Free will isn't an illusion negated by predictive brain activity. Instead, it's a property of a single, unified consciousness. Our individual actions are that one consciousness freely acting through our "avatars," reconciling neuroscience findings with the experience of choice.
To glimpse the "one consciousness" that underlies reality, ask yourself what your next thought will be. The silent, aware gap before a thought appears is the most direct experience, or "pointer," to this fundamental state of being, which is theorized as the ground of all reality.
Cognitive neuroscientist Donald Hoffman argues neurons don't exist unperceived and don't cause behavior. They are a "headset" or user interface representing a deeper reality. Studying them is crucial, but only to reverse-engineer the software running the simulation, not to find the source of consciousness.
Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz argued in the 1700s that science must be rebuilt on a theory of observers ("monads") and their connections. Donald Hoffman suggests this was a prescient call for a mathematical model of consciousness, which he now proposes using Markov chains and "trace logic" to formalize.
Donald Hoffman argues his theory of consciousness is a testable scientific hypothesis. He claims its proof will be the development of technology based on the "software" outside spacetime, allowing us to build new perceptual "headsets" and manipulate reality in ways that currently seem like magic.
When you perceive something as simple or "dumb," like a rock, it's not an insight into its true nature but an admission of your own perceptual limits. Just as an ant cannot grasp a human's complexity, our "headset" for reality is limited. What appears simple may be transcendentally complex.
Donald Hoffman proposes "trace logic" as the framework connecting conscious observers. Derived from Markov chains, a "trace" is the predictable sub-system an observer perceives when they can't see the whole picture. This creates a "logic of zero surprise" that provides mathematical harmony between infinite points of view.
Donald Hoffman proposes that time dilation isn't fundamental but an emergent property of perception. An observer who perceives fewer states (a smaller Markov matrix) will have a "counter" that ticks slower than a more comprehensive observer, mathematically deriving the effects of relativity from a theory of consciousness.
The question of how consciousness emerges from physical systems like AI is flawed. Hoffman argues consciousness is fundamental. A physical object, be it a brain or silicon chip, is merely a limited "headset" representation of an underlying conscious reality. Consciousness doesn't emerge from matter; matter is a symbol for consciousness.