Abstract
The Integrated Information Theory provides a quantitative approach to consciousness and can be applied to neural networks. An embodied agent controlled by such a network influences and is being influenced by its environment. This involves, on the one hand, morphological computation within goal directed action and, on the other hand, integrated information within the controller, the agent's brain. In this article, we combine different methods in order to examine the information flows among and within the body, the brain and the environment of an agent. This allows us to relate various information flows to each other. We test this framework in a simple experimental setup. There, we calculate the optimal policy for goal-directed behavior based on the “planning as inference” method, in which the information-geometric em-algorithm is used to optimize the likelihood of the goal. Morphological computation and integrated information are then calculated with respect to the optimal policies. Comparing the dynamics of these measures under changing morphological circumstances highlights the antagonistic relationship between these two concepts. The more morphological computation is involved, the less information integration within the brain is required. In order to determine the influence of the brain on the behavior of the agent it is necessary to additionally measure the information flow to and from the brain.
Highlights
In order to analyze the information flow of an acting agent, we examine the following simple setting
We can examine the dynamics of the information theoretic measures of an agent under changing morphological circumstances by modifying the length of the sensors
We calculate the optimal behavior by using the concept of planning as inference which allows us to model the conditional distributions determining the actions of the agents as latent variables
Summary
The more complex part of the task is solved by the information processed in the brain of the sailor. A bird equipped with magneto-reception, meaning one that is able to use the magnetic field of the earth to perceive its direction, can rely on this sense and does not need to integrate different sources of information. The complexity of the task is met by the morphology of the bird. Taking this example further we consider a modern boat with a highly developed navigation system. The complexity of the task shifts from the brain and background knowledge of the sailor toward the construction of the navigation system, which receives and integrates different information sources for the sailor to use
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