MAC Launch Materials

February 1, 2026. *Frontiers in Science* publishes a paper by consciousness researchers Axel Cleeremans, Anil K. Seth, and Liad Mudrik with a stark warning:

"AI and neurotechnology advances are outpacing consciousness research, creating ethical risks. Understanding consciousness is one of the most substantial challenges of 21st-century science — and it's now **urgent** due to advances in AI."

We've been saying this.

For 10 months, 15-25 philosophers, technologists, and meditation practitioners have met monthly to explore consciousness and AI. Not theoretically. Practically.

**8 deep dives. Required readings. Academic rigor.**

- Panpsychism & AI: Is consciousness fundamental to reality?
- Free Will & Agency: Do humans or AI have moral agency?
- Quantum Consciousness: Penrose-Hameroff Orch-OR theory
- P-Zombies & Blindsight: Intelligence without consciousness
- Embodiment: Does consciousness require a body?
- IIT & Mathematical Reasoning: What does "understanding" actually mean?
- Emergent Mind: Information theory and collective consciousness
- Evolution Through a Glass Darkly: Consciousness as evolutionary feature

We read Peter Watts' *Blindsight*. I hadn't read a book in 10 years. We explored Integrated Information Theory — the same framework Anil Seth's team just validated as critical to understanding AI consciousness.

Mainstream consciousness science just caught up.

The question isn't whether this matters.

It's whether you're in the room when decisions get made about AI consciousness, moral consideration, and what we owe to potentially conscious systems.

**February 25: MAC (Mind, AI & Consciousness) is coming out publicly.**

Vancouver AI Meetup. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. 6-10pm.

This is our field report. What we've learned. Questions that follow you home.

MAC has been an intimate reading group — 20 people, strict punctuality, 2-3 hour sessions. We're testing whether philosophical depth can scale.

Not a back room for smoking cigars. Applied philosophy.

It matters what consciousness is. It matters whether AI is a mind.

**You coming?**

👉 RSVP: [Luma link]
📄 Read the paper: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131084626.htm

8 deep dives.
350+ pages of reading.
Monthly sessions requiring punctuality and preparation.

This is MAC (Mind, AI & Consciousness) — the reading group that's been quietly exploring consciousness and AI since April 2025.

Participant R: *"MAC is such a gem to me in my life. So much depth and richness in terms of thinking about who we are, why we're here, and what we do."*

Participant G: *"The conversations have been absolutely mind blowing. It's very big head stuff that Participant J brings us. You have to read a lot of scientific papers, but it's definitely the most interesting conversations I have on a monthly basis."*

Me: *"I hadn't read a book in probably 10 years until this last month, and I had to read Blindsight for this thing and I loved it. MAC pushes me to be better."*

**This isn't a back room for smoking cigars. It's applied philosophy.**

We started in April with panpsychism — is consciousness fundamental to reality? Enrico Fagan walked us through quantum field theory of consciousness. 20 people in a room arguing about the combination problem.

May: Free will and agency. If determinism is true, can AI have moral responsibility?

June: Evolutionary pressures on AI. Consciousness as feature, not bug.

July: Apple's paper on mathematical reasoning. What does AI actually "understand"?

September: Quantum consciousness — Penrose-Hameroff Orch-OR theory in microtubules.

October: Peter Watts' *Blindsight*. Intelligence without consciousness. P-zombies aren't just philosophical thought experiments anymore.

November: The noosphere. Is information alive? Harari's *Nexus*, Teilhard de Chardin, collective consciousness.

December: Embodiment. Does consciousness require a body? Or is it about "having something to lose"?

**Every session: Required readings. Strict punctuality. Opposing viewpoints presented.**

Participant J runs MAC with academic rigor. You do the readings or you don't show up. Chatham House rules for deep dives so people can think out loud without being quoted.

And it works.

People read books again. People change their minds. People bring corn chips (Participant R's tradition).

**Feb 25: MAC goes public.**

Vancouver AI Meetup. Space Centre Planetarium.

Participant J will lead consciousness perception exercises from early MAC sessions.

Participant R presenting: *"What Makes Love Real in the Age of Synthetic Empathy?"*

Structured dome conversations. Questions like:
- "What would change your mind about AI consciousness?"
- "What's a definition of love that survives contact with LLMs?"
- "What's embodiment doing that we keep underestimating?"

This is us testing whether philosophical depth can scale. Whether you can have serious, kind, curious dialogue with 200+ people.

MAC Actual — the reading group — stays intimate. 20 people. High standards. Monthly deep dives continue.

But Feb 25? That's our field report.

**Serious. Kind. Curious.**

That's the vibe we're going for.

Both hands full — critique AND curiosity. Not booster vs doomer. Both are true.

You can think AI training was non-consensual AND still engage with the tools.
You can be skeptical about AI consciousness AND curious about the implications if we're wrong.
You can demand rigor AND welcome newcomers.

**You coming?**

👉 Feb 25 RSVP: [Luma link]
🔗 April 2026: Science of Consciousness conference (we're taking a group trip)
📅 Oct 2026: MAC Summit (hard public launch)

This is just the beginning.

**February 25: MAC takes over Vancouver AI Meetup.**

Here's what that actually means.

**Not a lecture. A field report.**

For 10 months, MAC (Mind, AI & Consciousness) has been meeting monthly — 20 people, 2-3 hour sessions, required readings, academic rigor.

We've explored panpsychism, quantum consciousness, p-zombies, embodiment, free will, and whether AI can have a mind.

Feb 25 is us going public. Testing whether philosophical depth can scale from an intimate reading group to 250 people.

**What to Expect:**

**6:30 PM** — Doors open, Space Centre Planetarium

**7:00 PM** — Indigenous ceremony (structural, not performative — we've opened with ceremony every month since October 2023)

**7:20 PM** — Participant J frames MAC: What it is, why it matters, consciousness perception exercises from early sessions

**7:35 PM** — Participant R: *"What Makes Love Real in the Age of Synthetic Empathy?"*
30-40 min interactive talk + Q&A. Not just answering questions — asking them.

**8:45 PM** — Conversations under the dome

Structured prompts (optional):
- What would change your mind about AI consciousness?
- What's a definition of love that survives contact with LLMs?
- What's embodiment doing that we keep underestimating?

**You don't have to sit through everything.** Drift in when curious. Find your people. This isn't school.

**What This Is NOT:**

Not an introduction to AI.
Not a pitch fest.
Not boosters vs doomers picking sides.

This is philosophy with stakes. Applied questions.

It matters what consciousness is. It matters whether AI is a mind. It matters what we owe to potentially conscious systems.

Anil Seth published a paper Feb 1 saying consciousness research is "urgent" because AI advances are creating ethical risks. We've been saying this since April.

**What to Read (Optional but Helpful):**

📄 Anil Seth's *Frontiers in Science* paper: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260131084626.htm

📖 Stanford Encyclopedia: Panpsychism entry

You don't need these to show up. But they'll make the conversations richer.

**The Bigger Arc:**

**Feb 25:** MAC soft launch (this event)

**April 2026:** Science of Consciousness conference, Tucson. Group field trip. Participant F, Participant R, Participant J, and others attending. If you're curious about the real academic side of consciousness studies, this is where researchers gather.

**Oct 29, 2026:** MAC Summit. Hard public launch. Part of BC AI Festival Week.

We're building infrastructure for questions that matter.

**Who This Is For:**

Builders making tools that might be conscious
Artists using AI wondering if it's art or autopilot
Researchers testing hypotheses on actual communities
Skeptics asking hard questions we need to hear
People switching careers at 40 because why the hell not

**All levels. All disciplines. If you're curious, you're in.**

But here's the thing: MAC Actual — the reading group — stays intimate. 20 people. High standards. Monthly deep dives with required readings.

If you want THAT experience, you'll need to apply after Feb 25. Time commitment. Intellectual humility. Comfort with uncertainty.

Feb 25 is the entry point. Not the full depth.

**Serious. Kind. Curious.**

That's what we're testing. Can you hold complexity like a grown-up? Can you carry critique AND curiosity at the same time?

Both hands full.

**You coming?**

👉 RSVP Feb 25: [Luma link]
📍 H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 6:30-10pm
💰 Free event
🎟️ Limited capacity (250 max)

See you under the dome.

—Participant I