Embodiment: Does a laptop have a body?

Abstract

This paper analyzes the different understandings of "embodiment". It argues that the issue is not on the hardware a system is implemented in (that is, robot or conventional computer), but on the relation between the system and its working environment. Using an AGI system NARS as an example, the paper shows that the problem of disembodiment can be solved in a symbolic system implemented in a conventional computer, as far as the system makes realistic assumptions about the environment, and adapts to its experience. Copyright © 2008, The Second Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-09.org). All rights reserved.