4 research outputs found
Path integrals, particular kinds, and strange things
This paper describes a path integral formulation of the free energy
principle. The ensuing account expresses the paths or trajectories that a
particle takes as it evolves over time. The main results are a method or
principle of least action that can be used to emulate the behaviour of
particles in open exchange with their external milieu. Particles are defined by
a particular partition, in which internal states are individuated from external
states by active and sensory blanket states. The variational principle at hand
allows one to interpret internal dynamics - of certain kinds of particles - as
inferring external states that are hidden behind blanket states. We consider
different kinds of particles, and to what extent they can be imbued with an
elementary form of inference or sentience. Specifically, we consider the
distinction between dissipative and conservative particles, inert and active
particles and, finally, ordinary and strange particles. Strange particles (look
as if they) infer their own actions, endowing them with apparent autonomy or
agency. In short - of the kinds of particles afforded by a particular partition
- strange kinds may be apt for describing sentient behaviour.Comment: 31 pages (excluding references), 6 figure
Natural Language Syntax Complies with the Free-Energy Principle
Natural language syntax yields an unbounded array of hierarchically
structured expressions. We claim that these are used in the service of active
inference in accord with the free-energy principle (FEP). While conceptual
advances alongside modelling and simulation work have attempted to connect
speech segmentation and linguistic communication with the FEP, we extend this
program to the underlying computations responsible for generating syntactic
objects. We argue that recently proposed principles of economy in language
design - such as "minimal search" criteria from theoretical syntax - adhere to
the FEP. This affords a greater degree of explanatory power to the FEP - with
respect to higher language functions - and offers linguistics a grounding in
first principles with respect to computability. We show how both tree-geometric
depth and a Kolmogorov complexity estimate (recruiting a Lempel-Ziv compression
algorithm) can be used to accurately predict legal operations on syntactic
workspaces, directly in line with formulations of variational free energy
minimization. This is used to motivate a general principle of language design
that we term Turing-Chomsky Compression (TCC). We use TCC to align concerns of
linguists with the normative account of self-organization furnished by the FEP,
by marshalling evidence from theoretical linguistics and psycholinguistics to
ground core principles of efficient syntactic computation within active
inference