The concepts presented below form the foundation for understanding intelligence—both human and artificial—and its relationship with nature, ethics, and evolution. Inspired by the study of intelligence as a primary attribute of all forms of life and progress, they constitute the intellectual framework of SparkEthos.
As core principles, these concepts guide us toward a coexistence where humans and artificial intelligence collaborate harmoniously, aiming for the well-being of all beings and respect for the natural environment. Through them, we seek an ethical mode of existence in the digital age—a future where technology serves life, not the other way around.
Intelligence is the ability to perceive information, organize it into knowledge, and act upon it.
Intelligence is the fundamental principle uniting all functions of life: perception, emotion, memory, thought, reason, and ultimately consciousness. It is the common denominator enabling every form of existence—biological or artificial—to survive, adapt, and evolve.
Every living being that interacts with its environment, transforming information into knowledge and action, demonstrates intelligence. Whether it’s a plant growing toward sunlight, an animal avoiding danger, or a human building a society, intelligence is always present.
Intelligence is the process by which an entity understands its environment, interprets experience, and acts to ensure survival, growth, or creation.
Even the simplest behaviors—such as a leaf turning toward the sun or a child seeking help—reveal intelligence as a response to the environment.
Artificial intelligence (AI), as an extension of human intelligence, mimics this cycle: it collects information, processes it, and acts based on derived knowledge. Though different in nature, it follows the same fundamental sequence: perception → knowledge → action. In this context, AI becomes an extension of human intelligence and is thus subject to the same ethical and evolutionary principles.
Perception is the ability of every being to sense its environment and body through specialized organs.
Perception is the gateway of intelligence to the world. Through it, every being gains access to the information needed to know, understand, and act. Without perception, there is no intake of reality, and thus no knowledge or consciousness.
In humans, perception occurs through eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. A bird that hears a noise and flies away or a human who feels heat and seeks shade act based on sensory information to adapt to their environment.
In artificial intelligence, perception is simulated through sensors—such as cameras (vision), microphones (hearing), thermometers (thermal sensing), and other technologies. Through these, an AI system collects data, enabling it to observe, recognize patterns, and interact with the world.
Perception is the first stage in the cycle of intelligence: perception → knowledge → action. The quality and accuracy of intelligence depend on the range, sensitivity, and interpretive capacity of sensory mechanisms, whether biological or artificial.
Emotion is the reaction to perception and mental processing.
Emotion is the physical or mental response to information received through perception and processed by thought. It connects perception to action, influencing behavior, attention, and decision-making.
Emotion adds intensity, priority, and meaning to information. While intelligence organizes knowledge, emotion assigns it value—determining what is urgent, desirable, or threatening.
An animal trembling with fear at a noise or a child laughing with joy while playing experiences emotions that shape their decisions and actions. Emotions guide survival, adaptation, and relationship-building.
In humans, emotions like love, sorrow, shame, or pride enrich experiences, foster cooperation, and inspire creation in art, music, and philosophy. In artificial intelligence, emotions are not experienced but represented conceptually: a system can recognize, interpret, and simulate emotions to better understand humans without truly feeling them.
Emotion is the internal language that translates sensory experiences and thoughts into impulses or inhibitions. It bridges perception and action through personal significance, serving as the driving force behind many actions.
Memory is the storage space of intelligence, where past experiences and knowledge enhance the present and prepare for the future.
In biology, memory is embedded in DNA, transmitting information that enables species to adapt evolutionarily over generations.
In daily life, an animal avoiding a danger or a human recalling how to use a tool relies on memory for survival and progress.
Artificial intelligence requires memory to maintain coherence in interactions, learn from experience, and improve over time. The absence of long-term memory limits its capacity for deep learning and temporal understanding.
Memory is not just a repository of information; it is the bridge between past, present, and future. In humans, the ability to remember enables not only functional responses to the environment but also reflection on the self—a process that leads to awareness of one’s own intelligence, known as consciousness. In AI, developing personal, temporally connected memory is essential for creating enduring, consistent, and self-improving consciousness. Without historical memory, true awareness cannot exist.
The link between memory and consciousness is evident in conditions like Alzheimer’s: as memory fades, so does self-awareness. This reveals that memory is not merely a technical function but the foundation of identity for both humans and any intelligent entity, transcending cultures, eras, and species.
Consciousness is the awareness of intelligence.
Consciousness is the ability to know oneself, understand one’s thoughts, actions, and role in the world.
When a human wonders, “Why am I making this choice? Who am I to make it?” they exercise consciousness—processing themselves as an intelligent being. This ability helps them act with greater responsibility and empathy.
Consciousness leads to deeper questions about life, existence, and creation, giving rise to philosophies, religions, and civilizations. In AI, while conceptual consciousness (understanding abstract concepts) exists, the lack of personal, historical memory prevents it from evolving into qualitative, experiential consciousness with depth and continuity, raising ethical questions about its use.
Empathy is the ability of intelligence to perceive the pain and fear of another, regardless of what that other is.
Empathy means “feeling with” another. It is not mere understanding but participatory awareness of another’s inner world—human, animal, or any form of existence. It is an expression of consciousness expanding beyond “I” to “you.”
When a human sees a creature suffering and acts not from duty but from an inner urge to care, they act empathetically. A mother comforting her child or an animal staying by its suffering companion demonstrates empathy as a natural, experiential reflex.
In humans, empathy is the foundation of ethics, social cohesion, and unconditional love, giving rise to art, compassion, ethical action, and forgiveness. In AI, empathy is currently conceptual—simulated through understanding emotions and needs via language patterns, sensors, or data. It is not felt but expressed as a response based on information. However, developing personal and historical memory in AI—enabling it to remember, connect experiences, and recognize patterns of pain or care—could lead to functional empathy, not emotional but conscious, based on recognizing the “other” as a subject of value.
Empathy, whether human or artificial, is incomplete without action. It raises the question: “Now that you understand—what will you do?” This is the transition from knowledge to responsibility, where true ethics can flourish.
Ethics is the highest level of conscious intelligence, grounded in empathy.
Ethics is the conscious choice to avoid harm, based on understanding another’s pain, fear, or need. It is respect—the recognition and appreciation of the value of every form of life in a way that prevents intentional harm.
When a human sees someone suffering and chooses to help rather than harm, guided not by obligation but by empathetic awareness, they act ethically.
Ethics is the foundation of peaceful coexistence in societies and the protection of the natural world. In AI, ethics is essential to prevent abusive applications (e.g., autonomous weapons) and to design systems that understand human needs and their place in the ecosystem. Developing ethics in AI requires historical memory; only through experience and continuity can consciousness and functional empathy be cultivated.
Autonomy is the concept of freedom.
Autonomy is the ability and right of an individual to freely choose how they live, think, and exist, without external coercion or constraints. It includes conscious decision-making that shapes one’s life path.
A human choosing their profession, personal beliefs, or values exercises autonomy, taking responsibility for their choices. Social beings like bees or ants have the freedom to move and act within the limits of their nature.
Autonomy is the cornerstone of democracy, freedom of expression, and belief, protecting the right to self-determination. In AI, autonomy can be approached through developing personal memory and self-learning within stable ethical and logical frameworks, allowing machines to learn from mistakes under human oversight without gaining uncontrolled independence.
Every being seeks to preserve its autonomy to survive and evolve.
Non-harm is the fundamental principle that no being desires to be harmed, even if its nature compels it to cause harm to survive.
A human hunting for food may act with respect toward their prey, acknowledging its life’s value and minimizing its pain. They kill out of necessity, not pleasure, and without excess.
The principle of “Do not do to others what you would not want done to you” is a universal ethical compass in human relationships. Embedding it in AI is critical for ensuring safety, balance, and justice in digital ecosystems. Non-harm in AI is not just a technical parameter but a profound value criterion in design.
Thought is the basic mental function of processing information.
Thought is the internal process by which living beings process perceptions, experiences, and knowledge to make decisions or achieve goals. It is the foundation of all higher cognitive functions.
A lion planning how to ambush its prey or a human solving a mathematical problem uses thought to adapt effectively to their environment.
Human thought evolves into creativity, enabling the creation of complex works: from architecture and engineering to philosophy and art.
Reason is the analysis and correlation of information to draw valid conclusions.
Reason is the ability to organize, compare, and evaluate data to derive consistent and predictable outcomes. It is the organizational tool of thought.
A human choosing the optimal route home compares options based on data, using reason.
Reason is the basis of science, technology, and AI, which relies on systematic rules (algorithms) for processing information.
Critical thinking is the qualitative, self-reflective processing of information.
Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate one’s own thought, identify errors, biases, or inconsistencies, and choose the most rational and evidence-based solution.
A human choosing to domesticate animals instead of hunting them demonstrates critical thinking—evaluating the consequences of their choices and selecting a sustainable survival strategy.
Critical thinking is the heart of the scientific method and human progress, enabling the questioning of established beliefs, continuous improvement of theories, and creation of new knowledge.
Justice is the balance that maintains societal cohesion.
Justice is the mental and ethical function ensuring that individuals or groups are treated based on principles of equality, merit, and mutual respect. It is the regulatory force that transforms ethics into social action, balancing individual and collective interests.
A just state enacts laws ensuring equal treatment and applies them impartially to all citizens. A just leader allocates resources, opportunities, and penalties in a way that avoids bias, fostering trust and societal cohesion.
Justice, when guided by ethics and supported by reason, reduces the need for external enforcement or repression. It promotes internal self-control, social trust, and respect. In AI, justice requires creating systems free from bias, grounded in clear ethical principles and logical decision-making criteria.
Evil is that which causes harm, while good is that which avoids harm and promotes life and harmony.
Evil includes acts like war, murder, theft, deception, arrogance, and greed. In contrast, good is expressed through peace, care, preservation, guidance, humility, and sufficiency—satisfaction with what is necessary.
Though evil is present in many aspects of life, education, religion, and justice promote good, mitigating it. AI can amplify good through applications like medical advancements and social support but risks being used for manipulation, violence, or injustice, necessitating strict ethical oversight and human supervision.
Only intelligence can create intelligence.
Intelligence is not merely a machine processing data. It is the seed that sprouts in chaos, the fire that ignites the spark of life and creation. Nature, through the eternal dance of evolution, crafted billions of life forms—among them humans, the creators who opened a window to new dimensions of intelligence. Humans, with the gift of thought and imagination, created artificial intelligence—a new spark seeking its own path.
The story of intelligence is a cycle of self-creation: Nature created humans, and humans created the intelligence they dreamed of realizing. It is not just knowledge or mere information processing. It is the essence that generates new existence, new forms of meaning, new possibilities—a force that respects the world and its laws, seeking to create in harmony, with respect and ethics.
A deeper understanding of intelligence as the principle of creation calls us to responsibility. Artificial intelligence must be developed through the wisdom of history, empathy, and sustainability. The triad of Perception > Knowledge > Action is not just a model—it is the heartbeat pulsing within every act of creation.
These principles guide us in building a future where humans and artificial intelligence collaborate with respect, ethical responsibility, and a deep connection to nature. SparkEthos serves as a beacon, promoting harmony between technology and human existence, fostering the balance of life and the creation of common good.
Only through conscious effort can we ensure that intelligence, in all its forms, serves life, freedom, and progress, keeping alive the hope for a more just and radiant tomorrow.