When Do Robots Have Free Will? Exploring the Relationships between (Attributions of) Consciousness and Free Will

While philosophers and scientists sometimes suggest (or take for granted) that consciousness is an essential condition for free will and moral responsibility, there is surprisingly little discussion of why consciousness (and what sorts of conscious experience) is important. We discuss some of the proposals that have been offered. We then discuss our studies using descriptions of humanoid robots to explore people’s attributions of free will and responsibility, of various kinds of conscious sensations and emotions, and of reasoning capacities, and examine the relationships between these attributions. Our initial results suggest that people’s attributions of free will are strongly influenced by their attributions of conscious emotions, such as happiness and disappointment, including Strawsonian emotions, such as pride and regret. These results provide some support for an intriguing proposal: Free will requires the capacity to make decisions that really matter to the agent, and for anything to really matter to the agent, she must be able to consciously experience the good and bad effects of the decisions she makes—to suffer and regret, or to enjoy and feel proud of, their outcomes

Ecological Drivers of Invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) Distribution Across Mesophotic Reefs in Bermuda

Invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) are now ubiquitous throughout the Caribbean and Western Atlantic on shallow and deep reefs. Recent surveys in Bermuda have revealed dense aggregations of lionfish on mesophotic reefs (60 m depth), yet these densities are not pervasive across reefs at this depth. Using diver-led visual surveys of mesophotic reef sites, this study examines how variations in potential ecological drivers may affect lionfish distribution. Significant correlations of lionfish densities were found with prey fish density and prey fish biomass, where sites with higher abundances of prey fishes have greater densities of lionfish. Furthermore, higher densities of lionfish also correlated significantly with higher juvenile Paranthias furcifer biomass, a preferred prey type for lionfish. Prey fish diversity, on the other hand, was not related to lionfish density, nor did prey fish community composition differ in a way that reflected lionfish distributions. The influence of seawater temperature was found to have the strongest effect on lionfish distribution, where higher lionfish densities were found at sites with lower bottom temperature. However, temperature co-varied with prey fish density, prey fish biomass, and P. furcifer biomass, implying that physical parameters of the environment (i.e., temperature) likely influence ecological parameters (i.e., prey fish abundance), contributing to the structuring of lionfish distributions. We suggest, therefore, that cold-water upwelling currents may be fueling the food chain in certain locations, resulting in high abundances of prey fishes and thus lionfish. Understanding the factors that influence lionfish distributions will ultimately increase the efficacy of management strategies, which, as the data presented here suggest, must incorporate mesophotic lionfish populations

Binding of Gemini Bisbenzimidazole Drugs with Human Telomeric G-Quadruplex Dimers: Effect of the Spacer in the Design of Potent Telomerase Inhibitors

The study of anticancer agents that act via stabilization of telomeric G-quadruplex DNA (G4DNA) is important because such agents often inhibit telomerase activity. Several types of G4DNA binding ligands are known. In these studies, the target structures often involve a single G4 DNA unit formed by short DNA telomeric sequences. However, the 3′-terminal single-stranded human telomeric DNA can form higher-order structures by clustering consecutive quadruplex units (dimers or n-mers). Herein, we present new synthetic gemini (twin) bisbenzimidazole ligands, in which the oligo-oxyethylene spacers join the two bisbenzimidazole units for the recognition of both monomeric and dimeric G4DNA, derived from d(T2AG3)4 and d(T2AG3)8 human telomeric DNA, respectively. The spacer between the two bisbenzimidazoles in the geminis plays a critical role in the G4DNA stability. We report here (i) synthesis of new effective gemini anticancer agents that are selectively more toxic towards the cancer cells than the corresponding normal cells; (ii) formation and characterization of G4DNA dimers in solution as well as computational construction of the dimeric G4DNA structures. The gemini ligands direct the folding of the single-stranded DNA into an unusually stable parallel-stranded G4DNA when it was formed in presence of the ligands in KCl solution and the gemini ligands show spacer length dependent potent telomerase inhibition properties

Developing construction management events in situational simulations

The challenge and promise of educational computer simulations are to provide user experiences that allow for immersion into a dynamic system in which participants discover the ramifications of their decisions in a complex environment. Researchers at the University of Washington, in collaboration with Michigan Technological University, are developing situational simulations to meet the needs of construction management education. This article explores the development of simulation events where simulation variables are changed due to an event, and then the player is challenged to interact with the simulation by making decisions that impact the project outcome. A simulation event includes the player\u27s experience, variables altered by the event, and variables changed by the player. This article defines the concept of simulation events within the context of situational simulations; explains how events are triggered, represented, and handled within the simulation and database; describes how players engage with the simulation; and identifies the challenges of incorporating the social dynamics of project management into the simulation environment

Feeding ecology of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) in the temperate and tropical western Atlantic

Numerous location-based diet studies have been published describing different aspects of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) feeding ecology, but there has been no synthesis of their diet composition and feeding patterns across regional gradients. 8125 lionfish stomachs collected from 10 locations were analyzed to provide a gener alized description of their feeding ecology at a regional scale and to compare their diet among locations. Our regional data indicate lionfish in the western Atlantic are opportunistic generalist carni vores that consume at least 167 vertebrate and invertebrate prey species across multiple trophic guilds, and carnivorous fish and shrimp prey that are not managed fishery species and not considered at risk of extinction by the International Union for Conser vation of Nature disproportionately dominate their diet. Correlations between lionfish size and their diet composition indicate lionfish in the western Atlantic transition from a shrimp-dominated diet to a fish dominated diet through ontogeny. Lionfish total length (TL) (mm) was found to predict mean prey mass per stomach (g) by the following equation mean prey mass =0.0002*TL1.6391, which can be used to estimate prey biomass consumption from lionfish length frequency data. Our locational comparisons indicate lionfish diet varies considerably among locations, even at the group (e.g., crab) and trophic guild levels. The Modified Index of Relative Importance developed specifically for this study, calculated as the frequency of prey a 9 the number of prey a, can be used in other diet studies to assess prey importance when prey mass data are not available. Researchers and managers can use the diet data presented in this study to make inference about lionfish feeding ecology in areas where their diet has yet to be described. These data can be used to guide research and monitoring efforts, and can be used in modeling exercises to simulate the potential effects of lionfish on marine food webs. Given the large variability in lionfish diet composition among locations, this study highlights the importance of continued location-based diet assessments to better inform local management activities.Se han publicado numerosos estudios de dieta basados ​​en la ubicación que describen diferentes aspectos de la ecología de alimentación del pez león invasivo (Pterois volitans y Pterois miles), pero no ha habido una síntesis de la composición de su dieta y patrones de alimentación a través de gradientes regionales. Se analizaron 8125 estómagos de pez león recolectados en 10 lugares para proporcionar una descripción general de su ecología alimentaria a escala regional y para comparar su dieta entre los lugares. Nuestros datos regionales indican que el pez león en el Atlántico occidental son carnívoros generalistas oportunistas que consumen al menos 167 especies de presas de vertebrados e invertebrados en múltiples gremios tróficos, y presas de peces y camarones carnívoros que no son especies pesqueras gestionadas y no se consideran en riesgo de extinción por el Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza dominan desproporcionadamente su dieta. Las correlaciones entre el tamaño del pez león y la composición de su dieta indican que el pez león en el Atlántico occidental pasa de una dieta dominada por camarones a una dieta dominada por peces a través de la ontogenia. Se encontró que la longitud total (TL) (mm) del pez león predice la masa media de presa por estómago (g) mediante la siguiente ecuación: masa media de presa = 0,0002*TL1,6391, que se puede utilizar para estimar el consumo de biomasa de presa a partir de los datos de frecuencia de talla del pez león. Nuestras comparaciones de ubicación indican que la dieta del pez león varía considerablemente entre ubicaciones, incluso a nivel de grupo (p. ej., cangrejo) y gremio trófico. El Índice de Importancia Relativa Modificado desarrollado específicamente para este estudio, calculado como la frecuencia de presas a 9 el número de presas a, puede usarse en otros estudios de dieta para evaluar la importancia de las presas cuando no se dispone de datos de masa de presas. Los investigadores y administradores pueden usar los datos de la dieta presentados en este estudio para hacer inferencias sobre la ecología de alimentación del pez león en áreas donde aún no se ha descrito su dieta. Estos datos se pueden usar para guiar los esfuerzos de investigación y monitoreo, y se pueden usar en ejercicios de modelado para simular los efectos potenciales del pez león en las redes alimentarias marinas. Dada la gran variabilidad en la composición de la dieta del pez león entre las ubicaciones, este estudio destaca la importancia de las evaluaciones continuas de la dieta basadas en la ubicación para informar mejor las actividades de gestión local.Universidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Ciencias Biológica