The Turing The Turing Machine Machine RevisitedRevisited

Can a conscious machine exist?(MCon guys say yes, and here’s how he’d build it)

Dr. Alan Rosen

Introduction•System Engineering and Reverse

Engineering

•TRW 1958-1992

•Darwins Law

Charles DarwinDARWIN’S LAW

“Every living organism, member of an extant specie, is genetically endowed with organs and behavioral drives, that statistically enhance its survival in its environmental niche.”

The primary assumption guiding our reverse engineering effort

Caveats & assumptions

•Controversial aspects of consciousness and emotions

•Definition: “consciousness” is a subjective experience

•Engineering is based on two principles in neurobiology and psychology.

•A. Modalities of receptors and the law of specific nerve energy

2.B. William James definition of Emotion.

Proof that a conscious machine

exists

The Turing Test (to determine if a machine can “think.”):

An imitation game wherein the intelligence of the machine is tested via its ability to sustain human-like discourse.

Although the computational complexity of the Universal Turing Machine (UTM) was a sensation, Alan Turing did not prove that a UTM exhibits human-like cognitive thinking

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The UTM failed because UTM’s or modern digital computers do not operate on subjective

experiences

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Computational Characteristics of each set

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The T-set

1. The UTM operates on symbols, numbers, memory locations,

and functions of symbols, numbers, memory locations

2. Follows the computational rules of mathematics and symbolic logic.

The S-set

Members of the S-set:

1. Are unique to sentient biological organisms.

2. Include a subset Sx of

independent variables

3. Are experience only by the subject

4. Do not follow the computational rules of the T-set

A universal Turing machine will never generate a

subjective experience if a computer can

only generate members of the T-Set

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Conversion of Subjective Experiences

Into Code

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I

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The significance of the NCM-circuit:A quantum leap in our understanding the adaptations of

the human body and brain

• Reverse Engineering sensations and emotions: Finding the NCM-circuits that generate all human feeling leads to:

• An understanding of the role that feelings and emotions play in the brain’s control of the body: Sensory motor control and behavior.

• The physiological design (viewed as an adaptation) of the brain and all other organic sub-systems.

• Reverse engineered design of a verbally intelligent humanoid robotic system that utilizes the NCMs of sensations and emotions to control the body, think, feel, see, hear, smell, and taste.

We have taken the first step: Join us in an exciting quest that will shape the 21st century as the century of humanoid robotics.

Outline of the Presentation

• THE ROLE OF THE NCM (THE CONSCIOUSNESS MECHANISM): A FIRST STEP

• II A Programmed (supervised) multitasking humanoid robot that can feel, see, and hear.

a) A tactile itch robotb) A visual seeing robotc) An auditory hearing robot

• III The operation of a supervised multitasking humanoid robot that can feel, see, and hear. (Equipped with a procedural memory system)

• IV An autonomous (unsupervised) multi-tasking robot that uses “emotions” to guide it’s behavior. (Equipped with a procedural memory system)

• V An autonomous multi-tasking robot that can comprehend verbal speech and converse-verbally with humans. (Equipped with a declarative memory system)

I. Proof that a “conscious” machine exists. (Presented)

The Approach: Design of A Turing Type Machine that converts S-sets into T-sets

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II. A Programmed (supervised) multitasking humanoid robot that can feel, see, and hear.

• Neuronal circuit in the brain, represented by the central connections, is defined by the modality of the receptor.

• This circuit, called a Neuronal Correlate of a Modality (NCM)-circuit, may be regarded as the Sensation-generating Mechanism (SgM) that generates the sensation defined by the modality of the receptor.

• To design the NCM-circuit, we proposed a study of the connectivity of the modalities of the tactile, visual, and auditory sensors. This circuit is the SgM that generates the sensation defined by the modalities of the receptors

II

The Modalities of the Tactile System

A tactile Itch-Robot

Reverse engineering the modalities of pressure

transducers (mechanoreceptors) distributed on the robotic body

II A

CONSTRAINTS IMPOSED ON THE OPERATIONOF AN ITCH-SCRATCH ROBOT CONTROLLED BY

THE MODALITIES OF MECHANORECEPTORS

a) MONITORING: The robot must perform tactile sensory monitoring of all the pressure transducers (mechanoreceptors) uniformly distributed on the robotic body. The “robotic self monitoring” performed by the system may be analogous to biological perception of itch-type activations

b) SELF LOCATION AND IDENTIFICATION: The controller must locate and identify all body parts. For example, all possible itch-points and all possible end-joints used for scratching must be located and identified by the controller. “Robotic-self” location and identification may be analogous to biological self-awareness of itch-type activations.

c) SELF KNOWLEDGE (AWARENESS):The robot must be programmed/taught to perform all possible itch-scratch trajectories. A robot that learns all possible itch-scratch trajectories is said to exhibit a form of “robotic self knowledge” analogous to biological self awareness.

II A

The controller has within it a reflection of the external coordinate frame

Robotic self-identification and location

(volitional constraint) The trajectory of motion is pre-planned and goal-directed with the option re-planning (obstacle avoiding) the pre-planned trajectory

Training and programming and learning by means of repeated itch-scratch activations

11

22

33

44

Derived Constraints Associated with

“itch-scratch” type activations

II A

Reverse engineered design of a neural net based coordinate frame within the controller: The controller has

within it a reflection of the external coordinate frame11

II A

The measure of the internal coordinates is calibrated with the measure of the 3-dimensional space in which the robot is operating.2A2A

II A

2B2B The “Robotic Self” is fully defined in the controller.

II A

3A3A

II A

Design of an itch-scratch NCM-circuit:

• Hybrid neural-net/microprocessor

based circuit

• Configured input, Task Selector(Task-initiating Triggers

TTs), and nodal map module and Sequence Stepper Module.

3B3B Block Diagram of the RRC (Hybrid Circuit)

II A

Training a Nodal Map Module

4A4A

II A

4B4B

II ATraining , programming and learning

by means of repeated activation

The Modalities of the Vision System

Visual -seeing RobotThe modalities of

the CCD array associated with the

cameras/eyes

II B

A. The modalities and central connections of the visual sensors must give rise to a sensory form of self location and identification (of all body parts) in a coordinate frame defined by the visual receptors and located within the controller.

B. The coordinate frame must be consistent with and calibrated with the tactile-itch modality coordinate frame.

The design procedure: Reverse engineering the modalities of the

visual receptors.Note: The same design procedure is used for all modalities. All “subjective

experiences” require “self knowledge.”

The correspondence problemHow does binocular vision, consisting of two

2D-surface images, generate a 3D image that corresponds to the 3D objects that gave rise to

that image?• The reverse engineered design is based on Wheatstone’s invention of the 3D-picture stereoscope.

• The superposed images (right & left eye) of the stereocope form the “cyclopean eye” of the system

• The cyclopean eye is the SgM in the brain of an observer that “turns trigonometry onto consciousness.” (Pinker, 1997)

II B

The Wheatstone stereoscope and the

3D-sensation generating

mechanism.

“Turns trigonometry into consciousness” Pinker 1997

The basic principle for 3D-video viewing.If the physiology of the human brain follows the laws of physics, it also must superpose the images of the right and left eye

A visual coordinate frame within the controller.Formed by all the indexed receiving neurons that locate spots of light on the image planes within a given FOV, and all FOVs designed into the system.

The Cyclopean Eye

Connected to the tactile “self identification and location”-circuit.

During each frame period, the convergent angle opto-sensor determinesthe convergent-depth of the image plane and the

TSM transmits the cyclopean eye data to the indexed locations (at plane position-D2).

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Correspondence-matching of the images of the right and left cameras by reverse engineering the convergence and accommodationreflex associated with the rectus and ciliary eye muscles.A solution to the neural net input circuit has been published by Rosen and Rosen (2007, 2006a).

Calibrating the distance-measure in the FOV-visual space. The relative depth distance and size of the pencil-image falls within the FOV of the cyclopean eye. The image-pencil is calibrated with the depth distance and size of the object-pencil, which is determined by the tactile sensors and the tactile receiving neurons within the controller.

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A pictorial representation of a laboratory set-up used to train a visual “itch-scratch”-robot to avoid obstacles. The robot is pictured re-planning a pre-planned itch-type trajectory in order to avoid a visual obstacle viewed along the pre-planned trajectory.

The visual NCM-circuit

The Modalities of the Auditory

System

II C

Auditory HearingThe modalities of microphone transducers simulating the vibrating hair cell mechanoreceptors in the ear

The NCM Circuit for Auditory Perception

The p-phoneme navigational path in the p-q nodal map for the word “listen” is presented at the bottom of the figure.Each vector direction represents a control signal of the mouth-lip-tongue-airflow configuration. The a-f-t diagram at the top of thefigure is presented as a function of brain processing frame periods. It is assumed that brain processing occurs at the rate of 30frames per second.

A sequence of nodal transitions associated with the p-vector control signals of the mouth-lips-tongue-air flow that generates the phoneme sound of the word L I S E

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Expansion of the itch-scratch-task to a multi-tasking robot.

• Itch activations: Task-initiating triggers (TTs) selected by the (system designer) Task Selector module (TSM) of the system.• Visual & auditory TT-activations: are also programmed by the system designer, into the TSM.• In a supervised learning multi-tasking robot the TTs programmed into the TSM are determined by the Hierarchical Task diagram (HTD).• The Hierarchical Task Diagram (HTD) is the top level specification of the system .• The HTD may be developed, in addition to an itch scratch robot, to a postal delivery robot (HTD-determined), an ambulating robot, a ditch digging robot, and even a basketball playing robot.

The operation of a supervised multitasking humanoid robot that can feel, see, and hear.

(Expansion of itch-scratch tasking to multi-tasking)

III

The Functional Flow OF Task-initiating Triggers (TTs) Through the TSM Pattern Recognition Circuit. Programmed Offline by Use of Top Level Specification(HTD)

III

The Hierarchical Task Diagram for the sensory motor control of a multi-

tasking robotIII

A Procedural Memory Circuit in the Brain

The HTD, the “self” nodal map recording monitor and the TSM-pattern recognition circuit, are analogous to a procedural memory system in the brain.

The HTD describes the tasks and the priority level TT that is assigned to each task that the robot is designed and programmed to perform.

The pattern recognition circuit must be taught (programmed) to recognize the total set of TT-priority levels that have been designed into the HTD.

During each frame period the pattern recognition circuit of the TSM examines the priority levels of all TTs that are recorded on the pattern recognition circuit of the TSM. Depending on the TTs observed by the robot during sensory perception, the robot performs and remembers a complex sequence of obstacle avoiding tasks all aimed at fulfilling the prime tasks shown on the HTD

The Functional Similarities of the Controller to Operation of the Brain

• Parallel processor controls all motors simultaneously with synchronization and coordination

• Body sensors constantly monitor the external environment

• External coordinate frame is embedded within the controller

• The measure of the internal space is calibrated with external space

• Motion of the limbs defined and controlled relative to the center of mass of the “robotic self”

• Trajectories are pre-planned and goal directed with the option of re-planning any pre-planned trajectory.

• All motors are trained simultaneously by neural networks that are initially programmed by inverse kinematics.

• Trained to perform a diverse set of multi-tasking actions from an itch-scratch robot to a mail delivery robot... a sports playing robot.

III

• The Darwinian Hierarchical Task Diagram (DHTD): - The top level specification of an autonomous HTD.

• Must autonomously learn to identify and prioritize all the TTs of the DHTD.-In the biological system a few TT-patterns are innate to the organism.

-All other derivative TT patterns must be learned.

• The Darwinian Search Engine (sensory perception), is used to find environmental contingencies (via the TSM) and identify them as TTs.

• Learning and prioritization of TTs: A) All TTs are accompanied by an emotion (an upset of an autonomic subsystem) B) emotions are the modalities of upset autonomic homeostatic system (servomechanisms) C) Conditioned learning and prioritization of TTS is performed by the “emotional perception” of the modality of an upset sub-system.

Emotional-Task-initiating Triggers (TTs)

An autonomous (unsupervised) multi-tasking robot that uses “emotions” to guide it’s behavior.

(Equipped with a procedural memory system).

IV

TACTILE SEARCH

ENGINE

“SELF” TASK

B’’

surface (skin)

maintenance

• •

Directed

walking

Daisy chain

Line dance

chunks

TACTILE

SEARCH

ENGINE

“SELF” TASK

B’’ Surface

(skin)

Maintainance

VISUAL SEARCH

ENGINE

INTERNAL TIT

ENGINEPlatform-camera

zoom focus control

Platform Camera

PRIME

TASK A

PRIME

TASK B

PRIME

TASK C

PRIME

TASK A’

PRIME

TASK B’

PRIME TASK

A’’

Hand

Manipulation

PRIME TASK

C’’

“blind “ tasks

Leg motion

task

Hand

manipulation

task

Arm motion

task

Leg motion

task

Hand

manipulation

task

Arm motion

task

•

•• • •• ••• • •• •

Dancing

&

Jumping

Directed

orientation

Directed

reaching

Signaling

Hand

manipulation

Arm

motion

Directed

orientation

(scratch)

orientation

(body)

Directed

walking

Reach

(adjust

Destination

A

Destination

B

Destination

C

Dest.

A

Orientation

A

Dest.

B

Cyclic (chunk)

stepping

Cyclic (chunk)

stepping

sequential

non-cyclic

sequential

non-cyclic

TACTILE

SEARCH

ENGINE

Directed

Reaching

(scratch)

Directed

Walking

“SELF” TASK

self definition

Surface (skin)

maintenance

Darwinian survival Prime Objective

FOOD SHELTER REPRODUCTION DEFENSE

DODILY

MAINTENANCE

The Darwinian Hierarchical Task Diagram (DHTD):The Top Level Specification of the RRC. Conversion of HTD to DHTD

IV

What is an Emotion?William James, the father of modern psychology, wrote that an

emotion is a mechanism that upsets the equilibrium of the homeostatic operation of the autonomic organic functions of the

body.

The Role emotions play in the design of an autonomous DHTD.•There are,literally, thousands of homeostatic subsystems in the body•Emotions are the modalities of upset homeostatic subsystems•Reverse engineered design of emotional modalities adhere to the law of specific nerve

energy.

-Hormonal-receptor and axonal-synaptic pathways (endocranology)

IV

Reverse engineering emotional modalities

• The law of specific nerve energy: The upset signal must activate the central connections in the Self-location and Identification -circuit.

• The specificity of the pathway may be either axonal-synapticor hormonal-receptor (determined in the field of endocranology)

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Learning the Derivative TT - Tasks

It is postulated that with repeated coupling of q-P with q-TT, the magnitude of the priority level assigned to the q-P slowly increases. This increase is determined by the magnitude of the sentient-emotional experience, and the degree of “upset” of one or more autonomic homeostatic systems

After repeated coupling of q-P with q-TT, The lower branch may be triggered by the uncoupled q-P and q-P becomes a learned TT - task.

In the biological TSM the rate of learning is a function of the “emotional perception”. (the change in state of the autonomic system)

The “emotional” factor is an essential element in the learning process: “All animals that exhibit associative conditioning, from snails to humans, seem to

learn by detecting environmental contingencies (TT-tasks) rather than detecting the simple contiguity of a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned

stimulus.” (Kupfermann 1991)

Designing the biological TSM: An Autonomous TSM that learns and prioritizes derivative TTs.

IV

A Memory Module in the Brain

Procedural memory is built into the pattern recognition circuit of the biological TSM

The “emotional” factor is an essential element in the learning process

The pattern recognition circuits ( e.g. Stephen Grossberg and Gail Anderson) are essential elements in the design of the motivational and memory systems in the brain.

Procedural learningand remembering

Derivative-TT’s that must be learned in driving a car. Innate-TT is the “fear of collision” associated with speed and distance.

The design of a TSM that recognizes tactile,visual and auditory TTs

IV

Closing the functional loop • Somatic motor system • “Emotional” motivational system • Autonomic (organic) system.

A BUILDING PATH: THE DESIGN OF THE HEDONIC FACTOR INTO A MACHINE

Designed the pain-Pleasure Mechanism into the pattern recognition of the motivational system in the brain.

For the first time we have a tool to study:

A. How do emotions operating on the motivational system in the brain, affect animal and human behavior.

B. The pairing of the unconditioned and the conditioned stimuli in the classical Pavlovian learning methodology

C. Solving the mind-body problem

IV

A reverse engineered design of an auditory-verbal NCM leads to:-A neuro-anatomical-connectionist model for the brain organization of language- The Darwinian Language Model- A Declarative Memory System in the Brain

Question: How to build an intelligent, humanoid, cognitive UTM?Ans. Teach the emotional DHTD-robot to talk, read, write...

V

An autonomous multi-tasking robot that can comprehend verbal speech and converse-verbally with humans. (Equipped with a

declarative memory system).

The p-phoneme navigational path in the p-q nodal map for the word “listen” is presented at the bottom of the figure.Each vector direction represents a control signal of the mouth-lip-tongue-airflow configuration. The a-f-t diagram at the top of thefigure is presented as a function of brain processing frame periods. It is assumed that brain processing occurs at the rate of 30frames per second.

A sequence of nodal transitions associated with the p-vector control signals of the mouth-lips-tongue-air flow that generates the phoneme sound of the word L I S E

N

A sequence of phoneme sound-genmerating control vector p-signals is shown at the top of the figure. A representation of the navigational path in a 4-dimensional p-phoneme space, of a word sound compoosed of five phonemes is shown at the bottom.

Conditioned learning to say what you see

Hierarchical task diagram showing the auditory sound-generating nodal map.THE CORRECT BUILDING PATH FOR A HUMAN-LIKE INTELLIGENT ROBOT.

References and Additional information• Complete- detailed engineering data: Published in the MCTJ-

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