Epidemiologist Ramanan Laxminarayan’s central idea is that cooperation is not just a human social virtue: in his account, it is a pattern that helped life grow more complex, from microbial interactions to human relationships and civilisation. In an October 2, 2026, interview with Hindustan Times, he discusses that argument in his book Bacteria to Buddha: How Cooperation Shaped Consciousness – and Makes Us Human, and considers what AI, education and meditation mean for human connection. These are Laxminarayan’s ideas as presented in the interview, not scientific conclusions independently established by it.
What Laxminarayan means by cooperation
“Cooperation is a fundamental pattern of life and is why life became complex,” Laxminarayan says in the interview. He also puts the point more starkly: “Without cooperation, there is simply no complex life.”
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The book’s reported argument traces a proposed continuity across very different scales. Microorganisms exchange information about resources and dangers; as life develops, the account moves through nervous systems, neurochemicals, emotions and self-awareness, then connects cooperation and consciousness with human language, civilisation and traditions. Laxminarayan presents these links as a way to understand how complex life and human social worlds emerged. The interview describes his synthesis; it does not independently test each scientific claim or establish it as a consensus view.
Why the book moves from bacteria to Buddha
The title joins evolutionary biology with a question about inner life. Laxminarayan says a conversation with the Dalai Lama prompted him to ask what meditation is for. As a scientist, he wanted an anchor for that inquiry, and says he found one in evolution. The interview thus presents meditation not as a separate detour from biology, but as part of his attempt to think about how consciousness developed.
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Cooperation, fairness and balance
Laxminarayan does not describe cooperation as a simple alternative to competition. He argues that cooperation between individuals requires fairness and equity, “even if it seems like it’s a long way away.” He also points to “a sense of balance within individuals” as important for living harmoniously with others. These are his reflections on the conditions for cooperation, rather than measurements or a policy prescription detailed in the interview.
His concern about AI is its effect on people
The interview is not a claim that AI is conscious. Laxminarayan redirects the question: “The more relevant question is what AI is doing to our consciousness.” He worries that AI could “perform relationships for us with others,” leaving people less practiced at connecting and cooperating face to face. The interview reports this concern but does not demonstrate a causal effect of AI use on social skills.
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He says the loss of person-to-person connection worries him most, while predicting that people will address climate change and likely tackle AI. That is his personal forecast, not an established outcome. He also speculates that a billion years from now consciousness will be more expansive and sentient life as different from humans as humans are from fungi; this is a far-future prediction, not a testable finding presented in the article.
What he wants education to cultivate
Alongside intellectual ability, Laxminarayan argues that education should develop perception and attunement to the social world. He is concerned that moving children too quickly toward screens could reduce opportunities to read faces and tones. The interview provides no outcome data to quantify that proposed effect, so it should be understood as his educational concern rather than a measured result.
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What the interview says about the book
Bacteria to Buddha: How Cooperation Shaped Consciousness – and Makes Us Human is described as Laxminarayan’s latest book. The October 2, 2026 interview says it “released last month,” which establishes only that it had come out in September 2026; it gives no exact release date, edition or ISBN. Laxminarayan’s other books named in the article include The Value of Information, Choosing Health in India (2009, co-authored with Prabhat Jha) and Extending the Cure (2007, co-authored with Anup Malani and David Howard).
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