UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics brought neuroscientist Christof Koch and author Michael Pollan to the UC Berkeley campus for a public discussion examining the intersections of human consciousness, artificial intelligence, and psychedelic research, exploring how altered states reshape our understanding of subjective experience.
From Academic Taboo to Mainstream Science
The event, presented in partnership with Cal Performances, brought together two prominent figures who have tracked the evolution of consciousness studies from a marginal academic pursuit into a mainstream scientific discipline. Shayla Love moderated the conversation.
Locating the Neural Correlates of Awareness
Christof Koch recounted the early days of consciousness research in the late 1980s.
What exactly is consciousness, and how can psychedelics help us study it?Join @michaelpollan and neuroscientist Christof Koch on Oct 13, 2026 in Berkeley for A Journey into Consciousness, a convo moderated by @shaylalove.Get your tickets now! https://t.co/kJxcxcp50K pic.twitter.com/Bvvbxovci5
Koch pursued an operational program alongside the late Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, to locate the specific footprints of consciousness in the brain. Today, the field faces an influx of theoretical frameworks, ranging from integrated information theory to global workspace models, alongside questions prompted by large language models and clinical psychedelic research.
The Smudged Windshield of Human Cognition
Michael Pollan discussed his trajectory from food writing to investigating psychedelics, which led to the co-founding of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics in 2020.
Pollan noted that his research for books including How to Change Your Mind and A World Appears involved examining both the neuroscientific and philosophical dimensions of altered states. He pointed out that encounters with altered consciousness raise enduring questions about how to evaluate subjective insights, echoing William James’s classic inquiries into the metaphysical nature of mystical experiences.
Bridging Science, Policy, and Public Discourse
Jeremy Geffen, executive and artistic director of Cal Performances, opened the evening by highlighting the multidisciplinary mission of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, which combines neuroscience, applied research, policy work, and journalism. The center maintains a commitment to ensuring that insights emerging from psychedelic science remain accessible to the public discourse.
The conversation addressed how modern technological developments, including artificial intelligence and large language models, have forced broader cultural reckonings with the definition of intelligence, experience, and subjective awareness. As psychedelic research continues to reveal the malleability of human perception, scientists and journalists alike continue to grapple with the fundamental mystery of how physical brain matter generates a lived interior life.
