Probing for Consciousness in Machines

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Immertreu, Mathis, Schilling, Achim, Maier, Andreas, Krauss, Patrick
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Immertreu, Mathis
Schilling, Achim
Maier, Andreas
Krauss, Patrick
author_facet Immertreu, Mathis
Schilling, Achim
Maier, Andreas
Krauss, Patrick
contents This study explores the potential for artificial agents to develop core consciousness, as proposed by Antonio Damasio's theory of consciousness. According to Damasio, the emergence of core consciousness relies on the integration of a self model, informed by representations of emotions and feelings, and a world model. We hypothesize that an artificial agent, trained via reinforcement learning (RL) in a virtual environment, can develop preliminary forms of these models as a byproduct of its primary task. The agent's main objective is to learn to play a video game and explore the environment. To evaluate the emergence of world and self models, we employ probes-feedforward classifiers that use the activations of the trained agent's neural networks to predict the spatial positions of the agent itself. Our results demonstrate that the agent can form rudimentary world and self models, suggesting a pathway toward developing machine consciousness. This research provides foundational insights into the capabilities of artificial agents in mirroring aspects of human consciousness, with implications for future advancements in artificial intelligence.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_16262
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing for Consciousness in Machines
Immertreu, Mathis
Schilling, Achim
Maier, Andreas
Krauss, Patrick
Artificial Intelligence
Neurons and Cognition
This study explores the potential for artificial agents to develop core consciousness, as proposed by Antonio Damasio's theory of consciousness. According to Damasio, the emergence of core consciousness relies on the integration of a self model, informed by representations of emotions and feelings, and a world model. We hypothesize that an artificial agent, trained via reinforcement learning (RL) in a virtual environment, can develop preliminary forms of these models as a byproduct of its primary task. The agent's main objective is to learn to play a video game and explore the environment. To evaluate the emergence of world and self models, we employ probes-feedforward classifiers that use the activations of the trained agent's neural networks to predict the spatial positions of the agent itself. Our results demonstrate that the agent can form rudimentary world and self models, suggesting a pathway toward developing machine consciousness. This research provides foundational insights into the capabilities of artificial agents in mirroring aspects of human consciousness, with implications for future advancements in artificial intelligence.
title Probing for Consciousness in Machines
topic Artificial Intelligence
Neurons and Cognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.16262