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A Behavioural Foundation for Natural Computing and a Programmability Test

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Computing Nature

Part of the book series: Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics ((SAPERE,volume 7))

Abstract

What does it mean to claim that a physical or natural system computes? One answer, endorsed here, is that computing is about programming a system to behave in different ways. This paper offers an account of what it means for a physical system to compute based on this notion. It proposes a behavioural characterisation of computing in terms of a measure of programmability, which reflects a system’s ability to react to external stimuli. The proposed measure of programmability is useful for classifying computers in terms of the apparent algorithmic complexity of their evolution in time. I make some specific proposals in this connection and discuss this approach in the context of other behavioural approaches, notably Turing’s test of machine intelligence. I also anticipate possible objections and consider the applicability of these proposals to the task of relating abstract computation to nature-like computation.

Invited Talk at the Symposium on Natural/Unconventional Computing and its Philosophical Significance, AISB/IACAP Alan Turing World Congress 2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques, Paris 1 Sorbonne-Panthéon/ENS Ulm/CNRS, Paris, France

    Hector Zenil

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  1. Hector Zenil
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Correspondence to Hector Zenil .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Innovation, Design and Eng., Mälardalen University, Västerås, 72123, Sweden

    Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic

  2. , Faculty of Philosophy, Pontifical Lateran University, Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano 4, Vatican City, 00120, Italy

    Raffaela Giovagnoli

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Zenil, H. (2013). A Behavioural Foundation for Natural Computing and a Programmability Test. In: Dodig-Crnkovic, G., Giovagnoli, R. (eds) Computing Nature. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37225-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37225-4_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-37224-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-37225-4

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