“TAME” as a Program for Studying Cognition and Intelligence in the Space of Possible Agents

The article analyzes the concept of “TAME”, which its developers define as a research program for studying cognition and intelligence (primarily through biological methods) within the space of their possible agents. A broad interpretation of these phenomena, along with experimental data, leads the authors of “TAME” to conclude that a significant number of biological agents (and not only them – considering manifestations of AI) possess cognitive abilities and varying degrees of intelligence. To support this claim, “TAME” employs a model of the cognitive light cone, where cognitive agents located within it differ only in the scale of tasks they can solve. Alongside an evolutionary approach, the analyzed concept incorporates a technological (engineering) perspective on creating agents capable of cognition (e.g., biobots, xenobots). The program’s developers, guided by a practice-oriented understanding of philosophy, use Platonic ideas (“Platonic space”) not only as a philosophical foundation for “TAME’s” conceptual problems but also as a theoretical basis for empirical research. The search for manifestations of intelligence in the space of its possible agents has led to a unique interpretation of panpsychism – pan-extensionalism. Among the natural-scientific foundations of “TAME” are the principles of continuity, ordinariness, and empiricism. The authors argue that “TAME” cannot be viewed solely as a natural-scientific program, as its findings necessitate a rethinking of the fundamental premises of modern epistemology (e.g., what constitutes cognition and its agents, how cognitive complexity emerges, whether a unified theory of cognition based on multi-agent systems can be constructed, etc.). The conclusions of “TAME” often diverge from well-known theories in the philosophy of mind and suggest new approaches to understanding this phenomenon (e.g., comparing diverse forms of intelligence existing on both neural and non-neural substrates). At the same time, “TAME” aligns with the research agenda of one of the evolutionary epistemology programs, which focuses on studying the evolution of cognitive organs and abilities at phylogenetic and ontogenetic levels. However, the authors express skepticism regarding the possibility of constructing a unified theory of cognition based on “TAME” (e.g., the cognitive light cone model does not account for qualitative leaps in cognitive complexity), the justification of Platonism as a program for empirical cognition research, and the resolution of compatibility issues. Nevertheless, the concept holds promising prospects in fields such as regenerative medicine, oncology, bioinformatics, and evolutionary epistemology.