Author Showcase: Anna Pereira on Navigating Uncertainty

I recently sat down with Anna L. Pereira, PhD, MS, a research scientist, author, advisor, and speaker whose work explores how we navigate uncertainty in a rapidly changing world. With a background in human factors, research, and design, Anna’s career bridges perceptual science, embodied cognition, and the physics of life.

After more than a decade leading human-centered research at major technology companies including Google, Microsoft, and Valve, Anna stepped back to examine the deeper patterns behind how we sense, adapt, and thrive. That exploration led her to write her debut book, Navigating Uncertainty, which I am thrilled to have had the privilege of working with her on as her editor. Guided in part by informal advisership from neuroscientist Karl Friston, Anna’s work translates the principles of active inference and the free energy principle into accessible, real-world insights for everyday life.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Navigating Uncertainty is that it introduces complex scientific concepts in a way that lay people can not only understand but also apply to their everyday lives in a constructive and meaningful way. For those who haven’t read the book or studied these concepts, how would you define active inference and the free energy principle?

Active inference describes the deep physics of how we live, learn, adapt, and experience life. It's the continuous process by which our minds, bodies, and environments stay in conversation, and allows us to navigate changing circumstances or enact our intentions for our lives.

The free energy principle sits beneath this, describing the natural drive in all living systems to reduce uncertainty and find harmony when things feel off. We experience free energy in countless ways; when we can’t recall the right word in conversation, when we sense distance in someone we care about and long to reconnect, or when we feel the unease of entering a new environment that doesn’t yet feel familiar. Together, they provide a scientific lens on something we all experience: our shared instinct to find stability in an often tumultuous world.

What are a few of your favorite examples of how these concepts can be used to the benefit of your readers?

From a scientific standpoint, intention is fascinating. Our brains are constantly predicting what’s going to happen next: what we’ll see, taste, touch, or even say. When we consciously set intentions, we’re not just hoping for outcomes; we’re actively guiding the brain’s predictive processes. It’s a beautiful way to “reverse-engineer” our natural tendencies toward creating the future we want to experience.

I often tell people to imagine their thoughts like a movie playing in their head, or maybe a snow globe filled with swirling ideas, memories, and sensations. We spend so much time inside that “movie,” trying to change scenes or rewrite moments, but true transformation isn’t about shaking the globe harder or hyper-focusing on every single thought that enters your consciousness. It’s about learning how to respond to that cloud of beliefs and sensations differently. Change typically doesn’t happen through quick fixes; it often comes through awareness, compassion, and intention.

And that ties directly into our experience of love, both for ourselves and others. For me, love is about cultivating kindness, compassion, and safety in our relationships, including with people we collaborate with. You and the service you offer are one example of this, because you not only provided valuable professional support but a sense of grounded safety that allowed my ideas to fully take shape.

Thank you for the generous feedback. When were these concepts first formulated, and how long have they been slowly working their way into the global lexicon?

It’s such an exciting time to be working in this space. The foundational papers in active inference and the free energy principle are about twenty years old, which in scientific terms is still quite young. What’s remarkable is that these theories, which are grounded in cognitive science and psychology, are now supported by robust empirical methods, including brain imaging.

The literature is complex and mathematically dense, but it’s rapidly expanding. A quick search on Google Scholar now brings up over 16,000 papers on active inference. Historically, it can take 60 to 100 years for scientific concepts to enter everyday conversation, so it feels amazing to be part of this early wave of bringing these ideas to a broader audience. Working directly with Karl Friston, who pioneered much of this work, has been both humbling and incredibly inspiring.

What first drew you to the concepts of active inference and the free energy principle, and how was your idea to write a book about them first conceived?

My journey into this field was both scientific and deeply personal. For as long as I can remember, I've felt a deep pull to understand what it means to be human and what we can do to shape that experience. As a research scientist, I was immediately drawn to the free energy principle because it offered such a cohesive framework for understanding everything from neuroscience to robotics and AI.

On a more personal level, it felt a lot like the classic hero’s journey guide. In that the more I was exposed to these concepts, the more I felt compelled to study them and utilize them as a north star both personally and professionally. My hope was to share what I’d learned, not only with other academics or researchers, but for anyone navigating life’s unpredictability. That’s where Navigating Uncertainty began: as a resource for myself and others seeking both understanding and growth.

What were your biggest challenges in writing Navigating Uncertainty?

I would say that the biggest challenge I faced was that I was approaching the publishing industry as a complete stranger. Prior to this project, the closest experience that I had to becoming an author was marketing various products for the tech industry, but writing a book was a completely new medium.  Ironically, reading and writing were my weakest subjects growing up; I even had to attend summer school to catch up. So stepping into authorship felt foreign and slightly intimidating. But the very concepts I was writing about (reducing free energy and embracing uncertainty) became tools to help me through the process.

It’s also worth mentioning that your services were invaluable to me throughout. Your professionalism and compassion helped bridge that gap between my scientific rigor and the emotional vulnerability of writing something so personal, and that sense of support made the transition from researcher to author feel not just possible, but rewarding.

As a first-time author, what parts of the editorial process were most surprising or valuable to you?

I was surprised by how much of the process revolved around balance, such as holding onto the rigidity of the science while still leaving space for mystery and personal application. It was fascinating to see how others’ perspectives could enrich the work.

One of the biggest lessons was how much time and care it takes to make sure the written word truly conveys the validity and nuance of ideas in general. Translating dense scientific material into something that feels accessible, meaningful, and accurate was far more intricate than I anticipated, but also incredibly rewarding.

For other authors like yourself looking for the right editorial support, what tips would you relay?

When hiring editorial professionals, every author should be looking for verified and consistent credentials and skill sets that their specific project needs. However,  if they expand their intentions to look for editors with additional depth, like a desire for genuine connection or mutualistic intentions, they can increase their likelihood of a highly effective collaboration.  Working with an editor is an incredibly collaborative process, and your candidates may be perfectly qualified to review your work. If they lack a deeper depth, like the willingness to be uncomfortable or explore new processes, the task at hand can be unnecessarily limited.

If you don’t mind me saying so, one of the green flags that I got was when I viewed your EFA profile picture and felt an immediate sense of potential trust and authenticity. That human-level rapport that extends beyond boxes or checklists proved invaluable throughout this process, and when you find someone who shares your deeper intention and drive, the process becomes less transactional and more transformative.

Thank you so much, and the feeling was absolutely mutual. To wrap up, if there was one takeaway you hope to leave with your readers after reading Navigating Uncertainty, what would it be?

As humans, we’ve been given the extraordinary, precious gift of life. And within that finite experience, we often have so much more potential to shape our path than we often realize. My hope is that readers come away from Navigating Uncertainty with a renewed sense of agency and hope, recognizing that through concepts like awareness, science, and intention, we can move toward the experiences and lives we truly want to create.

It was an absolute pleasure working with Anna on Navigating Uncertainty and watching her transform deeply complex scientific ideas into something both accessible and inspiring. Her ability to bridge rigorous research with genuine everyday insight made this project uniquely rewarding from both an editorial standpoint and as a human with life challenges of their own. Readers can learn more about Anna’s work and or purchase a copy of Navigating Uncertainty by visiting actincycle.com/order and receive updates on future projects at actincycle.com.