Machine Consciousness: A Manifesto for Robotics (original) (raw)
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Journal of Aerospace Computing, Information, and Communication, 2010
This paper discusses the psychological, philosophical, and neurological definitions of consciousness and the prospects for the development of conscious machines or robots in the foreseeable future. Various definitions of consciousness are introduced and discussed within the different fields mentioned. A conscious machine or robot may be within the realm of engineering possibilities if current technological developments, especially Moore's law, continue at their current pace. Given the complexity of cognition and consciousness a hybrid parallel architecture with significant input/output appears to offer the best solution for the implementation of a complex system of systems which functionally approximates a human mind. Ideally, this architecture would include traditional symbolic representations as well as distributed representations which approximate the nonlinear dynamics seen in the human brain.
Robotic consciousness: Evaluation of a proposal
Autonomous mobile robots require efficient control of their movement. This paper focuses on a prototype implementing a consciousness model for autonomous mobile robots. The prototype is named MARCOS (Movement of Autonomous Robotics Codelet System). Here is an in-depth analysis of this secondary controller that complements the main close-loop controller providing complex information about the current robot status, and suggesting alternative actions. This paper describes the MARCOS prototype and its conscious subsystem, as well as statistics on how Concepts can model real-world indoor environments.
Progress in Research on Implementing Machine Consciousness
Interdisciplinary Information Sciences
Thus far, we have experienced three artificial intelligence (AI) booms. In the third one, we succeeded in developing AI that partially surpassed human capabilities. However, we are yet to develop AI that, like humans, can perform a series of cognitive processes. Consciousness built into devices is called machine consciousness. Related research has been conducted from two perspectives: studying machine consciousness as a tool to elucidate human consciousness and achieving the technological goal of furthering AI research with conscious AI. Herein, we survey the research conducted on machine consciousness from the second perspective. For AI to attain machine consciousness, its implementation must be evaluated. Therefore, we only surveyed attempts to implement consciousness as systems on devices. We collected research results in chronological order and found no breakthroughs that could deliver machine consciousness soon. Moreover, there is no method to evaluate whether an implemented machine consciousness system possesses consciousness, thus making it difficult to confirm the certainty of the implementation. This field of research is a new frontier. It is an exciting field with many discoveries expected in the future.
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This essay tries to find a definition for the concept of consciousness and tries to find neural pathways that correspond to consciousness. This research is done so there can be found an answer to the question whether it is possible to create conscious robots. After doing research it seems easier to split the concept into three features (phenomenality, intentionality and introspectability). The possible neural pathways of these three features were separately investigated and were found to be existing! This means that, at least according to this definition of consciousness, a conscious robot is possible to be created.
Progress in machine consciousness
Consciousness and Cognition, 2008
This paper is a review of the work that has been carried out on machine consciousness. A clear overview of this diverse field is achieved by breaking machine consciousness down into four different areas, which are used to understand its aims, discuss its relationship with other subjects and outline the work that has been carried out so far. The criticisms that have been made against machine consciousness are also covered, along with its potential benefits, and the work that has been done on analysing systems for signs of consciousness. Some of the social and ethical issues raised by machine consciousness are examined at the end of the paper.
Consciousness in robots: the hard problem and some less hard problems
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Abstract Based on results from evolutionary psychology we discuss important functions that can be served by consciousness in autonomous robots. We distinguish intrinsic intentionality from consciousness, but argue it is also important. Finally we explore the hard problem for robots (ie, whether they can experience subjective awareness) from the perspective of the theory of protophenomena.
2005
Abstract Based on results from evolutionary psychology we discuss important functions that can be served by consciousness in autonomous robots. We distinguish intrinsic intentionality from consciousness, but argue it is also important. Finally we explore the Hard Problem for robots (ie, whether they can experience subjective awareness) from the perspective of the theory of protophenomena.
Next-generation approaches to machine consciousness
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Abstract A spate of recent international workshops have demonstrated that machine consciousness is a swiftly emerging field of international presence. Independently, there have been several new developments in cognitive science and consciousness studies concerning the nature of experience and how it may best be investigated.
To Make a Mind -A Primer on Conscious Robots
Theology and Science, 2024
The dream of making a conscious humanoid-whether as servant, guard, entertainer, or simply as testament to human creativity-has long captivated the human imagination. However, while past attempts were performed by magicians and mystics, today scientists and engineers are doing the work to turn myth into reality. This essay introduces the fundamental concepts surrounding human consciousness and machine consciousness and offers a theological contribution. Using the biblical association of the soul to blood, it will be shown that the Bible provides evidence of a scientific claim, while at the same time, science provides evidence of a biblical claim.
CERA-CRANIUM: A test bed for machine consciousness research
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This paper describes a novel framework designed as a test bed for machine consciousness cognitive models (MCCM). This MCCM experimentation framework is based on a generalpurpose cognitive architecture that can be integrated in different environments and confronted with different problem domains. The definition of a generic cognitive control system for abstract agents is the root of the versatility of the presented framework. The proposed control system, which is inspired in the major cognitive theories of consciousness, provides mechanisms for both sensory data acquisition and motor action execution. Sensory and motor data is represented in the proposed architecture using different level workspaces where percepts and actions are generated thanks to the competition and collaboration of specialized processors. Additionally, this cognitive architecture provides the means to modulate perception and behavior; in other words, it offers an interface for a higher control layer to drive the way percepts and actions are generated and how they interact with each other. This mechanism permits the experimentation with virtually any high level cognitive model of consciousness. An illustrative application scenario, autonomous explorer robots, is also reviewed in this work.