The dynamical hypothesis is the claim that cognitive agents are dynamical systems. It stands opposed to the dominant computational hypothesis, the claim that cognitive agents are digital computers. This target article articulates the dynamical hypothesis and defends it as an open empirical alternative to the computational hypothesis. Carrying out these objectives requires extensive clarification of the conceptual terrain, with particular focus on the relation of dynamical systems to computers. Key words cognition, systems, dynamical systems, computers, computational systems, computability, modeling, time. Long Abstract The heart of the dominant computational approach in cognitive science is the hypothesis that cognitive agents are digital computers; the heart of the alternative dynamical approach is the hypothesis that cognitive agents are dynamical systems. This target article attempts to articulate the dynamical hypothesis and to defend it as an empirical alternative to the compu...

Composition of a system is driven by the (a) identification and specification of basic components, and (b) specification of the interactions across the components, i.e., the communication linkages, that are needed to communicate value and temporal information across the components from which the aggregate system results. This paper addresses compositional design of distributed Real-Time (RT) systems focusing specifically on the role of specification of linking interfaces (LIFs) across components.

orary issues: from philosophy of science, mathematics, and language; through systems, information, complexity, automata, and computer theory; and on to cognitive science; theoretical biology and the origins of life; biological and physical semiotics; chaotic dynamics, catastrophe theory and bifurcations; and self-reference, self-reproduction, and autopoiesis. The material is balanced between philosophical exposition and mathematical treatment and examples. The mathematical level is high conceptually but formally simple. Kampis draws from the latest results from the complete spectrum of the sciences, and is further able to relate and synthesize them together in terms of their implications. The content of the book extends across the whole spectrum of contemporary systems science as well, including extensive references. Therefore it may also be useful as a survey in systems science for advanced graduate students. There are, unfortunately, some significant problems in the text, which suffe

Abstract — In this paper I sketch a rough taxonomy of self-organization which may be of relevance in the study of cognitive and biological systems. I frame the problem both in terms of the language Heinz von Foerster used to formulate much of second-order cybernetics as well as the language of current theories of self-organization and complexity. In particular, I defend the position that, on the one hand, selforganization alone is not rich enough for our intended simulations, and on the other, that genetic selection in biology and symbolic representation in cognitive science alone leave out the very important (self-organizing) characteristics of particular embodiments of evolving and learning systems. I propose the acceptance of the full concept of symbol with its syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic dimensions. I argue that the syntax should be treated operationally in second-order cybernetics.

This paper discusses epistemological consequences of embodied AI for Artificial Life models. The importance of robotic systems for ALife lies in the fact that they are not purely formal models and thus have to address issues of semantic adaptation and epistemic autonomy, which means the system's own ability to decide upon the validity of measurements. Epistemic autonomy in artificial systems is a difficult problem that poses foundational questions. The proposal is to concentrate on biological transformations of epistemological questions that have lead to the development of modern ethology. Such an approach has proven to be useful in the design of control systems for behavior-based robots. It leads to a better understanding of modern ontological conceptions as well as a reacknowledgement of finality in the description and design of autonomous systems. Key words: epistemic autonomy, embodied AI, epistemology, robotics, theoretical biology, finality, teleology, ontology. 1 Introduction ...

Abstract. We do not attempt to provide yet another definition of selforganization, but explore the conditions under which we can model a system as self-organizing. These involve the dynamics of entropy, and the purpose, aspects, and description level chosen by an observer. We show how, changing the level or “graining ” of description, the same system can appear selforganizing or self-disorganizing. We discuss ontological issues we face when studying self-organizing systems, and analyse when designing and controlling artificial self-organizing systems is useful. We conclude that self-organization is a way of observing systems, not an absolute class of systems. 1

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : viii I Introduction : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 1 A. The Need for Balanced E-Money Systems : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 1 1. Outline : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 2 2. What we achieve : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 3 3. Avoiding abuse : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 4 4. Method : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 5 5. Tools for Privacy and Authenticity : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 6 6. Tools for Robustness : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 7 B. Related Work : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 7 II A Versatile and Efficient E-Money Scheme : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 11 A. System Model : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ...

Due to business relationships, alliances, trust, and distribution of liability, distribution of power is an important issue in financial systems. At the same time as the security of the scheme is strengthened by this decentralization, the perception of the security is also strengthened, which is important from a business point of view. Furthermore, apart from increasing the security, client trust and availability of the system, distribution of power can also increase its functionality, as we demonstrate. We suggest an anti-trust mechanism, namely, a method for distribution of the centralized parties into many modules (potentially controlled by different entities), and apply it to a versatile electronic-money system. The method diffuses a task into distributed modules using recent cryptographic technology; doing so, it achieves increased security, privacy, availability and functionality without introducing any noticeable disadvantage. It uses Magic Ink Signatures [29], which are blind ...

fuzzy logic approach

Meaning can be communicated in addition to—and on top of—underlying processes of the information exchange. Meaning is provided to observations from the perspective of hindsight, while information processing follows the time axis. Simulations of anticipatory systems enable us to show how an observer can be generated within an information process, and how expectations can also be exchanged. Cellular automata will be used for the visualization. The exchange of observations among observers generates (a) uncertainty about the delineations in the observed system at each moment in time and (b) uncertainty about the dynamics of the interaction over time.