Preprint: Cognitive Offloading as a Universal Necessity
MacrinePhD · x · 2026-07-10
A new preprint proposes that "thinking" occurs not just within the brain, or even within biological organisms. Authors Chris Fields and Michael Levin use fundamental physics and the Free Energy Principle to argue that cognitive offloading is a universal necessity for any persistent system.
The core arguments of the paper are:
- From developing cells to large language models, systems rely on their environment to bear a portion of the computational load.
- The environment should not be viewed as a passive background, but rather as an active participant in problem-solving.
- This framework could extend to evolutionary biology, regenerative medicine, and next-generation AI engineering.
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