Extending the Predictive Mind.pdf (1.26 MB)
Extending the predictive mind
How do intelligent agents spawn and exploit integrated processing regimes spanning brain, body, and world? The answer may lie in the ability of the biological brain to select actions and policies in the light of counterfactual predictions – predictions about what kinds of futures will result if such-and-such actions are launched. Appeals to the minimization of ‘counterfactual prediction errors’ (the ones that would result under various scenarios) already play a leading role in attempts to apply the basic toolkit of the neurocomputational theory known as ‘predictive processing’ to higher cognitive functions such as policy selection and planning. In this paper, I show that this also leads naturally to the discovery and use of extended processing regimes defined across heterogeneous mixtures of biological and non-biological resource. This solves a long-standing puzzle concerning the ‘recruitment’ of the right non-neural processing resources at the right time. It reveals how (and why) human brains spawn and maintain extended human minds.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Australasian Journal of PhilosophyISSN
0004-8402Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Page range
1-12Department affiliated with
- Philosophy Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-09-21First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-11-30First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-09-20Usage metrics
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