Open-ended intelligence: On the role of individuation in AGI

Abstract

We offer a novel theoretical approach to AGI. Starting with a brief introduction of the current conceptual approach, our critique exposes limitations in the ontological roots of the concept of intelligence. We propose a paradigm shift from intelligence perceived as a competence of individual agents defined in relation to an a priori given problem or a goal, to intelligence perceived as a formative process of self-organization by which intelligent agents are individuated. We call this process Open ended intelligence. This paradigmatic shift significantly extends the concept of intelligence beyond its current definitions and overcomes the difficulties exposed in the critique. Open-ended intelligence is developed as an abstraction of the process of cognitive development so its application can be extended to general agents and systems. We show how open-ended intelligence can be framed in terms of a distributed, self-organizing scalable network of interacting elements.