Incorporating characteristics of human creativity into an evolutionary art algorithm

A perceived limitation of evolutionary art and design algorithms is that they rely on human intervention; the artist selects the most aesthetically pleasing variants of one generation to produce the next. This paper discusses how computer generated art and design can become more creatively human-like with respect to both process and outcome. As an example of a step in this direction, we present an algorithm that overcomes the above limitation by employing an automatic fitness function. The goal is to evolve abstract portraits of Darwin, using our 2nd generation fitness function which rewards genomes that not just produce a likeness of Darwin but exhibit certain strategies characteristic of human artists. We note that in human creativity, change is less choosing amongst randomly generated variants and more capitalizing on the associative structure of a conceptual network to hone in on a vision. We discuss how to achieve this fluidity algorithmically

Content and action: The guidance theory of representation

The current essay introduces the guidance theory of representation, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account of the biological origins of representation, a formal characterization of the guidance theory, some examples of its use, and show how the guidance theory handles some traditional problem cases for representation: the problems of error and of representation of fictional and abstract entities

A brief introduction to the guidance theory of representation

Recent trends in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science can be fruitfully characterized as part of the ongoing attempt to come to grips with the very idea of homo sapiens--an intelligent, evolved, biological agent--and its signature contribution is the emergence of a philosophical anthropology which, contra Descartes and his thinking thing, instead puts doing at the center of human being. Applying this agency-oriented line of thinking to the problem of representation, this paper introduces the Guidance Theory, according to which the content and intentionality of representations can be accounted for in terms of the way they provide guidance for action. We offer a brief account of the motivation for the theory, and a formal characterization

Auotmatic detection, consistent mapping, and training

Results from two experiments showed that a flat display﷓size function was found under the consistent mapping (CM) condition despite the facts that there was no extensive CM training and that the stimulus﷓response (S﷓R) consistency was only an intrasession manipulation. A confounding factor might be responsible for the fact that the consistent and the varied S﷓R mapping conditions gave rise to different display﷓size functions in Schneider and Shiffrin's (1977) study. Their claim that automatic detection and controlled search are qualitatively different is also discussed

Some meta-theoretical issues relating to statistical inference

This paper is a reply to some comments made by Green (2002) on Chow’s (2002) critique of Wilkinson and Task Force's (1999) report on statistical inference. Issues raised are (a) the inappropriateness of accepting methodological prescription on authority, (ii) the vacuity of non-falsifiable theories, (iii) the need to distinguish between experiment and meta﷓experiment, and (iv) the probability foundation of the null﷓hypothesis significance﷓test procedure (NHSTP). This reply is intended to foster a better understanding of research methods in general, and of the role of NHSTP in empirical research in particular

In Remembrance of Denis Alan Trevor New

Non

Commentary: Urine chemical content may be a false measure of environmental exposure

No abstrac

Representation, evolution and embodiment

As part of the ongoing attempt to fully naturalize the concept of human being--and, more specifically, to re-center it around the notion of agency--this essay discusses an approach to defining the content of representations in terms ultimately derived from their central, evolved function of providing guidance for action. This 'guidance theory' of representation is discussed in the context of, and evaluated with respect to, two other biologically inspired theories of representation: Dan Lloyd's dialectical theory of representation and Ruth Millikan's biosemantics

Representations, symbols and embodiment

Response to "Embodied artificial intelligence", a commentary by Ron Chrisley