This EON micro-workshop will address the specific theme of the origins of distributed cognition in nature, in human society and in technology. The general purpose of this discussion is to explore the distributed properties in the fundamental principles of the emergence of life, in the light of distributed processes among networks of single organisms. Collective behavior of networks of organisms, from ants, to fish, to starlings but also collection of cells in early life, to neuronal structures in the brain and transient structures on the internet of things are fascinating examples of how group-level properties may arise from the interaction of many autonomous individuals.

In this workshop, we want to address how an interdisciplinary effort may reveal new phenomena and underlying principles of distributed cognition, as a result of the study of tuning adaptive responses in networks, feedback loops, collective niche construction and processes of informational amplification and decay, in a general framework between biology, chemistry, artificial intelligence, philosophy and cognitive science.

The main events will be held on the afternoons of June 26 and 28, in the form of afternoon discussions from 2pm till 5pm, room 205, ELSI-1.

Speakers (alphabetically):
- Jorge Campos (National Autonomous University of Mexico)
- Hiro Iizuka (Hokkaido University)
- Tom Froese (National Autonomous University of Mexico)
- Nicholas Guttenberg (Araya BI)
- Keisuke Suzuki (Sussex University)
- Nathaniel Virgo (ELSI)
- Olaf Witkowski (ELSI)