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Toward Artificial Sapience pp 15–31Cite as

On Plasticity, Complexity, and Sapient Systems

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Abstract

Sapient agents have been characterized as a subclass of intelligent agents capable of “insight” and “sound judgment.” Although several engineering issues have been established to characterize sapient agents, biological referents also seem necessary to understand the cognitive functionality of such systems. Small-world and scale-free networks, the so-called complex networks, provide a new mathematical approach to anatomical and functional connectivity related to cognitive processes. We argue that complex cognitive functions require such complex connectivity, which results from epigenetic development through experiences. Particularly we claim that agents will show complex functionality only if a complex arrangement of their knowledge is achieved. In this chapter, we propose a model in which situated agents evolve knowledge networks holding both small-world and scale-free properties. Experimental results using pragmatic games support explanations about the conditions required to obtain such networks relating degree distribution and sensing; clustering coefficient and biological motivations; goals; acquired knowledge; and attentional focus. This constitutes a relevant advance in the understanding of how low-level connectivity emerges in artificial agents.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Carlos Rubén de la Mora-Basáñez

Authors
  1. Carlos Rubén de la Mora-Basáñez
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  2. Alejandro Guerra-Hernández
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  3. V. Angélica García-Vega
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  4. Luc Steels
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Engineering University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Saskatchewan, Regina S4S 0A2, Canada

    Rene V. Mayorga

  2. Air Force Research Laboratory, 80 Scott Road, Hanscom, Hanscom AFB 01731, USA

    Leonid I. Perlovsky

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Mora-Basáñez, C.R.d., Guerra-Hernández, A., García-Vega, V.A., Steels, L. (2008). On Plasticity, Complexity, and Sapient Systems. In: Mayorga, R.V., Perlovsky, L.I. (eds) Toward Artificial Sapience. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-999-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-999-6_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84628-998-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-999-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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