If an AGI played because it recognized that it would improve its skills in some domain, then I wouldn't call that play, I'd call it practice. Those are overlapping but distinct concepts.
Play, as distinct from pactice, is its own reward - the reward felt by a kitten. The spirit of Mike's question, I think, was about identifying the essential goalless-ness of play, the sense in which playing fosters adaptivity of goals. If you really want to interpret goal-satisfaction in play, it must be a meta-goal of mastering one's environment - and that is such a broadly defined goal that I don't see how one could specify it to a seed AI. I believe that's why evolution used the "trick" of making it fun. Terren --- On Mon, 8/25/08, Vladimir Nesov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Of course. Different optimization processes at work, > different causes. > Let's say (ignoring if it's actually so for the > sake of illustration) > that cat plays because it provides it with developmental > advantage > through training its nervous system, giving it better > hunting skills, > and so an adaptation that drives cat to play was chosen *by > evolution*. Cat doesn't play because *it* reasons that > it would give > it superior hunting skills, cat plays because of the > emotional drive > installed by evolution (or a more general drive inherent in > its > cognitive dynamics). When AGI plays to get better at some > skill, it > may be either a result of programmer's advice, in which > case play > happens because *programmer* says so, or as a result of its > own > conclusion that play helps with skills, and if skills are > desirable, > play inherits the desirability. In the last case, play > happens because > AGI decides so, which in turn happens because there is a > causal link > from play to a desirable state of having superior skills. > > -- > Vladimir Nesov > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://causalityrelay.wordpress.com/ > > > ------------------------------------------- > agi > Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now > RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ > Modify Your Subscription: > https://www.listbox.com/member/?&; > Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=111637683-c8fa51 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
