Robot Consciousness: Physics and Metaphysics Here and Abroad

Interest has been renewed in the study of consciousness, both theoretical and applied, following developments in 20th and early 21st-century logic, metamathematics, computer science, and the brain sciences. In this evolving narrative, I explore several theoretical questions about the types of artificial intelligence and offer several conjectures about how they affect possible future developments in this exceptionally transformative field of research. I also address the practical significance of the advances in artificial intelligence in view of the cautions issued by prominent scientists, politicians, and ethicists about the possible dangers of such sufficiently advanced general intelligence, including by implication the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

Brainhack: a collaborative workshop for the open neuroscience community

International audienceBrainhack events offer a novel workshop format with participant-generated content that caters to the rapidly growing open neuroscience community. Including components from hackathons and unconferences, as well as parallel educational sessions, Brainhack fosters novel collaborations around the interests of its attendees. Here we provide an overview of its structure, past events, and example projects. Additionally, we outline current innovations such as regional events and post-conference publications. Through introducing Brainhack to the wider neuroscience community, we hope to provide a unique conference format that promotes the features of collaborative, open science

Endogenous fantasy and learning in digital games.

Many people believe that educational games are effective because they motivate children to actively engage in a learning activity as part of playing the game. However, seminal work by Malone (1981), exploring the motivational aspects of digital games, concluded that the educational effectiveness of a digital game depends on the way in which learning content is integrated into the fantasy context of the game. In particular, he claimed that content which is intrinsically related to the fantasy will produce better learning than that which is merely extrinsically related. However, this distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic (or endogenous and exogenous) fantasy is a concept that has developed a confused standing over the following years. This paper will address this confusion by providing a review and critique of the empirical and theoretical foundations of endogenous fantasy, and its relevance to creating educational digital games. Substantial concerns are raised about the empirical basis of this work and a theoretical critique of endogenous fantasy is offered, concluding that endogenous fantasy is a misnomer, in so far as the "integral and continuing relationship" of fantasy cannot be justified as a critical means of improving the effectiveness of educational digital games. An alternative perspective on the intrinsic integration of learning content is described, incorporating game mechanics, flow and representations

Formation of the sensorimotor operation pattern from a system-theoretical perspective

The starting point to the analyzes presented in this paper is the fact that the primary task for the nervous system – both central and peripheral – of living creatures is the control of movements. The only result of any mental process, the only way to influence the environment, aimed at producing desired results in environment, is the movement. These issues make the subject of the discipline of science termed motor control. In this field, the efficiency of mathematics is highly disputable. On the other hand, the promising tool for knowledge ordering seems to be the systems theory. For its invention Ludwig von Bertalanffy is credited (1968). However, already in late 1940s such an approach has been presented by Nikolai A. Bernstein. His theory is commonly regarded as a cornerstone of modern motor control. Basing on evolutionary and neurophysiological knowledge, he invented a systemic model termed “brain skyscraper”, structural in its essence. It was possible to invent the slightly simplified, parallel model of functional nature, termed “modalities’ ladder”, founding upon information processing. The practical application of the ladder in teaching of motor operations, presented in this paper, is termed “one level higher” principle. An important outcome of the modalities’ ladder is also its specific, function oriented, systemic ordering of motor control terminology

Suppressing visual feedback in written composition: Effects on processing demands and coordination of the writing processes

The goal of this experiment was to investigate the role of visual feedback during written composition. Effects of suppression of visual feedback were analysed both on processing demands and on on-line coordination of low-level execution processes and of high-level conceptual and linguistic processes. Writers composed a text and copied it either with or without visual feedback. Processing demands of the writing processes were evaluated with reaction times to secondary auditory probes that were analysed according to whether participants were handwriting (in a composing and a copying tasks) or engaged in high level processes (when pausing in a composing task). Suppression of visual feedback increased reaction times interference (secondary reaction time minus baseline reaction time) during handwriting in the copying task and not during pauses in the composing task. This suggests that suppression of visual feedback affected processing demands of only execution processes and not those of high-level conceptual and linguistic processes. This is confirmed by analysis of quality of the texts produced by participants that were little, if any, affected by the suppression of visual feedback. Results also indicate that the increase in processing demands of execution related to suppression of visual feedback affected on-line coordination of the writing processes. Indeed, when visual feedback was suppressed, reaction time interferences associated to handwriting were not reliable different in the copying task and in the composing task but were significantly different in the composition task, RT interference associated to handwriting being lower in the copying task than in the composition task. When visual feedback was suppressed, writers activated step-by-step execution processes and high-level writing processes, whereas they concurrently activated these writing processes when composing with visual feedback

COGNITION AND ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN WITH SEIZURE DISORDERS

School personnel can help to identify, monitor and accommodate students with seizure disorders. This article describes the general characteristics of seizure disorders and reviews research on implications for cognition and achievement among children. Despite methodological limitations of research in this area, a few trends are observed. Localization of seizure activity in the brain and age of onset have a major impact on cognition. A synthesis of major studies show that deficits often involve one or more of the following: verbal memory, visual memory, reaction time, and attention. Challenges in reading comprehension are well documented. Poor school performance, in general, may be due to frequent lapses of awareness. Recommendations are for school personnel to monitor and document symptoms at school