http://theconversation.com/can-robots-ev...ess-112315
INTRO: . . . Given that we want to incorporate robots into our social world, it’s no wonder that creating a sense of self in artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the ultimate goals for researchers in the field. If these machines are to be our carers or companions, they must inevitably have an ability to put themselves in our shoes. While scientists are still a long way from creating robots with a human-like sense of self, they are getting closer.
Researchers behind a new study, published in Science Robotics, have developed a robotic arm with knowledge of its physical form – a basic sense of self. This is nevertheless an important step.
There is no perfect scientific explanation of what exactly constitutes the human sense of self. Emerging studies from neuroscience shows that cortical networks in the motor and parietal areas of the brain are activated in many contexts where we are not physically moving. For example, hearing words such as “pick or kick” activate the motor areas of the brain. So does observing someone else acting.
The hypothesis emerging from this is that we understand others as if we ourselves were acting – a phenomenon scientists refer to as “embodied simulation”. In other words, we reuse our own ability to act with our bodily resources in order to attribute meanings to the actions or goals of others. The engine that drives this simulation process is a mental model of the body or the self. And that is exactly what researchers are trying to reproduce in machines....
MORE: http://theconversation.com/can-robots-ev...ess-112315
INTRO: . . . Given that we want to incorporate robots into our social world, it’s no wonder that creating a sense of self in artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the ultimate goals for researchers in the field. If these machines are to be our carers or companions, they must inevitably have an ability to put themselves in our shoes. While scientists are still a long way from creating robots with a human-like sense of self, they are getting closer.
Researchers behind a new study, published in Science Robotics, have developed a robotic arm with knowledge of its physical form – a basic sense of self. This is nevertheless an important step.
There is no perfect scientific explanation of what exactly constitutes the human sense of self. Emerging studies from neuroscience shows that cortical networks in the motor and parietal areas of the brain are activated in many contexts where we are not physically moving. For example, hearing words such as “pick or kick” activate the motor areas of the brain. So does observing someone else acting.
The hypothesis emerging from this is that we understand others as if we ourselves were acting – a phenomenon scientists refer to as “embodied simulation”. In other words, we reuse our own ability to act with our bodily resources in order to attribute meanings to the actions or goals of others. The engine that drives this simulation process is a mental model of the body or the self. And that is exactly what researchers are trying to reproduce in machines....
MORE: http://theconversation.com/can-robots-ev...ess-112315