=== Full Paper Published in the Proceedings of HELNET95 ===



EXPLORING THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN 

THE DESIGN OF AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS



Raju S. Bapi



Abstract:  There  has been growing evidence for  the  role  of

emotion in human cognition. Some of the relevant work from the

research  on  emotional  systems  in  animals  and  humans  is

summarised here. An hypothesis consisting of four main  points

is  presented regarding the role of emotion in the  design  of

autonomous  systems.  Firstly,  an  analogue  of  emotion   is

necessary if an artificial organism has to decide which branch

points  to  choose when faced with alternatives in a  decision

making  scenario.  The  first  point  is  motivated  from  the

argument  that  the ability to make voluntary  choices  is  an

essential quality of being autonomous. Secondly, there are two

types of emotional systems, the primary and the secondary. The

primary  system  is  built-in  (innate  and  fixed)  and   the

secondary  system is acquired as a result of  experience  with

the  external environment. The second point offers clues about

how  an  analogue  of emotional system can be  constructed  in

artificial   organisms.   Thirdly,  emotional   states   offer

mechanisms  to  cut down on search space in  decision  making.

Lastly,  in  so far as emotional states can be manipulated  as

cognitive    entities,    they    support    mechanisms    for

self-reference. Two neural network architectures are  examined

in  light  of the first point. Some ethical considerations  of

designing such systems are also raised.