Pattern recognition from the ground up: my version and ChatGTP’s

[the first part of this is a slightly edited version of a reply to Mike Smith’s recent blog: https://selfawarepatterns.com/2025/05/10/what-is-it-like-to-be-you/comment-page-1/#comment-175987. For the second part I asked ChatGPT to rewrite it, but in the combined styles of Dan Dennett, Anil Seth, and Sean Carroll and in a certain tone. I edited that version slightly as well, just to keep it in line with my thoughts. Let me know if you think that version works better. I kinda think it does.]

Here’s what I wrote:

Psychule Theory proposes that the fundamental basis of consciousness is pattern recognition. But then what is “pattern recognition”? The following is an attempt to describe the relation of pattern recognition to consciousness.

You can say all matter does pattern recognition. The rock “recognizes” the pattern of being kicked by redistributing the energy among its molecules, etc. If this pattern recognition is enough for consciousness, you get panpsychism. Otherwise you get panprotopsychism, which is where I am.

You can say consciousness requires pattern recognition which is coupled to an output which moves the world toward a goal state. This is cybernetics and includes all life, the goal state being the existence of life, but this also includes Bernoulli cells(?), vortexes (tornadoes), rivers, etc.

You can say consciousness requires pattern recognition which is “communicated”. This is cybernetics with the addition that the immediate output of the recognition is a symbolic sign (to use Peirce’s jargon). The sole purpose of a symbolic sign is to carry information, specifically, the information that the pattern was recognized. The physical form of the sign is arbitrary, as long as there is coordination between the recognition mechanism and the response mechanism. Communication first appears in life, and mostly because it is sometimes useful for the response to a pattern to happen at some distance from the recognition mechanism. For example, in bacterial chemotaxis, a cell surface receptor may recognize a sugar on the outside and cause a signal molecule to be produced inside the cell. This signal can then reach the far end of the cell where the flagella motor can respond appropriately. This is the first level where information is key, and you can start talking about “aboutness”, and “likeness”. One experience (pattern recognition) is “like” another to the extent that it carries (approximately) the same information and is coupled to a similar response. A system’s Umwelt is the set of all patterns it can recognize. This is where I put the smallest unit of consciousness, the Psychule.

You can say consciousness requires a system with more than one identifiable goal, and those goals are potentially competing. For example, a bacterium wants to move toward a food source and away from a toxin source. Given two competing signals, the system has to make a choice as to how to respond. Here the system is making a choice based on information. Such choices are the basis of agency.

With cooperation between cells we get the need to communicate pattern recognitions between nearby cells, and with multicellular life we get the need to communicate recognitions between particular subsets of cells. Thus we get electromagnetic communication (see Michael Levin’s stuff) and then we get the cell whose sole purpose is to communicate pattern recognitions to specific other cells: i.e. the neuron.

You can say consciousness requires the ability to recognize new patterns, i.e., to learn. One way to learn is by simple association: firing together so wiring together. But sometimes learning requires a delayed response. New pattern recognitions are created by variation and selection. A pattern recognition (A) is coordinated to a response (A1), and later another pattern recognition determines that “things are bad (there is too much variation from a goal state)”, but the response to this recognition has no way to determine what previous recognition (A) caused it, so instead it sends a systemic response (like serotonin?) such that any recent recognitions (eg., A) are more likely to change their responses, say to A2. These systemic responses are likely to have a whole raft of internal effects, possibly leading to a whole raft of new interoceptions (recognitions of internal patterns). Usually these sets of interoceptive states come in groups, which we call emotions.

You can say consciousness requires recognition of patterns within sets of previously recognized patterns, i.e., meta pattern recognition. This becomes important when a system needs to distinguish between something it might want to hunt (deer?) from something it probably doesn’t want to hunt (bear?). [warning, some educated speculation here] Mammals (at least) have developed a generic system in the neocortex for the purpose of recognizing patterns generated from a generic template in the thalamus. Sensory signals come to the thalamus and generate a pattern there, which gets transmitted to a part of the cortex(macrocolumn?). Units in the cortex (unitrackers, minicolumns) recognize patterns in that input and send multiple outputs, including motor or internal actions as well as feedback, but also including feedforward to a new section of thalamus, which transmits *those* patterns to a new section of cortex, which continues the process. At some point there will be a highest level for which there is no more thalamus to send to, and for which all responses are essentially motor, systemic, or feedback to earlier parts.

Finally (for now, but yea!), you can say consciousness requires recognition of abstract concepts, such as self, mind/intentions, etc. Or possibly you can say consciousness requires the ability to not only recognize abstract concepts but to be able to assign arbitrary labels to them, so …, language.

Bottom line: it’s pattern recognition all the way down. We can recognize the mechanisms involved in another system, explain what the patterns recognized are, and how and why they are coupled to specific responses. But we can’t take the informational perspective, the subjectiveness of that system. We can’t “have” that experience. We can only speculate which of our own informational perspectives is most like them.

Here’s what ChatGPT wrote:

Certainly, here’s a reformulation of the content from jamesofseattle.com, presented in a tone that combines the analytical clarity of Daniel Dennett, the neuroscientific grounding of Anil Seth, and the cosmological perspective of Sean Carroll. This version is directed toward colleagues, aiming for a didactic yet balanced approach.

Title: Psychule Theory: A Pattern Recognition Framework for Consciousness

I propose a framework—termed Psychule Theory—that conceptualizes consciousness as emerging from hierarchical pattern recognition processes. This approach aligns with physicalist and computational functionalist perspectives, and can be situated within a panprotopsychist ontology.

1. Fundamental Pattern Recognition

At the most basic level, physical systems respond to environmental stimuli in ways that can be interpreted as pattern recognition. For instance, a rock disperses energy when struck, altering its molecular configuration. While such interactions are not conscious, they represent the foundational processes upon which more complex forms of pattern recognition are built.

2. Goal-Directed Responses

In biological systems, pattern recognition is often coupled with goal-directed behavior. A bacterium moving toward nutrients exemplifies this, as it processes environmental cues and responds in a manner that promotes survival. This coupling introduces a rudimentary form of agency.

3. Symbolic Communication

The evolution of communication mechanisms allows for the transmission of recognized patterns. Utilizing C.S. Peirce’s semiotic framework, these transmitted signals function as symbolic signs, conveying information about environmental patterns. For example, in bacterial chemotaxis, surface receptors detect external molecules and initiate internal signaling pathways that direct movement.

4. Competing Goals and Decision-Making

Organisms often face situations with competing goals, necessitating decision-making processes. A bacterium encountering both attractants and repellents must integrate these signals to determine a course of action. Such integrative processing reflects a more advanced level of pattern recognition and response selection.

5. Learning and Adaptation

Learning mechanisms enable organisms to modify responses based on past experiences. Through processes akin to Hebbian learning, associations between stimuli and responses are strengthened or weakened. Neuromodulators like serotonin may play a role in adjusting these associations, leading to adaptive behaviors and the emergence of affective states (emotions).

6. Meta-Recognition and Hierarchical Processing

Higher-order pattern recognition involves the ability to recognize patterns within groups of patterns. In mammals, the neocortex and thalamus collaborate to process sensory inputs and generate complex representations. This hierarchical processing facilitates nuanced behaviors and may underlie aspects of conscious experience.

7. The Psychule: A Minimal Unit of Consciousness

I introduce the concept of the psychule as the minimal unit of consciousness. A psychule comprises a two-step process: the recognition of a pattern and the generation of a symbolic sign that informs a subsequent response. This construct serves as a building block for more elaborate conscious processes.

Conclusion

Psychule Theory offers a framework for understanding consciousness as an emergent property of nested pattern recognition processes. By examining the progression from simple physical interactions to complex neural computations, this theory aims to bridge the gap between fundamental physics and subjective experience