Abstract
The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that when a person faces a decision scenario, many thoughts arise and different “physical consequences” are fleetingly observable. It is generally accepted that affective dimension influences cognitive capacities. Several proposals for including affectivity within artificial systems have been presented. However, to the best of our knowledge, a proposal that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in a disaggregated and specialized way for the different phases that make up a decision-making process has not been observed yet. Thus, this research work proposes a framework that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in different phases of the decision-making of autonomous agents: recognition of decision point; determination of the courses of action; analysis of decision options; decision selection and performing; memory management. Additionally, a unified decision-making process and a general architecture for autonomous agents are presented. This proposal offers a qualitative perspective following an approach of grounded theory, which is suggested when existing theories or models cannot fully explain or understand a phenomenon or circumstance under study. This research work represents a novel contribution to the body of knowledge in guiding the incorporation of this biological concept in artificial terms within autonomous agents.
Highlights
The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that when a person faces a decision scenario, many thoughts arise and different “physical consequences” are fleetingly observable [1]
To the best of our knowledge, a proposal that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in a disaggregated and specialized way for the different phases that make up a decision-making process has not been observed yet
The scenario of the study case shows a plausible decision-making context in the domain of passenger transportation, where, even when a travel itinerary is previously defined, it is necessary to have a capacity to adapt said travel itinerary according to possible problems or contingencies that arise on the route
Summary
The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that when a person faces a decision scenario, many thoughts arise and different “physical consequences” are fleetingly observable (somatic consequences being momentary changes in the body) [1]. Some activation signals of a somatic marker are sweating, rapid heartbeat, or momentary contraction of the body Human life is recorded in terms of experience, which is accompanied by emotional associations and bodily reactions. These (somatic) memories are evoked or brought to the present when experiencing or facing a situation similar to a past episode [1,2]. A somatic marker can focus the attention on the positive or negative outcome of a given action and act as an automatic alarm This signal could trigger, for example, that a person immediately discards a course of action before decision analysis and. In the current research work, it will be understood on the basis of the approach presented by [1]: “emotion is the combination of a mental assessment process, simple or complex, with responses to that process emanating from dispositional representations, addressed mainly to the body, resulting in an emotional body state; and oriented towards the brain itself, resulting in additional mental changes”
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