The Active Inference.pdf (630.89 kB)
The active inference approach to ecological perception: general information dynamics for natural and artificial embodied cognition
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 17:08 authored by Adam Linson, Andrew ClarkAndrew Clark, Subramanian Ramamoorthy, Karl FristonThe emerging neurocomputational vision of humans as embodied, ecologically embedded, social agents—who shape and are shaped by their environment—offers a golden opportunity to revisit and revise ideas about the physical and information-theoretic underpinnings of life, mind, and consciousness itself. In particular, the active inference framework (AIF) makes it possible to bridge connections from computational neuroscience and robotics/AI to ecological psychology and phenomenology, revealing common underpinnings and overcoming key limitations. AIF opposes the mechanistic to the reductive, while staying fully grounded in a naturalistic and information-theoretic foundation, using the principle of free energy minimization. The latter provides a theoretical basis for a unified treatment of particles, organisms, and interactive machines, spanning from the inorganic to organic, non-life to life, and natural to artificial agents. We provide a brief introduction to AIF, then explore its implications for evolutionary theory, ecological psychology, embodied phenomenology, and robotics/AI research. We conclude the paper by considering implications for machine consciousness.
Funding
ERC Advanced Grant XSPECT; ERC; DLV-692739
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Frontiers in Robotics and AIISSN
2296-9144Publisher
Frontiers MediaExternal DOI
Issue
21Volume
5Page range
1-22Department affiliated with
- Philosophy Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2019-03-19First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-03-19First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2019-03-15Usage metrics
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