We are pleased to announce that Dr. Gary E. Schwartz, Director of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health and former Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona, USA, has been elected as an Academician of the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness (WAAC) in recognition of his important contributions to consciousness studies, psychophysiology, mind-body medicine, self-regulation, the survival hypothesis of consciousness, and energy healing research.
Professor Gary E. Schwartz is a highly influential scholar in contemporary consciousness studies, psychophysiology, and mind-body medicine. He received his PhD in psychology from Harvard University, where he later served as an Assistant Professor. He subsequently served as Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Yale University, Director of the Yale Psychophysiology Center, and Co-Director of the Yale Behavioral Medicine Clinic. He has also conducted long-term interdisciplinary research at the University of Arizona across psychology, medicine, neuroscience, psychiatry, and surgery. Professor Schwartz has long focused on consciousness, self-regulation, mind-body relationships, health psychology, psychophysiological mechanisms, the survival hypothesis of consciousness, energy healing, and boundary questions in human experience that have not yet been fully explained. His work systematically explores the complex relationships between consciousness and the body, psychological states and physiological processes, subjective experience and health outcomes.
WAAC believes that research on artificial consciousness requires not only advances in artificial intelligence, neuroscience, cognitive science, and computational models, but also open and careful interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of consciousness, subjective experience, mind-body relationships, self-regulation, continuity of life, and non-traditional consciousness phenomena. Dr. Schwartz’s work provides important theoretical resources for key issues in artificial consciousness, including subjective experience modeling, self-regulation mechanisms, mind-body coupling, the boundaries of consciousness, machine subjectivity, the possibility of experience in artificial systems, and cross-paradigm research in consciousness science.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to consciousness studies, psychophysiology, mind-body medicine, self-regulation, the survival hypothesis of consciousness, and energy healing research, the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness has decided to confer upon Dr. Gary E. Schwartz the title of WAAC Academician.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
Academicians of the World Academy for Artificial Consciousness hail from institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of California, the French Academy of Sciences, the University of Padua, the University of Oxford, the University of Queensland, Columbia University, and the University of Exeter. Honorary Academicians come from a wide range of countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Spain, and China. In addition, leading scientists from prominent research institutes and technology companies—such as Google, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and ZEEKR—also participate.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.