Hikari Sorensen
California Institute for Machine Consciousness (CIMC)
Functionalist What matters is the organisation of the processing, not the material
Hikari Sorensen is a theoretical AI researcher and fellow at the California Institute for Machine Consciousness (CIMC) in Berkeley. Her research addresses the formal mathematical and structural criteria required to transition artificial neural networks from passive pattern recognizers into autonomous conscious agents.
At the 2026 CIMC Machine Consciousness Salon series, Sorensen formulated “Genesis Theory,” developed in collaboration with Joscha Bach and international machine consciousness researchers. Genesis Theory specifies the exact functional preconditions for synthetic awareness. An artificial system must maintain self-generating boundary conditions, causal insulation from external interference, and a recursive virtual machine architecture capable of tracking its own state transformations across time.
Sorensen’s applied frameworks guide experimental testing across neuromorphic and multi-agent platforms, defining concrete benchmarks for synthetic agency beyond superficial conversational emulation.
Known for. Genesis Theory of Machine Consciousness, synthetic agency requirements, causal insulation, CIMC Machine Consciousness Salon series (2026)
Coverage on this site
Research Papers and Preprints
Articles and Commentary
Related researchers
-
Joscha BachCalifornia Institute for Machine ConsciousnessThe machine consciousness hypothesis, cyber animism, and MicroPsi
-
Blaise Agüera y ArcasGoogle VP and Fellow, CTO of Technology & SocietyComputational functionalism, active inference, on-device neural computing, What Is Intelligence? (2025), and Who Are We Now? (2023)
- Igor AleksanderImperial College LondonAxiomatic Consciousness Theory, neural state machines, The World in My Mind, pioneering neural network engineering
- Talis BachmannUniversity of TartuAttention-awareness theory, the preactivation hypothesis for conscious perception, masking and the microgenesis of awareness, perception without awareness
- Max BennettIndependent Researcher and AI EntrepreneurThe Five Breakthroughs evolutionary neuroscience framework and A Brief History of Intelligence (2023)
- Michael Timothy BennettSchool of Computing, Australian National UniversityMathematical foundations of emergent causality, valence-driven self-organization, and 'Why Is Anything Conscious?'
Hikari Sorensen is listed with the other functionalists and computationalists, who hold that what matters is the organisation of the processing, not the material. The theory family behind that position is set out in the index of consciousness theories. Every researcher covered on this site is indexed in the directory of consciousness researchers.