How morphological computation shapes integrated information in embodied agents

Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2021-11-29
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Langer, Carlotta  orcid-logo
Ay, Nihat  
Institut
Data Science Foundations E-21  
TORE-DOI
10.15480/882.4078
TORE-URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11420/11396
Journal
Frontiers in psychology  
Volume
12
Article Number
716433
Citation
Frontiers in Psychology 12 : 716433 (2021-11-29)
Publisher DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716433
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85121263537
Publisher
Frontiers Research Foundation
The Integrated Information Theory provides a quantitative approach to consciousness and can be applied to neural networks. An embodied agent controlled by such a network influences and is being influenced by its environment. This involves, on the one hand, morphological computation within goal directed action and, on the other hand, integrated information within the controller, the agent's brain. In this article, we combine different methods in order to examine the information flows among and within the body, the brain and the environment of an agent. This allows us to relate various information flows to each other. We test this framework in a simple experimental setup. There, we calculate the optimal policy for goal-directed behavior based on the “planning as inference” method, in which the information-geometric em-algorithm is used to optimize the likelihood of the goal. Morphological computation and integrated information are then calculated with respect to the optimal policies. Comparing the dynamics of these measures under changing morphological circumstances highlights the antagonistic relationship between these two concepts. The more morphological computation is involved, the less information integration within the brain is required. In order to determine the influence of the brain on the behavior of the agent it is necessary to additionally measure the information flow to and from the brain.
Subjects
embodied artificial intelligence
information geometry
information theory
integrated information
morphological computation
planning as inference
DDC Class
004: Informatik
Funding(s)
SPP 2134: Die sensomotorische Architektur des Selbst: Theorie der Informationsintegration in verkörperten Systemen  
SPP 2134: Informations-Integration in Prädiktiven Prozessen: Eine Mechanistische Verankerung des Selbst  
Publikationsfonds 2021  
Funding Organisations
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)  
More Funding Information
The authors acknowledge funding by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Priority Programme “The Active Self” (SPP 2134).

Publishing fees supported by Funding Programme *Open Access Publishing* of Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH).
Publication version
publishedVersion
Lizenz
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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