The Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures 2012 Conference took place at Palermo, Italy on October 31-November 2 2012.

We presented a Keynote titled Towards Architectural Foundations for Cognitive Self-aware Systems.

Abstract

The BICA 2012 conference main purpose is to take a significant step forward towards the BICA Challenge -creating a real-life computational equivalent of the human mind. This challenge apparently calls for a global, multidisciplinary joint effort to develop biologically-inspired dependable agents that perform well enough as to to be fully accepted as autonomous agents by the human society. We say "apparently" because we think that "biologically-inspired" needs to be re-thought due to the mismatch between natural and artificial agent organization and their construction methods: the natural and artificial construction processes. Due to this constructive mismatch and the complexity of the operational requirements of world-deployable machines, the question of dependability becomes a guiding light in the search of the proper architectures of cognitive agents. Models of perception, cognition and action that render self-aware machines will become a critical asset that marks a concrete roadmap to the BICA challenge.

In this talk we will address a proposal concerning a methodology for extracting universal, domain neutral, architectural design patterns from the analysis of biological cognition. This will render a set of design principles and design patterns oriented towards the construction of better machines. Bio-inspiration cannot be a one step process if we we are going to to build robust, dependable autonomous agents; we must build solid theories first, departing from natural systems, and supporting our designs of artificial ones.

Get the slides of the talk.

One of these efforts was the EU Funded ICEA Project. The IST 027819 ICEA Integrating Cognition, Emotion and Autonomy was a four-year project, funded by IST Cognitive Systems Unit. The Project was focused on brain-inspired cognitive architectures, robotics and embodied cognition, bringing together cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, psychologists, computational modelers, roboticists and control engineers. The primary aim of the project is to develop a novel cognitive systems architecture integrating cognitive, emotional and bioregulatory (self-maintenance) processes, based on the architecture and physiology of the mammalian brain.

The works but extremely interesting and the teams involved were mostly very active and dedicated to the work. However, the results obtained -basically more elaborated scientific ideas- didn't have a translation in a concrete architectural implementation of a system that could prove the insights. Different systems wer implemented -real, simulated- but the overall picture was a bit lost.

We need stronger tema integration and specially more convergent objectives to get these types of activities produce the expected and potential results. This is not an easy taks however, as the goal of a cognitive psychologist of an industrial control engineer seem so far a part that convergence sounds more lie a myth than a real, strategical possibility.

All this said, something in fully basic: technology departs from science. Mind engineering must depart from mind since and hence, convergence is necessary. This will only happen if we broaden the tagets and pursue a General Theory of Mind not trapped in the details of rat brains or humanoid robot computer-laden hearths.

El propósito del ejercicio era leer un artículo clásico del ámbito de la inteligencia artificial y realizar un breve comentario personal sobre él (Turing - Computing Machinery and Intelligence). Yo esperaba que hubiera alguien que lo leyera con interés y que escribiera un ensayo personal entre un mar de ensayos con comentarios rutinarios sobre el articulo.

Mi sorpresa ha sido lo contrario: los ensayos rutinarios son los menos; estando rodeados de un mar de opiniones, impresiones, juicios, esperanzas y miedos que me han hecho disfrutar de ver tantas mentes jóvenes, tan vivas y tan capaces de pensar por sí mismas. Ha sido sorprendente descubrir, en esta generación acusada de pasividad y desapego- chispas de alegría intelectual.

Mónica, una de mis alumnas, dice,

"Me gustaría ver como un computador puede sorprendernos. No me refiero con ello a los posibles fallos físicos o de software. Hablo de ser capaz de utilizar una metáfora o decirnos que le gustaría poseer la Luna. Y un ordenador no hará eso nunca a no ser que el programador quiera. Un niño querrá cogerla sólo con mirarla. Le parecerá bonita de manera innata, y querrá poseerla." -- Mónica Romero

En estos tiempos de crisis de la ciencia y la tecnología, me han devuelto una cierta esperanza. Estoy seguro de que alguno de ellos construirá El robot que poseyó la Luna. Un gran proyecto y un gran título para una novela de Lem o Heinlein.