Money Plato

Innovators are people who advance our understanding of the world. They push boundaries and expand the possibilities of what we take for granted.

In this post, the first in the “Innovators” series, I’d like to introduce a man who is challenging our conventional view of the material world: Federico Faggin.

Faggin has had a long, unique, and ongoing career. After decades of success as a physicist and inventor, he is now focused on unifying science and spirituality. His main area of interest is consciousness, but that’s only his latest pursuit. Before this, he was the inventor of the modern microprocessor.

He led the development of the famous Intel 4004 and later founded his own company, Zilog, where he created the Z80 chip. While perhaps less known to the public, the Z80 has sold millions of units and has powered numerous devices and gadgets like the Gameboy.

Now that he has embraced the study of consciousness, Faggin devotes himself to conferences on the topic and has authored several books.

In this post, I will provide a brief review of Silicon, his first book, where he extensively discusses his career as a physicist. In the final chapter, he presents a detailed — perhaps a bit challenging, but nonetheless intriguing — account of his view of consciousness as an all-encompassing principle.

A story that begins in Vicenza, Italy

Federico Faggin was born in Vicenza, Italy, in 1941. To learn more about him, a good starting point is the website of the foundation he created with his wife, Elvia, to promote the scientific study of consciousness.

In his book Silicon, Faggin recalls his early years, when he spent much of his time building small things on his own. At age 11, he was captivated when a neighborhood boy flew a plane powered by a spring. Determined to make one himself, he writes that the experience was fraught with difficulties but proved to be highly formative.

Faggin’s father was a professor of philosophy and did not fully support Federico’s decision to attend a technical school. However, after completing his technical studies in high school, Federico quickly found work in Italy’s high-tech industry, including a position at Olivetti in Milan, which was a pioneering company at the time.

During this period, he was already responsible for projects like an experimental computer at Olivetti.

He later enrolled in physics at the University of Padua. After graduation, he was hired by a small tech company, CERES, which represented the Silicon Valley firm General Microelectronics in Italy. He later worked for another Italian subsidiary of the American company Fairchild Semiconductor.

Faggin was so brilliant that he was soon invited to work directly for Fairchild in the United States. He and his wife, Elvia, whom he married during those years, found a happy home together in San Francisco.

History of the microprocessor

The book Silicon offers a deep and thorough history of the development of early microchips. It is undoubtedly an interesting story, but it can be difficult to recommend to everyone. A general reader, who may not be highly interested in engineering topics and jargon, might find the sections on the technical aspects of chip manufacturing challenging to follow. However, for students of engineering or computer science, this book is a treasure.

Beyond the technical content, it’s also a story of business, complete with struggles, battles, and the misconduct of certain people at Intel, where Faggin worked extensively. Some at the company attempted to downplay or ignore Faggin’s significant contributions to the microprocessor.

I encourage anyone interested in the history of technology — particularly the technology we use every day — to read about Federico Faggin’s detailed journey. He overcame many hurdles, cleverly inventing new methods for building the inner components of the MOS transistor.

At the end of this groundbreaking experience as an inventor, Faggin succeeded in creating a milestone in microprocessor history: the Intel 4004.

His undeniable role was eventually recognized. Among the photographs on his website and in the book is one where he is receiving the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama.

His first company, Zilog

After leaving Intel, Faggin founded his own company with the goal of producing fast and reliable microchips. Becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t easy, but with many years of experience in the field and a deep understanding of the production process, he was well-prepared for the challenge.

It’s remarkable to think that, in those days, chips were designed and drawn by hand, then printed on silicon wafers, and so on.

The greatest success of his company was the Z80, a microprocessor that Faggin designed. Zilog became known for its reliability and effectiveness, and the Z80 was adopted in many fields and devices. It was produced for years, and production only ceased long after Faggin had already left the company.

Faggin continued to explore entrepreneurship, founding other companies and inventing new devices — some more successful than others. In 1982, he created Cygnet Technologies, which developed an advanced (for the time) desktop phone capable of transmitting both voice and data. However, the product was too advanced and futuristic for its time and did not achieve commercial success.

Later, Faggin found better success with another company he founded: Synaptics. There, he had the idea to improve input devices, just as Apple had introduced the touchpad in its PowerBook. Faggin successfully developed his version of the touchpad, which became a significant achievement.

The awakening to a new life

Faggin reached a point where he had everything: a successful career, substantial wealth, and the freedom to pursue any new venture or simply enjoy the fruits of his inventions. Yet, despite all this, he found himself deeply unsatisfied and restless.

His experiences in the workplace, including conflicts with colleagues, taught him something about himself that he had perhaps overlooked. He began to take a greater interest in what machines cannot do—the intimate and uniquely human aspects of life: qualitative experiences, consciousness, and emotions.

As a man who had devoted his entire life to microchips, Faggin quickly realized two things. First, that machines and computers will never be able to experience or replicate the nuances of human experience. In other words, no form of artificial intelligence will ever be truly intelligent.

Second, he realized that the vast majority of scientists do not view consciousness as a miracle at all. Materialism had prevailed, and in universities and academic institutions, it is commonly taught that the incommensurable experience of the self is merely a byproduct of the brain.

For Faggin, it was clear that consciousness could not possibly arise from matter alone. However, one of the challenges for those who wish to explore this topic is that consciousness seems to be investigable only through subjective experiences.

At the peak of his success, deeply unhappy, Faggin experienced a sudden and profound enlightenment. He recalls being on vacation with his family in December 1990, when, in the middle of the night, he felt an intense energy emanating from within him. It was an experience of pure energy and love.

It was so overwhelming, he writes, that nothing he had ever felt compared to it. In that moment, he understood that this energy was the substance, the fabric that encompasses everything.

He describes this experience as the beginning of a new life for him, one in which he reached an understanding of a new level of being—spirituality. That state of vibration made him fully aware of the intuitive and direct aspects of existence, ones that no logic, computer program, or material machine can ever touch.

A reality difficult to explain

The latter part of the book is devoted to outlining a theory of how consciousness, in Faggin’s view, is an all-encompassing presence.

He acknowledges the relativity of his own experience and the difficulty in making it comprehensible to others.

In a particularly profound chapter, the reader is guided through a theorization that uses quantum physics as a metaphor and parallel to the field of consciousness. The chapter explores the impossibility of reductionism in quantum physics (which involves phenomena that are complex and counterintuitive, differing significantly from those in the material world). This reasoning leads to the conclusion of a reality completely permeated by consciousness.

Readers are encouraged to revisit this part of the book multiple times, as it resembles philosophical treatises — deep and thought-provoking, yet not immediately accessible.

A renaissance in consciousness studies

I believe we may be on the cusp of a new era in our understanding of human consciousness.

There is a growing shift away from strict materialism, a perspective that is gaining momentum.
Alongside the well-established, rigorous scholars and researchers who focus on traditional, experimental brain studies — work that is highly respected — new, equally respected researchers are emerging. These researchers are pushing the boundaries of what is commonly understood about being human.

There seems to be an infinite, unexplored ocean of hidden capacities within ourselves.

Embracing this new perspective doesn’t mean rejecting the material world. There’s no need to abandon one aspect of reality to embrace another. Instead, we’re moving toward a more mature understanding that gives proper attention to all dimensions of existence, enriching our experience of life.

Faggin’s journey aligns with this direction. He didn’t stop at revolutionizing computing. In recent years, he has shifted his focus to exploring the nature of consciousness, and his career is a testament to his relentless pursuit of innovation — not just in technology, but in understanding our experience as living beings.

As we stand on the brink of this new era, his insights offer a unique perspective on how we might integrate our technological advances with a deeper, more holistic understanding of consciousness.