Joscha Bach: The Self Is a Story Your Brain Tells Itself

Consciousness functions as a software-based simulation rather than a physical phenomenon, with the self acting as a representation generated to regulate a biological organism. Intelligence is defined by the capacity to construct models and predict outcomes, suggesting that AGI must transcend current pattern-matching limitations to achieve genuine understanding. Religion operates as a cultural operating system—a "God" entity—that serves as a psychological tool to orchestrate collective behavior and provide meaning within a superorganism. By treating the brain as a game engine that creates a three-dimensional model of reality, this perspective reframes human existence as a series of message-passing patterns. Ultimately, the quest for meaning is an instrumental process of maintaining these models, and the transition toward post-biological intelligence represents a potential evolution toward a more integrated, universal mind.