---
title: "Consciousness Without Biology: California Scientists Propose the \"Substrate Flexibility\" Hypothesis of Mind"
description: "Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have proposed the \"substrate flexibility\" hypothesis: consciousness may arise in non-biological forms and on the basis of different chemistry. The work is theoretical in nature and is not evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence."
date: 2026-09-09T05:14:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/consciousness-without-biology-substrate-flexibility-hypothesis
tags: [consciousness, extraterrestrial-intelligence, substrate-flexibility, uc-riverside, astrobiology, artificial-intelligence, carbon-chemistry]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Consciousness Without Biology: California Scientists Propose the "Substrate Flexibility" Hypothesis of Mind

![Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man drawing and handwritten notes symbolizing the search for universal laws of nature and consciousness](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/09/svidomost-bez-biologii-gipoteka-gibkosti-substrata/svidomost-bez-biologii-gipoteka-gibkosti-substrata-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- UC Riverside researchers have proposed the "substrate flexibility" hypothesis: consciousness is not necessarily tied to carbon-based biology.
- The scientists allow for the existence of at least 1,000 highly developed exoplanetary civilizations on the basis of astronomical and chemical arguments.
- In the media the work is presented as "proof," whereas in the academic context it is a theoretical hypothesis.
- The authors have not reached a consensus on the consciousness of modern AI, but they allow for its emergence in artificial systems in the future.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside (USA) have presented a theoretical paper in which they put forward a hypothesis: conscious perception and, essentially, consciousness itself need not be grounded in carbon-based biology. If life is capable of evolving on the basis of fundamentally different chemistry — other amino acids, solvents, or even crystalline structures — then intelligence may exist in forms radically different from human ones. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the university's publication. The authors emphasize that their work is of a hypothetical-theoretical nature and does not constitute experimental evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence; however, it offers a new conceptual framework for rethinking the boundaries of the possible.

### "Substrate Flexibility": the Key Concept of the Theory

The proposed model rests on the notion of "substrate flexibility." According to this principle, the same function or property can be realized through different materials and physical media. The scientists offer clear everyday analogies: a cup performs its role regardless of whether it is made of glass, ceramic, or plastic; a book exists simultaneously in paper and digital form. Transposed to the biological level, this argument means that the "function of consciousness" is not tied to a single possible "material" — the neurons of a carbon-based organism. As yet another comparison, the researchers use flight: an eagle, a bat, and an insect rise into the air using entirely different mechanisms — the flapping of a wing, an elastic membrane, or the high-frequency vibration of tiny wings — yet the result remains the same. Likewise, they argue, consciousness may arise through different pathways and does not necessarily require a human brain or even a biological organism as such.

### Astronomical Scales and Alternative Chemistry

The authors build several arguments in favor of the idea that forms of intelligence unlike those on Earth may have formed in the Universe. The first is astronomical scale: the observable Universe contains about one trillion galaxies, each of which holds billions of planets whose conditions differ substantially from Earth's. The second argument concerns alternative chemistry: complex structures and, potentially, information carriers may form on the basis of other amino acids, other solvents, or crystalline elements, opening up room for biochemistry not reducible to carbon and water. The third argument is the evolutionary diversity already observable on Earth: the nervous systems of octopuses, bees, and mammals process information in fundamentally different ways, which, in the researchers' words, demonstrates the ingenuity of evolution and points to the multiplicity of possible "processing" architectures. On the basis of these considerations, the authors allow that the Universe may have hosted no fewer than a thousand highly developed exoplanetary civilizations, although this figure is of an estimative and speculative nature.

### Critique of "Terracentrism" and the Question of Artificial Consciousness

The scientists introduce into the discourse the term "terracentrism" — the assumption that consciousness is possible only in life forms similar to those on Earth. In their view, this is a limited conception, analogous to the earlier geocentric model, according to which Earth occupied a special, central place in the Universe. Abandoning such a worldview, the authors argue, expands search strategies in astrobiology and the philosophy of mind. A separate section of the work is devoted to artificial intelligence: the researchers have not reached a consensus on whether modern AI possesses consciousness in the strict sense, but they allow that, in the long term, consciousness may emerge in artificial systems that have no biological nature. This, in their logic, once again confirms the principle of "substrate flexibility": if intelligence is not tied to a specific material, its appearance in silicon or hybrid architectures is not an anomaly.

### Contradictory Data

An analysis of the media coverage of the work reveals a significant discrepancy in wording. The headline of the RBC-Ukraine publication claims that the scientists "proved that consciousness does not require biology," which implies the existence of experimental or mathematical proof. However, both the body of the article and the description of the study speak of a proposed hypothesis and a theoretical model, not of a proven fact. Similarly, the outlet Gazeta.ru (June 26, 2026) presents the topic as scientists' account of "how greatly aliens may differ from humans," which is closer to a description of theoretical limits than to a statement of a proven fact. Thus, in the public sphere two interpretations coexist: a journalistic one, using the rhetorical "proved" to attract attention, and an academic one, in which the work is positioned as a conceptual hypothesis requiring further verification. It is important for the reader to distinguish these levels: at present, no experimental study has confirmed the existence of non-biological consciousness, and the proposed model remains a subject of theoretical discussion.

### Significance of the Work for Further Research

Despite its hypothetical status, the conceptual framework proposed by the California scientists has practical significance for several scientific fields. First, it may influence the design of search strategies for SETI and astrobiological missions: if consciousness is not tied to carbon biochemistry, the criteria for searching for biosignatures and technosignatures need to be expanded. Second, the work stimulates interdisciplinary dialogue between the philosophy of mind, computer science, chemistry, and astrophysics, offering a common language — "substrate flexibility" — for discussing the nature of intelligence. Third, the assumption that consciousness may arise in artificial systems brings to the fore ethical and legal questions that in 2026 are already actively discussed in the context of the development of large language models and agentic AI systems. The authors emphasize that their goal is not a sensational claim, but an expansion of the space of admissible hypotheses, so that science does not confine itself to the narrow, though intuitively familiar, idea that intelligence is possible only "the way it is for us."

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Humanity's mistake: scientists proved that consciousness does not require biology](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/pomilka-lyudstva-naukovtsi-doveli-shcho-svidomist-1788875844.html) - Материал подтверждает существование работы UC Riverside и излагает ключевые тезисы (гибкость субстрата, терроцентризм, аналогия с полётом). Однако заголовок содержит слово «доказали», что не соответствует гипотетическому характеру исследования, описанному в самом тексте.
- [Scientists explained how greatly aliens may differ from humans](https://www.gazeta.ru/science/news/2026/06/26/28763551.shtml) - Публикация от 26.06.2026 подтверждает контекст исследования и его теоретическую природу. Формулировка «рассказали, насколько могут отличаться» корректнее отражает гипотетический характер работы, чем «доказали» в заголовке РБК.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Have the scientists proved that consciousness exists without biology?
**A:** No. The California researchers have put forward a theoretical hypothesis of "substrate flexibility," according to which consciousness is not necessarily tied to carbon-based biology. There is currently no experimental evidence for the existence of non-biological consciousness. The media's desire to use the word "proved" is a journalistic exaggeration.

### Q: What is "substrate flexibility"?
**A:** It is a concept according to which the same function can be realized on different physical carriers. Analogy: a cup works equally well whether made of glass, ceramic, or plastic. Transposed to consciousness, the idea means that the "function of intelligence" is not tied to a single material — the neurons of a carbon-based organism.

### Q: How many extraterrestrial civilizations, according to the scientists' estimate, may have existed?
**A:** The authors of the study allow that the Universe may have hosted no fewer than 1,000 highly developed exoplanetary civilizations. This figure is of an estimative and speculative nature and is based on the astronomical scales of the observable Universe (about 1 trillion galaxies) and the assumption of alternative chemistry.

### Q: Does modern AI possess consciousness, in the authors' view?
**A:** The researchers have not reached a consensus on this question. They do not claim that modern AI possesses consciousness, but they allow that in the future consciousness may emerge in artificial systems, which, in their logic, confirms the principle of "substrate flexibility."