Phenomenal Machine Consciousness  

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BICA. Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures 2009

AAAI 2008 Fall Symposium Series
Arlington, Virginia — November 5–7, 2009

The challenge of designing a human-level learner is central to creating a real-life computational equivalent of the human mind. It demands the level of robustness and flexibility of learning that today is available in biological systems only. Therefore, it is essential that we better understand at a computational level how biological systems naturally develop their cognitive and learning functions. In recent years, biologically inspired cognitive architectures (BICA) have emerged as a powerful new approach toward gaining this kind of understanding. The impressive success of BICA-2008 was clear evidence of this trend. As the second event in the series, BICA-2009 continues our attack on the challenge, with the overall atmosphere of excitement and potential, brainstorming and collaboration.

Topics

-  Bridging the gap between AI and biology: robustness, flexibility, integrity.
-  BICA models of learning: bootstrapped, self-regulated (SRL), meta-learning.
-  Scalability, limitations and ‘critical mass’ of cognitive vs. subcognitive learning.
-  Biological constraints vital for learning.
-  Physical support of conscious experience.
-  Formal theory of cognitive architectures.
-  Emotional feelings and values in artifacts.
-  Measuring minds of machines and humans.

Symposium Focus and Spirit

The challenge addressed by this symposium is stated above. The narrow focus is on the idea to replicate in artifacts the phenomenon of natural cognitive growth (human-like learning and cognitive development), using models of learning borrowed from biology, neuroscience, cognitive / developmental psychology, cognitive linguistics, educational and social sciences. Specific tasks include: to identify critical components of human-like learning mechanisms that enable transformative cognitive growth in BICA; to understand at a computational level the leverage of biological constraints in self-regulated cognitive growth; to design curricula, tests and scalability metrics for artifacts and a roadmap to solving the challenge.

The spirit of the symposium is science (and, indeed, its focus is on a fundamental scientific problem). This symposium is not about the closed DARPA program or its successors, it is not a formal presentation event, not a publishing venue, not a funding opportunity forum, and not an industry teaming day (while all these elements may be present in it to some extent). It is a working seminar where researchers come together with new ideas and have a discussion.

Therefore, the majority of presentations will be short and exciting, while longer talks will be used to set the stage for discussion panels (see the Format section below).

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NIPS International Workshop for Scientific Study of Consciousness

The NIPS international workshop for Scientific Study of Consciousness (NIPS-SSC) will be held at the Okazaki Conference Center (Aichi, Japan) in Sep 19-20, 2009. This workshop is an official satellite event for the 32nd international neuroscience conference "Neuroscience 2009" (Nagoya. Sep 16-18, 2009).

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BICS 2010: Brain-Inspired Cognitive Systems Conference

Madrid, Spain, July 14-16, 2010
www.bicsconference.org  
Ricardo Sanz, General Chair
Sponsored by ICSC

[Due to several requests, the submission deadline for BICS 2010 has been extended to: January 18, 2010] 

BICS 2010 is a multitrack conference organised around four strongly related symposia (NC 2010, BIS 2010, CNS 2010 and MoC 2010). The three previous BICS conferences were BICS 2008 (Sao Luis, Brasil), BICS 2006 (Lesbos, Greece) and BICS 2004 (Stirling, UK).

Conference Symposia

- Sixth International ICSC Symposium on Neural Computation (NC 2010) Fifth International ICSC
- Symposium on Biologically Inspired Systems (BIS 2010).
- Fourth International ICSC Symposium on Cognitive Neuroscience (CNS 2010).
- Third International ICSC Symposium on Models of Consciousness (MoC 2010).

Motivation

Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems - BICS 2010 aims to bring together leading scientists and engineers who use analytic and synthetic methods both to understand the astonishing processing properties of biological systems and, specifically those of the living brain, and to exploit such knowledge to advance engineering methods for building artificial systems with higher levels of cognitive competence.

BICS 2010 is a meeting point of cognitive systems engineers and brain scientists where cross-domain ideas are fostered in the hope of getting new emerging insights on the nature, operation and extractable capabilities of brains. This multiple approach is necessary because the progressively more accurate data about brains is producing a growing need of both a quantitative and theoretical understanding and an associated capacity to manipulate this data and translate it into engineering applications rooted in sound theories.

BICS 2010 is intended for both researchers that aim to build brain inspired systems with higher cognitive competences, and as well to life scientists who use and develop mathematical and engineering approaches for a better understanding of complex biological systems like the brain.

BICS 2010 is organized around four major interlaced focal symposia that are organized into patterns that encourage cross-fertilization across the symposia topics. This emphasizes the role of BICS as a major meeting point for researchers and practitioners in the areas of biological and artificial cognitive systems. Debates across disciplines will enrich researchers with complementary perspectives from diverse scientific fields.

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First Issue of the International Journal of Machine Consciousness Available

The first issue of the International Journal of Machine Consciousness is available online (Vol. 1. Issue 1. June 2009)! This new journal, exclusively dedicated to the field of Machine Consciousness (aka Artificial Consciousness), has started its publication with an outstanding collection of papers from the leading MC researchers in the world.

This very first issue of IJMC includes papers from Igor Aleksander, John G. Taylor, Bernard J. Baars, Stan Franklin, Antonio Chella, Riccardo Manzotti, Ron Chrisley, Anil Seth, Carlos Hernández, Ignacio López, Ricardo Sanz, Sidney D’Mello, Uma Ramamurthy, Alexei V. Samsonovich, Kenneth A. De Jong, Anastasia Kitsantas, Eva Hudlicka, and Piotr Boltuc. See below for the complete table of contents.

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Damasio Consciousness Model

According to Damasio, a thing achieves self-awareness when its brain models its body, the outside world, and their interactions. At this point, the thing is self-aware, but only from moment to moment. It is not a very interesting creature. If its brain also remembers the past, then the thing is aware of itself as something which has a life history. Now, if this individual is here today, then aeons ago its species has learned to have innate regulations for survival, such as to fear danger and crave food. Armed with emotions such as these, this self-aware thing-with-life-history becomes motivated because it seeks joy, avoids pain, fears death. It becomes lively.

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