Functions and mechanisms of intrinsic motivations: the knowledge versus competence distinction

Mammals, and humans in particular, are endowed with an exceptional capacity for cumulative learning. This capacity crucially de- pends on the presence of intrinsic motivations, i.e. motivations that are not directly related to an organism\u27s survival and reproduction but rather to its ability to learn. Recently, there have been a number of attempts to model and reproduce intrinsic motivations in artificial systems. Different kinds of intrinsic motivations have been proposed both in psychology and in machine learning and robotics: some are based on the knowl- edge of the learning system, while others are based on its competence. In this contribution we discuss the distinction between knowledge-based and competence-based intrinsic motivations with respect to both the functional roles that motivations play in learning and the mechanisms by which those functions are implemented. In particular, after arguing that the principal function of intrinsic motivations consists in allowing the development of a repertoire of skills (rather than of knowledge), we suggest that at least two different sub-functions can be identified: (a) discovering which skills might be acquired and (b) deciding which skill to train when. We propose that in biological organisms knowledge-based intrinsic motivation mechanisms might implement the former function, whereas competence-based mechanisms might underly the latter one

Intrinsic Motivations Drive Learning of Eye Movements: An Experiment with Human Adults

Intrinsic motivations drive the acquisition of knowledge and skills on the basis of novel or surprising stimuli or the pleasure to learn new skills. In so doing, they are different from extrinsic motivations that are mainly linked to drives that promote survival and reproduction. Intrinsic motivations have been implicitly exploited in several psychological experiments but, due to the lack of proper paradigms, they are rarely a direct subject of investigation. This article investigates how different intrinsic motivation mechanisms can support the learning of visual skills, such as “foveate a particular object in space”, using a gaze contingency paradigm. In the experiment participants could freely foveate objects shown in a computer screen. Foveating each of two “button” pictures caused different effects: one caused the appearance of a simple image (blue rectangle) in unexpected positions, while the other evoked the appearance of an always-novel picture (objects or animals). The experiment studied how two possible intrinsic motivation mechanisms might guide learning to foveate one or the other button picture. One mechanism is based on the sudden, surprising appearance of a familiar image at unpredicted locations, and a second one is based on the content novelty of the images. The results show the comparative effectiveness of the mechanism based on image novelty, whereas they do not support the operation of the mechanism based on the surprising location of the image appearance. Interestingly, these results were also obtained with participants that, according to a post experiment questionnaire, had not understood the functions of the different buttons suggesting that novelty-based intrinsic motivation mechanisms might operate even at an unconscious level

Outlaw Community Innovations

Recent studies of outlaw communities provide qualitative evidence of their existence and the organisation of the underlying innovation processes. We provide descriptive results from a large scale survey of two online outlaw communities focussing on Microsoft's XBox. In line with previous findings, we identify two types of participants in outlaw communities - user innovators and adopters. Based on 2,256 responses, we find that users modify their XBox mainly to be able to increase the set of available functions of their XBox. Users are also motivated to modify their XBox for the sake of having fun and to conduct pirate behaviour. Finally, the results from our survey suggest that user innovators are largely intrinsically motivated by fun and the intellectual stimulation of writing code for homebrew software

Governance of the governing

Developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations show how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public sectors bodies, government departments and the governance of parliament itself. The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control the executives who manage the business. This paper gives a preliminary examination of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance mechanisms has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. What is evident is that the changes involve greater emphasis on extrinsic goals, potentially at the cost of the intrinsic ones that characterize public service motivation. These tensions seem inevitable, and the challenge for board is to maintain a balance

Governing the governance of the governors: Motivating accountability at the top of public organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this “viewpoint” is to consider developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations, showing how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public bodies. Design/methodology/approach – It discusses the literature of corporate governance and public service motivation and reflects it against practice evidenced in documentation for the UK Corporate Governance Code, codes for boards of different levels of public organizations, and both formal and informal evaluations of practice. Findings – The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control managers. The paper gives a preliminary investigation of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. The changes involve greater emphasis on extrinsic goals, potentially at the cost of the intrinsic ones. Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests avenues for future research, linking notions of the tensions between the service and control functions in corporate governance with the balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Practical implications – Directors in both public and private bodies face a need to hold at bay forces that push in opposing directions to accommodate demands for greater accountability while sustaining the altruism social mindedness. Originality/value – The area of public sector boards is undergoing considerable change in the UK and this paper, although preliminary, is one of the few to examine the links to motivation

Azimuthal and transverse single spin asymmetries in hadronic collisions

We give a short overview of the phenomenology of azimuthal and transverse single spin asymmetries in (un)polarized high-energy hadronic collisions. We briefly summarize a transverse momentum dependent, generalized parton model approach to these polarization phenomena, and discuss some of its applications. Finally, open points and future developments will be outlined.Comment: 8 pages; Talk given at the "5th International Workshop on Quantum Chromodynamics - Theory and Experiment (QCD@Work 2010)", 20-23 June 2010, Martina Franca, Valle d'Itria, Italy; to be published in the AIP Conference Proceedings Serie

Outlaw Community Innovations

Recent studies of outlaw communities provide qualitative evidence of their existence and the organisation of the underlying innovation processes. We provide descriptive results from a large scale survey of two online outlaw communities focussing on Microsoft's XBox. In line with previous findings, we identify two types of participants in outlaw communities - user innovators and adopters. Based on 2,256 responses, we find that users modify their XBox mainly to be able to increase the set of available functions of their XBox. Users are also motivated to modify their XBox for the sake of having fun and to conduct pirate behaviour. Finally, the results from our survey suggest that user innovators are largely intrinsically motivated by fun and the intellectual stimulation of writing code for homebrew software.Outlaw community innovation; video game consoles; homebrew software

Intrinsic Motivation and Mental Replay enable Efficient Online Adaptation in Stochastic Recurrent Networks

Autonomous robots need to interact with unknown, unstructured and changing environments, constantly facing novel challenges. Therefore, continuous online adaptation for lifelong-learning and the need of sample-efficient mechanisms to adapt to changes in the environment, the constraints, the tasks, or the robot itself are crucial. In this work, we propose a novel framework for probabilistic online motion planning with online adaptation based on a bio-inspired stochastic recurrent neural network. By using learning signals which mimic the intrinsic motivation signalcognitive dissonance in addition with a mental replay strategy to intensify experiences, the stochastic recurrent network can learn from few physical interactions and adapts to novel environments in seconds. We evaluate our online planning and adaptation framework on an anthropomorphic KUKA LWR arm. The rapid online adaptation is shown by learning unknown workspace constraints sample-efficiently from few physical interactions while following given way points.Comment: accepted in Neural Network