Sven Kaufmann

Abstract Despite significant advances in neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science, the mechanisms underlying conscious experience remain among the most challenging questions in science. While substantial progress has been made in studying ordinary waking consciousness and the therapeutic applications of psychedelics, comparatively little research has systematically investigated extreme non-ordinary states of consciousness characterized by profound ego dissolution, timelessness, experiences of the “void,” encounters with seemingly autonomous entities, and radically altered perceptions of self and reality. The Apeiron & Nous Foundation is establishing a long-term interdisciplinary research program dedicated to the rigorous scientific investigation of exceptional states of consciousness, including carefully controlled high dose psilocybin-induced states under approved research conditions. Rather than testing a predefined theoretical model, the project adopts a data-driven approach that integrates high-resolution phenomenological documentation, multimodal physiological measurements, and artificial intelligence-assisted computational analysis. The central research objective is to determine whether recurring phenomenological structures can be systematically identified across individuals and whether these experiential patterns can be associated with measurable physiological signatures. Participants undergo standardized protocols that combine detailed first-person reports with physiological data collection where appropriate. Artificial intelligence methods—including large language models, machine learning, and pattern recognition algorithms—are employed to classify experiential motifs, identify latent structures within complex subjective datasets, and generate testable hypotheses for future empirical investigation. Unlike most existing psychedelic research, which primarily focuses on therapeutic efficacy or neural correlates, this program seeks to establish a systematic empirical framework for characterizing the structure of extreme conscious experiences themselves. The long-term objective is to develop an open, standardized research platform that enables interdisciplinary collaboration across neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, computational science, and consciousness studies, while facilitating reproducible comparisons between diverse forms of non-ordinary conscious experience. This presentation introduces the conceptual framework of the project, its scientific rationale, methodological design, ethical considerations, and planned research infrastructure. It further explores how artificial intelligence can serve not only as an analytical tool but also as a means of discovering previously unrecognized patterns within large-scale phenomenological datasets. By integrating rigorous phenomenology, physiological measurement, and AI-assisted computational analysis, this research aims to establish a scalable scientific framework for investigating extreme states of consciousness and to contribute to the development of more comprehensive empirical models of conscious experience.

Sven Kaufmann established the Apeiron & Nous Foundation in 2025 after two decades in technology entrepreneurship and a parallel decade of sustained personal engagement with high-dose psilocybin. He founded the organization to bring scientific methods to a range of human experience that the published research has not addressed, and that he had come to believe was scientifically tractable.