dynamic process of recognizing, calculating, and choosing responses to environmental challenges. This process is essential for maintaining energy, safety, and reproduction—the three pillars of species survival.