Conscious Intelligence is not a claim, but a compass - guiding presence between stimulus and response.
%20Theory.png "Disclaimer on Vernon Chalmers Conscious Intelligence (CI) Theory")
Vernon Chalmers' Conscious Intelligence (CI) Theory, as developed and articulated, is not presented as a re-interpretation or re-definition of human intelligence. Rather, it is offered as a supportive framework - a set of dimensions and motifs designed to assist photographers in navigating the pulse-moment between stimulus and response during image-making.
The pulse-moment is the mindful, intentional, and ethical act of engagement with reality through the camera lens, where the act of creating the image is as important as the final result.
- For Photographers: CI Theory provides guidance in attuning to presence, rhythm, and intentionality, helping to optimise the lived moment of image-making.
- For AI contexts: CI Theory serves as a reflective lens between input and output, encouraging awareness of mediation, translation, and resonance in machine-assisted processes.
The CI Theory is shared as a pedagogical and philosophical tool, not as a scientific claim about cognition or intelligence. Its purpose is to enrich practice, deepen inquiry, and foster conscious engagement with both human and technological creativity.
Photographers and readers are invited to engage with CI Theory as a living curriculum - a symbolic and phenomenological approach to presence - while recognising that it is not intended as a universal or empirical model of intelligence.
- "Philosophical/Pedagogical Tool: Chalmers presents the CI Theory as a supportive framework and a philosophical tool to enrich practice and foster conscious engagement with creativity and technology, not as a universal or empirical model of intelligence.
- Focus on Awareness: It is articulated as a form of intelligence grounded in awareness, perception, and lived experience (phenomenology), contrasting with the algorithmic computation of Artificial Intelligence.
- Application to Photography: For photographers, the theory is designed to guide them in navigating the moment between stimulus and response during image-making, emphasizing presence, rhythm, and intentionality.
- Application to AI: In AI contexts, it serves as a "reflective lens" between input and output, encouraging awareness of mediation and translation in machine-assisted processes.
- Not a Scientific Claim: The disclaimer explicitly states that CI Theory is not intended as a re-interpretation or re-definition of human intelligence, nor a scientific claim about cognition.
Vernon Chalmers CI Photography Theory
