Tracing developments in philosophy of mind, cognitive neuroscience, logic, mathematics, and computer science, Logiciel outlines a novel model of computation rooted in topology. Grounded in a spatial theory of types, the topological view marks a departure from received notions of continuity and computability, signalling a broad perspectival shift.

Calling for a reappraisal of Turing orthodoxy—the image of a Universal Machine guided by axiomatic rules—the book proposes an inferential view of logic enacted by self-supervised agents, mounting a challenge to the classical account of automata. Computation is cast a theory that emerges from a diagnosis of contingency, leading to new positions on autonomy and automation, interaction and language, realizability and truth.

This multidisciplinary text addresses many contemporary debates central to the philosophy of computation, from the simulation hypothesis to singularity, universal learning to the multiple realizability of mind, offering a radically open-ended view of the epistemological limits of AI. In treating computational reason as a distinct form of explanation, a catalytic agent bootstrapping its own logos, it contributes key insights to a nascent philosophy of intelligence.

Published by &&&, with a foreword by Anna Longo and artwork by Tauba Auerbach. Forthcoming March 2022.

Cover Art: Steven Probert © Tauba Auerbach Grain: Sierpiński Ghost III (2018). Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.