Aneil Mallavarapu

This talk presents a no-go theorem demonstrating that consciousness must be attributable to the present state of matter. The theorem shows that emergentist and computationalist theories violate at least one of two axioms required by science and physics. The resulting state-based framework argues that only theories grounded in quantum states, quantum collapse, or electromagnetic fields are scientifically viable. Its simplest interpretation is that science must adopt panpsychism. This perspective provides a framework for consciousness as a new branch of fundamental physics, and suggests the science of consciousness will have important cultural implications.

Dr. Mallavarapu is a scientist, entrepreneur, and investor whose work spans cell biology, computer science, and complex systems. At Harvard Medical School, he developed little b, a language for modeling emergent behavior in complex systems. This work won the Council for Systems Biology’s Merrimack–CSB2 Prize and led to the creation of Harvard Medical School’s Virtual Cell Program.

He earned his PhD in biochemistry and cell biology at the University of California, San Francisco, studying cellular dynamics and neural development with Tim Mitchison, a leading microtubule researcher and co-discoverer of dynamic instability. He runs Humain Ventures, an investment firm focused on AI and biology, with Linea Avey, co-founder of 23andMe, and is a board member at the Sol Foundation.