THE AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS LABORATORY

Figure 5: System self-awareness —consciousness— implies the continuous update
and meaning generation of a behavior-supporting model that includes a submodel
of the very agent generating the behavior (apart of a model of the model of the
object).

agent can effectively understand —determine the meaning— the effect of its own
actions (computing the differential value derived from self-generated actions, i.e.
how its own actions change the future).

Even more, conscious agents can be made responsible and react to past actions
by means of retrospectively computing values. So, a conscions agent will be able to
understand what has been its role in reaching the actual state of affairs.

This appreciation of the coupling of consciousness to value systems is also being
done in biological studies of consciousness. Let’s quote Gerald Edelman Edelman
(2006) at this point:

Consciousness appeared in vertebrate evolution when reentrant connec-
tions in the thalamocortical system arose to link anterior memory systems deal-

with system’s ethics.

ASLab.org / Principles for Consciousness / A-2007-011 v 1.0 Final

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