6,958 research outputs found
Higher-level Knowledge, Rational and Social Levels Constraints of the Common Model of the Mind
In his famous 1982 paper, Allen Newell [22, 23] introduced the notion of knowledge level to
indicate a level of analysis, and prediction, of the rational behavior of a cognitive articial agent.
This analysis concerns the investigation about the availability of the agent knowledge, in order
to pursue its own goals, and is based on the so-called Rationality Principle (an assumption
according to which "an agent will use the knowledge it has of its environment to achieve its
goals" [22, p. 17]. By using the Newell's own words: "To treat a system at the knowledge level
is to treat it as having some knowledge, some goals, and believing it will do whatever is within
its power to attain its goals, in so far as its knowledge indicates" [22, p. 13].
In the last decades, the importance of the knowledge level has been historically and system-
atically downsized by the research area in cognitive architectures (CAs), whose interests have
been mainly focused on the analysis and the development of mechanisms and the processes
governing human and (articial) cognition. The knowledge level in CAs, however, represents
a crucial level of analysis for the development of such articial general systems and therefore
deserves greater research attention [17]. In the following, we will discuss areas of broad agree-
ment and outline the main problematic aspects that should be faced within a Common Model
of Cognition [12]. Such aspects, departing from an analysis at the knowledge level, also clearly
impact both lower (e.g. representational) and higher (e.g. social) levels
Principles for Consciousness in Integrated Cognitive Control
In this article we will argue that given certain conditions for the evolution of bi- \ud
ological controllers, these will necessarily evolve in the direction of incorporating \ud
consciousness capabilities. We will also see what are the necessary mechanics for \ud
the provision of these capabilities and extrapolate this vision to the world of artifi- \ud
cial systems postulating seven design principles for conscious systems. This article \ud
was published in the journal Neural Networks special issue on brain and conscious- \ud
ness
Metacognition and Reflection by Interdisciplinary Experts: Insights from Cognitive Science and Philosophy
Interdisciplinary understanding requires integration of insights from
different perspectives, yet it appears questionable whether disciplinary experts
are well prepared for this. Indeed, psychological and cognitive scientific studies
suggest that expertise can be disadvantageous because experts are often more biased
than non-experts, for example, or fixed on certain approaches, and less flexible in
novel situations or situations outside their domain of expertise. An explanation is
that experts’ conscious and unconscious cognition and behavior depend upon their
learning and acquisition of a set of mental representations or knowledge structures.
Compared to beginners in a field, experts have assembled a much larger set of
representations that are also more complex, facilitating fast and adequate perception
in responding to relevant situations. This article argues how metacognition should be
employed in order to mitigate such disadvantages of expertise: By metacognitively
monitoring and regulating their own cognitive processes and representations,
experts can prepare themselves for interdisciplinary understanding. Interdisciplinary
collaboration is further facilitated by team metacognition about the team, tasks,
process, goals, and representations developed in the team. Drawing attention to
the need for metacognition, the article explains how philosophical reflection on the
assumptions involved in different disciplinary perspectives must also be considered
in a process complementary to metacognition and not completely overlapping with
it. (Disciplinary assumptions are here understood as determining and constraining
how the complex mental representations of experts are chunked and structured.) The
article concludes with a brief reflection on how the process of Reflective Equilibrium
should be added to the processes of metacognition and philosophical reflection in
order for experts involved in interdisciplinary collaboration to reach a justifiable
and coherent form of interdisciplinary integration. An Appendix of “Prompts or
Questions for Metacognition” that can elicit metacognitive knowledge, monitoring,
or regulation in individuals or teams is included at the end of the article
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