The Symbol Detachment Problem

This is a theoretical paper about the emergence of representations.

How and why do situated agents develop representations that are detached from their current sensorimotor interaction, but nevertheless preserve grounding and aboutness? How do cognitive agents progressively acquire a range of capabilities permitting them to deal not only with the current situation but also with alternative, in particular future states of affairs? How do they develop the capability of acting on their representations instead of acting directly on the world? In a theoretical and developmental perspective, we propose that anticipation plays a crucial role in the detachment process: anticipatory representations, originally detached from the sensorimotor cycle for the sake of action control, are successively exapted for bootstrapping increasingly complex cognitive capabilities.

Pezzulo, G. & Castelfranchi, C. The Symbol Detachment ProblemCognitive Processing, 2007, 8 (2). Online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10339-007-0164-0

Schema-based design and the AKIRA Schema Library

This is a gentle introduction to schema-based design.

Abstract. We present a theoretical analysis of schema-based design (SBD), a methodology for designing autonomous agents architectures. We also provide an overview of the AKIRA Schema Language (AKSL), which permits to design schema-based architectures for anticipatory behavior experiments and simulations. Several simulations using AKSL are reviewed, highlighting the relations between pragmatic and epistemic aspects of behavior. Anticipation is crucial in realizing several functionalities with AKSL, such as selecting actions, orienting attention, categorizing and grounding declarative knowledge.

Pezzulo, G. & Calvi. Schema-based design and the AKIRA Schema Language: An Overview. In G.Butz, M.; Sigaud, O.; Pezzulo, G. & Baldassarre, G. (ed.) Anticipatory Behavior in Adaptive Learning Systems: Advances in Anticipatory Processing, Springer LNAI 4520, 2007