The robotics path to AGI using servo stacks

Abstract

The case is made that the path to AGI through cognitive and developmental robotics is compelling. Beyond the familiar argument that it keeps researchers honest by forcing their systems to cope with the real world, it encourages them to recapitulate the evolutionary developmental path which gave rise to intelligence in humans. Insights from this perspective are embodied in the SERVO STACKS cognitive architecture with several salient features. The brain evolved as a body controller and thus is based largely on computational structures appropriate to physical process control. Evolution typically copies existing structure and modifies it minimally to meet a new demand. We should therefore expect the higher cognitive functions to be performed by body controllers pressed into service as brain controllers. Copyright © 2008, The Second Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-09.org). All rights reserved.