Homo Fluxus: A Thermodynamic Framework for Consciousness, Systemic Empathy, and Aligned Intelligence
Figshare April 25, 2026 Morten Magnusson
Cosmology, consciousness, affect, ethics, and AI alignment are often treated as separate problems, but this paper argues they share a single thermodynamic basis: local entropy minimization through coherent information flow, formalized as the cognition module of Energy-Flow Cosmology (EFC-C). From this, it derives an agent-as-node-in-flow ontology (Homo Fluxus) and a mechanism called systemic empathy, where field-coupled agents detect entropy changes beyond their own boundaries. A latent variable, coherence potential Φ_coh, is inferred from three proxies: integrated information rate, cross-frequency phase coherence, and interoceptive-allostatic integration. The framework predicts that current AI alignment failures result from applying bounded local optimization to unbounded coupled fields, and proposes field-empathy as a distinct architectural constraint.