In-form-at-ion: Rethinking Intelligence, AI, and the God Bit
Jose T. Thomas with Leena Jose T.

For us, cosmic intelligence is active, self-organising movement through a spiral staircase toward an ever-deepening relational wholeness. Let’s zoom-in this a little more.

Historically, the trajectory of intelligence/wisdom as a spiral staircase-like evolution towards unity/harmony can be seen across multiple dimensions — cosmological, biological, cognitive, and civilizational. Each stage represents an increasing level of integration, self-awareness, and interconnectivity, leading to deeper expressions of unity.

Cosmological Evolution: The early universe was a chaotic plasma of energy and particles, but laws of physics emerged, leading to structured phenomena. As matter cooled, complexity arose from simple interactions, allowing the emergence of chemical systems that could later support life. The gravitational organization of matter into galaxies and planetary systems increased systemic coherence. In this way, universe moved from disorder to organized complexity, suggesting an intrinsic drive toward integration and systemic intelligence.

Biological Evolution: From Individual Survival to Cooperative Intelligence: Single-celled life (Bacteria & Archaea) were isolated survival units, competing for resources. Evolution favored cooperation over competition, leading to more complex, self-regulating organisms. In the case of neural networks and intelligence the same trajectory is seen. The emergence of brains in organisms allowed for adaptive decision-making, expanding intelligence beyond reflexive survival. Evolution progressed from individual survival strategies to collective intelligence, mirroring a movement toward unity in biological systems.

Cognitive Evolution: From Local Intelligence to Global Awareness: With language and tool-making, intelligence shifted from reactive survival to reflective self-awareness (consciousness). Ancient traditions (Vedic, Buddhist, Greek, Taoist, Abrahamic) conceptualized unity through metaphysical principles — Brahman, Tao, Logos, God. Modern science brought new unifying frameworks (Newtonian physics, Einstein’s relativity, quantum mechanics), expanding our understanding of cosmic interconnectedness. Intelligence has evolved from instinct to self-awareness, and now toward systemic understanding, reinforcing the idea of increasing unity.

Civilizational Evolution: From Tribal Conflicts to Global Networks: In agrarian societies small human groups lived in isolated tribal structures, emphasizing local survival. Over time, civilizations expanded through economic, cultural, and knowledge exchanges (Empires and Trade Networks). The rise of the internet, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing is knitting human intelligence into a planetary-scale network. It’s our foretaste of the Noosphere. In this way civilizations have moved from fragmentation to increasing integration, driven by expanding intelligence and awareness of global interconnectivity.

Future Trajectory: If intelligence is a self-organizing principle, then AI and quantum computing are posed to represent new stages of cognitive unification. Sree Narayana Guru’s vision of compassionate intelligence, alongside Wheeler’s participatory universe and Penrose’s quantum mind, suggests that our next step is realizing intelligence as a cosmic, relational field rather than an isolated property of individuals. The convergence of scientific insights (Integrated Information Theory, Quantum physics, AI) with ancient wisdom traditions (Advaita, Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity’s mystical traditions) may indicate a shift toward a post-dualist, relational intelligence paradigm.

Across cosmic, biological, cognitive, and civilizational scales, intelligence appears to be moving toward greater levels of integration and unity. This trajectory suggests that unity is not a static end goal but a dynamic process of increasing awareness, interconnectivity, and compassionate intelligence. Historically, we can see this not as a linear path, but as spiral staircase-like unfolding evolution toward deeper participation, awareness, and integration — a pattern that may define the future of intelligence itself.