Mode||ng L|fe as

Cogn|nve
Info-computanon
Cordana uodlg Crnkovlc
rofessor of CompuLer Sclence
Malardalen unlverslLy,
School of lnnovauon, ueslgn and
Lnglneerlng

gordana.dodlg-crnkovlc[mdh.se


Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, 11 April 2014
2
Mlardalen University
Malardalen unlverslLy Sweden
12,000 sLudenLs and around 900 employees, of whlch 67 are professors
kesearch

Compuung aradlgms
CompuLauonal knowledge generauon
CompuLauonal aspecLs of lnLelllgence and
Cognluon
1heory of Sclence/ hllosophy of Sclence
lnformauon sclence (generauon of
lnformauon ln cognluve sysLems)
Compuung and hllosophy and
LLhlcs (LLhlcs of Compuung, lnformauon
LLhlcs, 8oboeLhlcs and Lnglneerlng
LLhlcs).

hup://www.ldL.mdh.se/personal/gdc/
work/publlcauons.hLml



1each|ng
8esearch MeLhods ln naLural Sclences
and Lnglneerlng

Compuung and hllosophy

CompuLauonal 1hlnklng and Wrlung
1oolbox

lormal Languages, AuLomaLa and 1heory
of CompuLauon

rofesslonal LLhlcs
hup://www.ldL.mdh.se/personal/gdc/
work/courses.hLml
My background
p. 4
hu ln 1heoreucal hyslcs from Zagreb unlverslLy (1988)
hu ln Compuung from Malardalen unlverslLy (2006)
Informanon, computanon, cogn|non
Agency-based n|erarch|es of Leve|s
ln Lhls lecLure l wlll presenL a framework for modellng of lnformauon,
compuLauon and cognluon
from an agenLs perspecuve.

p. S
information computation
cognition
Fruit fly brain micrograph
Fruit fly brain neurons
Fruit fly larva
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437104014839
1he bra|n deve|opment
Cogn|non as b|o|og|ca| phenomenon
p. 6
http://lcn.brain.riken.jp/tool_kit_evolution.htm
1he braln developmenL may be carrled ouL
based on Lhe baslc body-organlzauon-blueprlnLs
LhaL are speclc Lo an anlmal specles dependlng
on Lhelr sLraLegy Lo survlve ln an envlronmenL.
1o undersLand how our bralns are esLabllshed ln
Lhe course of evoluuon, we have been
conducung a comparlson of Lhe sLrucLure and
funcuon of Lhe gene LhaL are essenual for
esLabllshlng body organlzauon and braln
developmenL ln a wlde rage of anlmals wlLh
nervous sysLem.
1he sma||est |nsect w|th bra|n
p. 7
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1467803911000946 The smallest insects evolve anucleate neurons
Arthropod Structure & Development, Volume 41, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 2934

Slze of Lhe smallesL lnsecL and Lwo
proLozoans ln comparlson.
(A) Megaphragma mymarlpenne.
(8) arameclum caudaLum.
(C) Amoeba proLeus.

Scale bar for A-C ls 200 m.
8 and C are made up of a slngle cell,
A Lhe wasp compleLe wlLh eyes, braln, wlngs,
muscles, guLs - ls acLually smaller.

1hls wasp ls Lhe Lhlrd smallesL lnsecL allve.

Lhe smallesL nervous sysLems of any lnsecL,
conslsung of [usL 7,400 neurons.
Pousey has 340,000
Poneybee has 830,000.
93 of Lhe wasps's neurons have no nucleus.
Informanon, computanon,
cogn|non Agency-based n|erarch|es of Leve|s
p. 8
Puman connecLome
hup://ouLlook.wusLl.edu/2013/[un/human-connecLome-pro[ecL
hup://www.naLure.com/sclenucamerlcan/[ournal/v306/n6/pdf/
sclenucamerlcan0612-30.pdf 1he Puman 8raln ro[ecL
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Natural information processing
Short summary of the argument:

1. lnformauon consuLuLes a structure conslsung of
d|erences |n one system that cause the d|erences |n
another system. ln oLher words, |nformanon |s
<observer>*-re|anve.
2. CompuLauon ls |nformanon process|ng (dynamlcs of
lnformauon). lL ls phys|ca| process of morpho|og|ca|
change |n the |nformanona| structure (physlcal
lmplemenLauon of lnformauon, as Lhere ls no lnformauon
wlLhouL physlcal lmplemenLauon.)
Informanon, computanon, cogn|non.
Agency-based n|erarch|es of Leve|s
p. 9
*<> brackets indicate that the term is used in a broader sense than usually.
3. 8oLh lnformauon and compuLauon appear on many
d|erent |eve|s of organ|sanon/absLracuon/resoluuon/
granularlLy of mauer/energy ln space/ume.
4. Cf all agenLs (enuues capable of acung on Lhelr own
behalf) only ||v|ng agents have Lhe ab|||ty to acnve|y
make cho|ces so to |ncrease the probab|||ty of the|r own
connnu|ng ex|stence. 1hls ablllLy of llvlng agenLs Lo acL
auLonomously on lLs own behalf ls based on Lhe use of
energy/mauer and lnformauon from Lhe envlronmenL.

Informanon, computanon, cogn|non.
Agency-based n|erarch|es of Leve|s
p. 10
S. Cogn|non conslsLs of all (lnfo-compuLauonal) processes
necessary Lo keep llvlng agenL's organlzauonal lnLegrlLy
on all dlerenL levels of lLs exlsLence.
Cogn|non = |nfo-computanon
6. Cogn|non |s equ|va|ent w|th the (process of) ||fe.*
lLs complexlLy lncreases wlLh evoluuon.
1hls complexlcauon ls a resulL of morphologlcal
compuLauon.
Informanon, computanon, cogn|non.
Agency-based n|erarch|es of Leve|s
p. 11
* Maturana, H. & Varela, F., 1980. Autopoiesis and cognition: the realization of the living, Dordrecht
Holland: D. Reidel Pub. Co.
"Informanon |s the d|erence that makes a d|erence. "
Cregory 8aLeson

lL ls Lhe dlerence lo tbe wotlJ LhaL makes Lhe dlerence fot
oo oqeot. Pere Lhe wotlJ lncludes agenLs Lhemselves Loo.

Informanon expresses the fact that a system |s |n a certa|n
conhguranon that |s corre|ated to the conhguranon of
another system. Any physlcal sysLem may conLaln lnformauon
abouL anoLher physlcal sysLem." Carl Pewlu

Informanon as a fabr|c of rea||ty
Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology,
Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology pp. 448466). University Of Chicago Press.

Hewitt, C. (2007). What Is Commitment? Physical, Organizational, and Social. In P.
Noriega, J. Vazquez, Salceda, G. Boella, O. Boissier, & V. Dign (Eds.), Coordination,
Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems II (pp. 293 307). Berlin,
Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.
no dlerence for an agenL
Informanon from data
A dlerence LhaL makes Lhe dlerence
(lor an agenL who can see llghL)
Informanon from data
A sysLem of dlerences LhaL consuLuLes Lhe fabrlc of reallLy for an agenL
Informanon from data
lofotmouoool sttoctotol teollsm (llorldl, Sayre) argues LhaL
lnformauon (for an agenL) consuLuLes Lhe fabrlc of reallLy:

!"#$%&' )*+,%,&, *- %+-*./#0*+#$ ,&.1)&1.", *.2#+%3"4 *+
4%5"."+& $"6"$, *- #7,&.#)0*+8.",*$10*+.

See also:
van 8enLhem and Adrlaans (2008) lbllosopby of lofotmouoo, ln: Pandbook of Lhe
phllosophy of sclence serles. hup://www.lllc.uva.nl/Pl
Ladyman !. and 8oss u., wlLh Spurreu u. and Colller !. (2007)
vety 1bloq Most Co: Metopbyslcs NototollzeJ, Cxford u






Informanon structures as a fabr|c of
rea||ty
llorldl, L. (2008) A defence of lnformauonal sLrucLural reallsm, 5yotbese 161,
219-233.
Sayre, k. M. (1976) Cyberneucs and Lhe hllosophy of Mlnd, 8ouLledge & kegan
aul, London.
Comblnlng denluons of 8aLeson:
lnformauon ls a dlerence LhaL makes a dlerence."
(8aLeson, 1972)
and Pewlu:
"lnformauon expresses Lhe facL LhaL o system ls lo o cettolo
coofqotouoo tbot ls cotteloteJ to tbe coofqotouoo of oootbet
system. Any phys|ca| system may conta|n |nformanon about
another phys|ca| system." (Pewlu, 2007), we geL:

9+-*./#0*+ %, 4":+"4 #, &;" 4%5"."+)" %+ *+" <;',%)#$ ,',&"/
&;#& /#=", &;" 4%5"."+)" %+ #+*&;". <;',%)#$ ,',&"/.


1he re|anona| dehn|non of |nformanon
17
lor all llvlng agenLs, lnformauon ls Lhe fabrlc of reallLy.

8uL: Lhe knowledge of sttoctotes ls only half a sLory.
1he oLher half are changes, ptocesses - lofotmouoo Jyoomlcs.
(ln classlcal formulauon: belng and becomlng.)

lofotmouoo ptocessloq wlll be Laken as Lhe mosL general
denluon of compotouoo.

1hls denluon of compuLauon has a profound consequence - lf
compuLauon ls Lhe dynamlcs of lnformauonal sLrucLures of Lhe
unlverse, the dynam|cs of the un|verse |s a network of
computanona| processes (natura| computanona||sm).



Structure vs. process
p. 18
Dodig-Crnkovic, G., Dynamics of Information as Natural Computation,
Information 2011, 2(3), 460-477; Selected Papers from FIS 2010 Beijing,
2011.




9+-*./#0*+ %, 4":+"4 #, &;" 4%5"."+)" %+ *+" <;',%)#$ ,',&"/
&;#& /#=", &;" 4%5"."+)" %+ #+*&;". <;',%)#$ ,',&"/.

1hls reecLs Lhe telouoool characLer of lnformauon and Lhus
oqeot-JepeoJeocy whlch calls for agenL-based or acLor models.

As a syotbesls of lofotmouoool sttoctotol teollsm and oototol
compotouooollsm, l propose |nfo-computanona| structura||sm
LhaL bullds on Lwo baslc concepLs: lnformauon (as a sLrucLure)
and compuLauon (as a dynamlcs of an lnformauonal sLrucLure)
(uodlg-Crnkovlc, 2011).

(uodlg-Crnkovlc & Clovagnoll, 2013) lnformauon and compuLauon are Lwo baslc
and lnseparable elemenLs necessary for naLurallzlng <cognluon>. (uodlg-
Crnkovlc, 2009)

kea||ty as |nformanona| structure w|th
computanona| dynam|cs: |nfo-computanon

19
AGENCY/
COMPUTATION
ONTOLOGY/
INFORMATION
Metaphysics (First Philosophy) is a study of first principles, classification of all entities hat exists/can exist , the
nature of their properties, and the nature of change.
Compunng nature. Dua|-aspect
|nfo-computanona| metaphys|cs
Cognluon ls Lhe meotol* ocuoo or ptocess of ocpoltloq
koowleJqe and ooJetstooJloq Lhrough LhoughL, experlence,
and Lhe senses.
[cooot oooo] a percepuon, sensauon, ldea, or lnLuluon
resulung from Lhe process of cognluon.

from Laun coqoluo(-), from coqooscete 'geL Lo know'

hup://www.oxforddlcuonarles.com/denluon/engllsh/cognluon
from co- (LogeLher") + *gnoscere (know, recognlze, geL
acqualnLed wlLh")
hup://en.wlkuonary.org/wlkl/nosco#Laun
1he |ast concept from the nt|e: cogn|non,
d|cnonary dehn|non
p. 21
*Mental = relating to the mind. Mind is set of processes in which consciousness,
perception, affectivity, judgment, thinking, and will are based.
Cogn|nve sc|ence
p. 22
Biology /embodiment/embeddedness (situatedness)
Biology /embodiment/
embeddedness
Biology /embodiment/
embeddedness
Biology /embodiment/
embeddedness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_science
http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/
2011/8/114944-cognitive-computing/
fulltext
Computanona| mode||ng |n cogn|nve sc|ence
! 5ymbollc moJelloq evolved from Lhe compuLer sclence
paradlgms uslng Lhe Lechnologles of knowledge-based sysLems -
"Cood Cld-lashloned Aruclal lnLelllgence" (CClAl). used ln
experL sysLems and cognluve declslon maklng, and exLended Lo
soclo-cognluve approach.
! 5obsymbollc moJelloq lncludes ConnecuonlsL/neural neLwork
models.
p. 23
Computanona| mode||ng |n cogn|nve sc|ence
! uyoomlcol systems tbeoty closely relaLed Lo ldeas abouL Lhe
emboJlmeot of mlnd and Lhe envlronmenLal sltooteJoess of
human cognluon based on physlologlcal and envlronmenLal
evenLs. 1he mosL lmporLanL here ls tbe Jlmeosloo of ume.
! Neotol-symbollc loteqtouoo Lechnlques pumng symbollc models
and connecuonlsL models lnLo correspondence.
! 8oyesloo moJels of btolo foocuoo whlch assume LhaL Lhe
nervous sysLem malnLalns lnLernal probablllsuc models LhaL are
updaLed by neural processlng of sensory lnformauon uslng
meLhods approxlmaung Lhose of 8ayeslan probablllLy.
p. 24
It |s |mportant to nonce:
Computanona||sm |s not what |t used to be.
. that |s, the thes|s that persons are 1ur|ng mach|nes.

1urlng Machlne ls a model of compuLauon equlvalenL Lo
algorlLhm and lL may be used for descrlpuon of dlerenL
processes ln llvlng organlsms.

We need compuLauonal models for the bas|c character|sncs of
||fe as the ab|||ty to d|erennate and synthes|ze |nformanon,
make a cho|ce, to adapt, evo|ve and |earn |n an unpred|ctab|e
wor|d. 1hat requ|res computanona| mechan|sms and mode|s
wh|ch are not mechan|snc and predehned as 1ur|ng mach|ne.*


* We need learnlng such as AC robably ApproxlmaLely CorrecL - Leslle vallanL
p. 2S
Computanona||sm |s not what |t used to be .
. that |s the thes|s that persons are 1ur|ng mach|nes.

CompuLauonal approaches LhaL are capable of modelllng
adapLauon, evoluuon and learnlng are found ln Lhe eld of
natura| computanon and compunng nature.

Cogn|nve compunng and cogn|nve roboncs are Lhe auempLs
Lo construct ab|onc systems exh|b|nng cogn|nve
character|sncs.
lL ls argued LhaL cogn|non comes |n degrees, Lhus lL ls
meanlngful Lo Lalk abouL cognluve capablllues of arufacLs,
even Lhough Lhose are noL meanL Lo assure conunulng
exlsLence, whlch was Lhe evoluuonary role of cognluon ln
blouc sysLems.

p. 26
8lologlcal processes are oen compared Lo compuLauon and
modeled on Lhe unlversal 1urlng Machlne. Wh||e many
systems or aspects of systems can be we|| descr|bed |n th|s
manner, 1ur|ng computanon can on|y compute what |t has
been programmed for. (.)

?eL, adaptanon, cho|ce and |earn|ng are a|| ha||marks of
||v|ng organ|sms. 1hls suggesLs LhaL Lhere musL be a dlerenL
form of compuLauon capable of Lhls sorL of calculauon. (.)
Super-1urlng model ls boLh capable of modellng adapuve
compuLauon, and furLhermore, a posslble answer Lo Lhe
compuLauonal model searched for by 1urlng hlmself."
1ur|ng computanon: "1ur|ng on Super-1ur|ng
and adapnv|ty" accord|ng to S|ege|mann
p. 27
Hava T. Siegelmann, Turing on Super-Turing and adaptivity, Progress in
Biophysics and Molecular Biology,
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079610713000278
p. 28
ln Lhe AcLor Model [Pewlu, 8lshop and
SLelger 1973 Pewlu 2010], computanon
|s conce|ved as d|str|buted |n space,
wh e r e c o mp u t a no n a | d e v | c e s
commun|cate asynchronous|y and the
ennre computanon |s not |n any we||-
dehned state>

(An AcLor can have lnformauon abouL oLher AcLors
LhaL lL has recelved ln a message abouL whaL lL was
llke when Lhe message was senL.) 1urlng's Model ls a
speclal case of Lhe AcLor Model." (Pewlu, 2012)
Pewlu's compuLauonal devlces" are concelved as compuLauonal agenLs -
lnformauonal sLrucLures capable of acung on Lhelr own behalf.
Actor mode| of concurrent d|str|buted
computanon
AcLors are Lhe unlversal prlmluves of concurrenL dlsLrlbuLed
dlglLal compuLauon. ln response Lo a message LhaL lL recelves,
an AcLor can make local <declslons>, creaLe more AcLors, send
more messages, and deslgnaLe how Lo respond Lo Lhe nexL
message recelved.

lor Pewlu, AcLors become AgenLs only when Lhey are able Lo
process expresslons for commlLmenLs lncludlng Lhe followlng:
coottocts, Aooooocemeots, 8ellefs, Cools, loteouoos, lloos,
lollcles, ltoceJotes, kepoests, Ooetles.
ln oLher words, Pewlu's AgenLs are human-llke or lf we
broadly lnLerpreL Lhe above capaclues, llfe-llke AcLors.
p. 29
Actor mode| of concurrent d|str|buted
computanon
p. 30
Summary of lnLeracuons beLween parucles descrlbed by Lhe SLandard
Model.
hup://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/SLandardModel
unllke oLher models of
compuLauon LhaL are based
on maLhemaucal loglc, seL
Lheory, algebra, eLc. the
Actor mode| |s based on
phys|cs, especlally quanLum
physl cs and rel auvl suc
physlcs. (Pewlu, 2006)
Actor mode| of concurrent d|str|buted
computanon
Compunng nature and
nature |nsp|red computanon


If it looks like a duck,
if it walks like a duck
and it quacks like a duck,
is it a duck?
(If it looks like computation is it
computation?)
Peter J. Denning. 2007. Computing is a natural science.
Commun. ACM 50, 7 (July 2007), 13-18. DOI=10.1145/1272516.1272529
http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1272516.1272529
Complex biological systems must be modeled as self-
referential, self-organizing "component-
systems" (George Kampis) which are self-generating
and whose behavior, though computational in a general
sense, goes far beyond Turing machine model.
a component system is a computer which, when executing its operations
(software) builds a new hardware.... [W]e have a computer that re-wires itself in a
hardware-software interplay: the hardware defines the software and the software
defines new hardware. Then the circle starts again. Kampis (1991) p. 223

Kampis (1991) Self-Modifying Systems in Biology and Cognitive Science. A New Framework For
Dynamics, Information, and Complexity, Pergamon Press

Dodig Crnkovic, G. (2011). Significance of Models of Computation from Turing Model to Natural
Computation. Minds and Machines, (R. Turner and A. Eden guest eds.) Volume 21, Issue 2, p.301.
Compunng ce||s: se|f-generanng systems
Computanon |s |mp|emented at d|erent
|eve|s of reso|unon - Compunng arch|tecture
p. 33
Some layered computational architectures
p. 34
Computanon as |nformanon process|ng.
Data to |nformanon v|a computanon
Computational processes on information structures
Elements of information
processing in an information
system
Cognluve lnformauon rocesslng Lheory of learnlng accordlng Lo
(Cagn, 1983): 1hls ls an old and slmpllsuc ldea of cognluon as
lnformauon processlng. M|ss|ng |n th|s scheme are feedback |oops
LhaL are absoluLely essenual for cognluon and learnlng. Also mlsslng
ls |nformanon |ntegranon from dlerenL sensors and coup||ngs to
actuators. Memory |s not a pass|ve storage buL an acnve
lngredlenL ln percepuon, LhaL ls boLh used for recognluon and
anuclpauon.
Cogn|nve |nformanon process|ng |s not
what |t used to be .
p. 3S
Cognitive / Information Processing Theory of Learning according to (Gagn, 1985)
36
Mu|nsensor| |nformanon |ntegranon
Informanon |ntegranon ls crlucal for Lhe braln Lo
l nLeracL eecuvel y wl Lh our mul usensory
envl ronmenL. 1he human bral n l nLegraLes
lnformauon from muluple senses wlLh prlor
knowledge Lo form a coherenL and more rellable
percepL of lLs envlronmenL. (learnlng)
W|th|n the cornca| h|erarchy, mu|nsensory
percepnon emerges |n an |nteracnve process w|th
top-down pr|or |nformanon constra|n|ng the
|nterpretanon of the |ncom|ng sensory s|gna|s.

Marcln Schrder ln Lhe book Compuung naLure
adresses Lhe uuallsm of Selecuve and SLrucLural
lnformauon, descrlblng lnformauon lnLegrauon.
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/
research/activity/behavioural-neuro/
comp-cog-neuro/index.aspx
37
Cogn|non: Agency-based h|erarch|es of |eve|s.
Wor|d as |nformanon for an agent
From: http://www.alexeikurakin.org
Potential information Actual information for an agent Cognition
http://www.tbiomed.com/content/8/1/4 scale-invariance of self-organizational dynamics of energy/
matter at all levels of organizational hierarchy
38
http://www.33rdsquare.com/2013/07/david-dalrymple-update-on-project.html
C. Elegans has 302 neurons (humans have 100 billion). The pattern of
connections between neurons has been mapped out decades ago using
electron microscopy, but knowledge of the connections is not sufficient to
understand (or replicate) the information processor they represent, for
some connections are inhibitory while others are excitatory.
Potential information
Outside reality for C-elegans
Interaction interface for C-elegans
Cognition
Actual Information C-elegans
Agency-based h|erarch|es of |eve|s.
Wor|d as |nformanon for an agent

keollty fot oo oqeot ls oo lofotmouoool sttoctote wltb wblcb
oqeot lotetocts. As sysLems able Lo acL on Lhelr own behalf
and make sense (use) of lnformauon, cognluve agenLs are of
speclal lnLeresL wlLh respecL Lo <knowledge>* generauon.

1hls relaLes Lo Lhe ldea of parnc|patory un|verse, (Wheeler,
1990) lL from blL" as well as Lo endophys|cs or physlcs from
wlLhln" where an observer ls belng wlLhln Lhe unlverse, unllke
Lhe god-eye-perspecuve" from Lhe ouLslde of Lhe unlverse.
(8ssler, 1998)

kea||ty for an agent -
an observer-dependent rea||ty
39
*<knowledge> for a very slmple agenL can be Lhe ablllLy Lo opumlze galns and mlnlmlze
rlsks.
(opper, 1999) p. 61 ascrlbes Lhe ablllLy Lo know Lo all llvlng: "Obvloosly, lo tbe bloloqlcol
ooJ evolouoooty seose lo wblcb l speok of koowleJqe, oot ooly oolmols ooJ meo bove
expectouoos ooJ tbetefote (oocooscloos) koowleJqe, bot olso ploots, ooJ, loJeeJ, oll
otqoolsms."
An |||ustranon: Agent-dependent mu|nsca|e
mode||ng of comp|ex chem|ca| system
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013 for the development of
multiscale models for complex chemical systems ...
Karplus, Levitt and Warshel managed to make Newton's
classical physics work side-by-side with the fundamentally
different quantum physics. The strength of classical physics was
that calculations were simple and could be used to model large
molecules but no way to simulate chemical reactions for which
chemists use quantum physics. But such calculations require
enormous computing power.
Nobel Laureates in chemistry devised methods that use both
classical and quantum physics.
In simulations of how a drug couples to its target protein in the
body, the computer performs quantum theoretical calculations on
those atoms in the target protein that interact with the drug. The
rest of the large protein is simulated using less demanding
classical physics.

Today the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the
test tube. Simulations are so realistic that they predict the outcome
of traditional experiments.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/advanced-chemistryprize2013.pdf
Observer-centric model enhanced
resolution where observation is
made where chemical reaction
takes place
Info-computanona| framework and |eve|s
1he quesuon of levels of organlzauon/levels of absLracuon for an agenL ls
analyzed wlLhln Lhe framework of |nfo-computanona| construcnv|sm, wlLh
naLural phenomena modeled as computanona| processes on |nformanona|
structures.
lnfo-compuLauonallsm ls a synLhesls of |nformanona| structura||sm (naLure
ls an lnformauonal sLrucLure for an agenL) (llorldl, Sayre) and natura|
computanona||sm]pancomputanona||sm (naLure compuLes lLs fuLure sLaLes
from lLs earller sLaLes) (Zuse, lredkln, Wolfram, Chalun, Lloyd).

1wo cenLral books presenung Lhe dlverslLy of research on lnformauon and compuLauon:
Adrlaans . and van 8enLhem !. eds. 2008. h||osophy of Informanon (Pandbook of Lhe hllosophy of
Sclence) norLh Polland.
8ozenberg, C., 1. 8ack, and !.n. kok, eds. 2012. nandbook of Natura| Compunng. 8erlln Peldelberg: Sprlnger.
p. 41
42
L|fe as cogn|non. Autopo|es|s as se|f-
reecnve process
"Llvlng sysLems are cognluve sysLems, and ||v|ng as a process
|s a process of cogn|non. 1hls sLaLemenL ls valld for all
organlsms, wlLh and wlLhouL a nervous sysLem."
PumberLo MaLurana, 8lology of Cognluon, 1970


MaLurana and varela (1980) dene "auLopolesls" as follows: An auLopoleuc sysLem ls a
sysLem organlzed (dened as a unlLy) as a neLwork of processes of producuon
(Lransformauon and desLrucuon) of componenLs LhaL produces Lhe componenLs, such LhaL:
(l) Lhrough Lhelr lnLeracuons and Lransformauons conunuously Lhey regeneraLe and
reallze Lhe neLwork of processes (relauons) LhaL produced Lhem and
(ll) Lhey consuLuLe lL (Lhe sysLem) as a concreLe unlLy ln Lhe space ln whlch Lhey (Lhe
componenLs) exlsL by speclfylng Lhe Lopologlcal domaln of lLs reallzauon as such a
neLwork.
A ||v|ng agent |s an ennty acnng on |ts own beha|f, w|th
autopo|enc propernes that |s capab|e of 1+4".2*%+2 #& $"#,&
*+" &;"./*4'+#/%) ?*.= )')$". (kauman, 2000)

1hls denluon dlers from Lhe common bellef LhaL (llvlng)
oqeocy requlres bellefs and deslres, unless we ascrlbe some
prlmluve form of <bellef> and <deslre> even Lo a very slmple
llvlng agenLs such as bacLerla. 1he facL ls LhaL Lhey acL on
some klnd of <anuclpauon> and accordlng Lo some
<preferences> whlch mlghL be auLomauc ln a sense LhaL Lhey
dlrecLly derlve from Lhe organlsms morphology. Lven Lhe
slmplesL llvlng belngs acL on Lhelr own behalf.
L|v|ng agents - bas|c |eve|s of cogn|non
43
AlLhough a deta||ed phys|ca| account of Lhe agenLs capaclLy Lo
perform work cycles and so perslsL* ln Lhe world ls cenLral for
undersLandlng of llfe/cognluon, as (kauman, 2000) (ueacon,
2007) have argued ln deLall, present argument |s pr|mar||y
focused on the |nfo-computanona| aspects of ||fe.

Clven LhaL there |s no |nformanon w|thout phys|ca|
|mp|ementanon (Landauer, 1991), computanon as Lhe
dynamlcs of lnformauon ls Lhe "@")10*+ *- <;',%)#$ $#?,.

*ConLragrade processes (LhaL requlre energy and do noL sponLaneously appear ln
naLure) become posslble by connecung wlLh Lhe orLhograde (sponLaneous) processes
whlch provlde source of energy.
L|v|ng agents - bas|c |eve|s of cogn|non
44
kauman's concepL of agency (also adopLed by ueacon)
suggesLs Lhe poss|b|||ty that $%-" )#+ 7" 4".%6"4 -.*/ <;',%),.
1haL ls noL Lhe same as Lo clalm LhaL llfe coo be teJoceJ to
pbyslcs LhaL ls obvlously false.

Powever, ln Jetlvloq llfe ftom pbyslcs one may expecL LhaL
boLh our undersLandlng of llfe as well as physlcs wlll change.

We wlLness Lhe emergence of |nformanon phys|cs (Coyal,
2012) (Chlrlbella, C. u'Arlano, C.M. erlnom, 2012) as a
posslble reformulauon of physlcs LhaL may brlng physlcs and
llfe/cognluon closer Lo each oLher.
L|v|ng agents - bas|c |eve|s of cogn|non
4S
1he or|g|n of <cogn|non> |n hrst ||v|ng agents |s not we||
researched, as the |dea sn|| preva||s that on|y humans possess
cogn|non and know|edge.
Powever, Lhere are dlerenL Lypes of <cognluon> and we have
good reasons Lo ascrlbe slmpler klnds of <cognluon> Lo oLher
llvlng belngs.
8acLerla collecuvely "collecLs laLenL lnformauon from Lhe
envlronmenL and from oLher organlsms, process Lhe lnformauon,
develop common knowledge, and Lhus learn from pasL
experlence" (8en-!acob, 2009)
lanLs can be sald Lo possess memory (ln Lhelr bodlly sLrucLures)
and ablllLy Lo learn (adapL, change Lhelr morphology) and can be
argued Lo possess slmple forms of cognluon.
Leve|s of organ|zanon of ||fe]cogn|non
46
Ben-Jacob, E. (2009). Learning from Bacteria about Natural Information Processing. Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 1178, 7890.
! nerve neL - [ellysh
! Slmple braln & nerve cord - aLworm
! 8raln & nerve cord wlLh ganglla - earLhworm
! lncreaslng forebraln - sh, blrd & human
! ClfacLory - sh
! Complex behavlor - blrds
! 8easonlng & cognluon - humans
Lvo|unon of the Nervous System
uee unglaub SllverLhorn, Puman hyslology- an lnLegraLed Approach, 3
rd
ed
Lvo|unon of the Nervous System
Figure 9-1: Evolution of the nervous system
p. 49
hup://www.fronuersln.org/neurosclence/10.3389/fnlns.2010.00200/full
hup://www.sclenceprog.com/eccceroboL-embodled-cognluon-ln-a-compllanLly-englneered-roboL/
Cogn|non as computanon - |nformanon
process|ng
Modular and hierarchically
modular organization of
brain networks
D. Meunie, R. Lambiotte
and E. T. Bullmore
Frontiers of Neuroscience
http://www.neuroinformatics2013.org
Neuroinformatics
Cogn|nve compunng - Computanon as cogn|non
A cogn|nve computer ls a proposed compuLauonal devlce
wlLh a non-von neumann archlLecLure LhaL lmplemenLs
Pebblan learnlng. lnsLead of belng programmable ln a
Lradluonal sense, such a devlce learns by experlence Lhrough
an lnpuL devlce LhaL are aggregaLed wlLhln a compuLauonal
convoluuon or neural neLwork archlLecLure conslsung of
welghLs wlLhln a parallel memory sysLem.
Lxample of such devlces developed ln 2012 under Lhe uarpa
SynASL program aL l8M dlrecLed by uharmendra Modha.

hup://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/CognluvecompuLerModha
p. S0
http://www.kurzweilai.net/ibm-unveils-cognitive-computing-chips-combining-digital-
neurons-and-synapses
An Lxamp|e: Cogn|nve Compunng at ICIC
Cognitive Informatics (CI) is a discipline across
computer science, information science, cognitive science,
brain science, intelligence science, knowledge science
and cognitive linguistics, which investigates into the
internal information processing mechanisms and
processes of the brain, the underlying abstract
intelligence theories and denotational mathematics, and
their engineering applications in cognitive computing and
computational intelligence.

Cognitive Computing (CC) is a novel paradigm of
intelligent computing theories and methodologies based
on CI that implements computational intelligence by
autonomous inferences and perceptions mimicking the
mechanisms of the brain.


http://www.ucalgary.ca/icic/
The International Institute of Cognitive Informatics and Cognitive Computing
(ICIC)
S2
An Lxamp|e: Cogn|nve Compunng at I8M
1he numan 8ra|n ro[ect (n8) ls a large sclenuc research
pro[ecL, dlrecLed by Lhe cole polyLechnlque fdrale de
Lausanne and largely funded by Lhe Luropean unlon, whlch
al ms Lo sl mul aLe Lhe compl eLe human bral n on
supercompuLers Lo beuer undersLand how lL funcuons.
1he 8kAIN In|nanve (8ra|n kesearch through Advanc|ng
Innovanve Neurotechno|og|es, also referred Lo as Lhe 8ra|n
Acnv|ty Map ro[ect) ls a proposed collaborauve research
lnluauve announced by Lhe Cbama admlnlsLrauon on Aprll 2,
2013, wlLh Lhe goal of mapplng Lhe acuvlLy of every neuron ln
Lhe human braln.

8ased upon Lhe Puman Cenome ro[ecL, Lhe
lnluauve has been pro[ecLed Lo cosL more Lhan 300 mllllon
per year for Len years.


Source: Wlklpedla

Current bra|n research |n|nanves
S3
1he A||en Insntute conducung and compleung large-scale
braln mapplng pro[ecLs for Lhe lasL 10 years. ln early 2012
launched Lhree addluonal ma[or research lnluauves Lo drlve
crlucal advances ln undersLandlng how Lhe braln works and
develops.
! neural Codlng (undersLandlng how lnformauon ls encoded and
decoded ln Lhe mammallan braln)
! Molecular neLworks (undersLandlng how lnformauon ls
encoded and decoded wlLhln a cell)
! Cell 1ypes (large-scale descrlpuve resources of human and
mouse braln cell Lypes aL molecular, morphologlcal and
connecuonal levels)
! ALlaslng (collecuon of onllne publlc resources lnLegraung
exLenslve genomlc and neuroanaLomlc daLa)
S4
Current bra|n research |n|nanves
http://www.alleninstitute.org/science/research_programs/index.html
Des|gn and Construcnon of a 8ra|n-L|ke
Computer
SS
A new Class of lrequency-lracLal
Compuung uslng Wlreless
Communlcauon ln a
Supramolecular Crganlc,
lnorganlc SysLem
SubraLa Chosh, krlshna Aswanl,
Surabhl Slngh, SaLya[lL Sahu,
ualsuke lu[lLa and Anlrban
8andyopadhyay *
lofotmouoo 2014, 5, 28-100 dol:
10.3390/lnfo3010028



http://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/5/1/28
Connecnng |nformanona| structures and
processes from quantum phys|cs to ||v|ng
organ|sms and soc|enes
naLure ls descrlbed as a complex lnformauonal sLrucLure for a
cognlzlng agenL.
lnformauon ls Lhe dlerence ln one lnformauon sLrucLure LhaL
makes a dlerence ln anoLher lnformauon sLrucLure.
CompuLauon ls lnformauon dynamlcs (lnformauon
processlng) consLralned and governed by Lhe laws of physlcs
on Lhe fundamenLal level.

p. S6
Compunng nature
1he baslc ldea of compuung naLure ls LhaL all processes Laklng place
ln physlcal world can be descrlbed as compuLauonal processes - from
Lhe world of quanLum mechanlcs Lo llvlng organlsms, Lhelr socleues
and ecologles. Lmphasls ls on regularlues and Lyplcal behavlors.

Lven Lhough we all have our sub[ecuve reasons why we move and
how we do LhaL, from Lhe blrd-eye-vlew movemenLs of lnhablLanLs ln
a clLy show sLrlklng regularlues.
ln order Lo undersLand blg plcLure and behavlor of socleues, we Lake
compuLauonal approach based on daLa and lnformauon.

See Lhe work of AlberL-Lszl 8arabsl who sLudles neLworks on
dlerenL scales:
hup://www.barabasllab.com/pubs-Lalks.php
p. S8
A computab|e un|verse

Spec|a| Issue of the Iourna| A+&.*<'
"Se|ected apers from Sympos|um on Natura|]Unconvennona|
Compunng and Its h||osoph|ca| S|gn|hcance"
S9
Giulio Chiribella, Giacomo Mauro DAriano and Paolo Perinotti:
Quantum Theory, Namely the Pure and Reversible Theory of Information

Susan Stepney:
Programming Unconventional Computers: Dynamics, Development, Self-
Reference

Gordana Dodig Crnkovic and Mark Burgin:
Complementarity of Axiomatics and Construction

Spec|a| Issue of the Iourna| A+&.*<'
"Se|ected apers from Sympos|um on Natura|]Unconvennona|
Compunng and Its h||osoph|ca| S|gn|hcance"
60
Hector Zenil, Carlos Gershenson, James A. R. Marshall and David A.
Rosenblueth:
Life as Thermodynamic Evidence of Algorithmic Structure in Natural
Environments

Andre C. Ehresmann: MENS, an Info-Computational Model for
(Neuro-)cognitive Systems Capable of Creativity


Gordana Dodig Crnkovic and Raffaela Giovagnoli, Editorial:
Natural/Unconventional Computing and Its Philosophical Significance
Spec|a| Issue of the Iourna| 9+-*./#0*+
"Informanon and Lnergy]Mauer"
61
Vlatko Vedral: Information and Physics

Philip Goyal: Information PhysicsTowards a New Conception of Physical
Reality

Chris Fields: If Physics Is an Information Science, What Is an Observer?

Gerhard Luhn: The Causal-Compositional Concept of Information Part I.
Elementary Theory: From Decompositional Physics to Compositional Information

Koichiro Matsuno and Stanley N. Salthe:
Chemical Affinity as Material Agency for Naturalizing Contextual Meaning
Joseph E. Brenner: On Representation in Information Theory


Spec|a| Issue of the Iourna| 9+-*./#0*+
"Informanon and Lnergy]Mauer"
62
Makoto Yoshitake and Yasufumi Saruwatari: Extensional Information Articulation
from the Universe

Christopher D. Fiorillo: Beyond Bayes: On the Need for a Unified and Jaynesian
Definition of Probability and Information within Neuroscience

William A. Phillips: Self-Organized Complexity and Coherent Infomax from the
Viewpoint of Jayness Probability Theory

Hector Zenil: Information Theory and Computational Thermodynamics: Lessons
for Biology from Physics
Joseph E. Brenner: On Representation in Information Theory


Gordana Dodig Crnkovic, Editorial: Information and Energy/Matter


Computanon, Informanon, Cogn|non
LdlLor(s): Cordana uodlg Crnkovlc and Susan
SLuarL, Cambrldge Scholars ubllshlng, 2007


Compunng Nature
p. 63
Informanon and Computanon
LdlLor(s): Cordana uodlg Crnkovlc and
Mark 8urgln, World Sclenuc, 2011
Compunng Nature
LdlLor(s): Cordana uodlg Crnkovlc and
8aaela Clovagnoll, Sprlnger, 2013
8rler Sren: cybetsemloucs ooJ tbe poesuoo of koowleJqe
8urgln Mark: lofotmouoo uyoomlcs lo o coteqotlcol 5emoq
Chalun Creg: lelbolz, complexlty & locompleteoess
Colller !ohn: lofotmouoo, coosouoo ooJ compotouoo
Cooper 8arry: ltom uescottes to 1otloq. 1be compotouoool cooteot of 5opetveoleoce
uodlg Crnkovlc Cordana and Mller vlncenL: A uloloqoe coocetoloq 1wo losslble wotlJ
5ystems
Polrchner Wolfgang: uoes compouoq mbtoce 5elf-Otqoolsouoo?
krelnovlch vladlk & Aralza 8oberLo: Aoolysls of lofotmouoo ooJ compotouoo lo lbyslcs
xplolos coqoluve lotoJlqms. ftom loll coqoluoo to loploce uetetmlolsm to
5tousucol uetetmlolsm to MoJeto Apptoocb

p. 64
Informanon and computanon
Gordana Dod|g-Crnkov|c and Mark 8urg|n,
World Sclenuc ubllshlng Co. 2011

MacLennan Bruce J.: Bodies Both Informed and Transformed
Menant Christophe: Computation on Information, Meaning and Representations. An
Evolutionary Approach
Mestdagh C.N.J. de Vey & Hoepman J.H.: Inconsistent information as a natural
phenomenon
Minsky Marvin: Interior Grounding, Reflection, and Self-Consciousness
Riofrio Walter: Insights into the biological computing
Roglic Darko: Super-recursive features of natural evolvability processes and the models
for computational evolution
Shagrir Oron: A Sketch of a Modeling View of Computing
Sloman Aaron: What's information, for an organism or intelligent machine? How can a
machine or organism mean?
Zenil Hector & Delahaye Jean-Paul: On the algorithmic nature of the world
p. 6S
Informanon and computanon
Gordana Dod|g-Crnkov|c and Mark 8urg|n, World Sclenuc
ubllshlng Co. Serles ln lnformauon SLudles, 2011

Compunng nature
Gordana Dod|g-Crnkov|c and kaae|a G|ovagno||,
Sprlnger SAL8L book serles, 2013

8arry Cooper: wbot Mokes A compotouoo uocooveouoool?
PecLor Zenll: Notote-llke compotouoo ooJ o Meosote of ltoqtommoblllty
Clanfranco 8asu: lotelllqeoce AoJ kefeteoce. lotmol Ootoloqy Of 1be Nototol
compotouoo
8on Couam, Wllly 8anson and 8oger vounckx: A ltomewotk fot compouoq llke Notote
Cordana uodlg Crnkovlc: Aloo 1otloqs leqocy. lofo-compotouoool lbllosopby of Notote
Marcln !. Schroeder: uuallsm of Selecuve and SLrucLural lnformauon ln Modelllng
uynamlcs of lnformauon
p. 66

Larry 8ull, !ullan Polley, 8en ue Lacy CosLello and Andrew AdamaLzky: 1owotJ 1otloqs
A-type uootqoolseJ Mocbloes lo oo uocooveouoool 5obsttote. A uyoomlc
kepteseotouoo lo compottmeotollseJ xcltoble cbemlcol MeJlo
lranclsco Pernndez-ulroz and ablo adllla: 5ome coosttolots Oo 1be lbyslcol
keollzoblllty Of A Motbemoucol coosttocuoo
Mark 8urgln and Cordana uodlg Crnkovlc: ltom tbe closeJ closslcol Alqotltbmlc
uolvetse to oo Opeo wotlJ of Alqotltbmlc coostellouoos


p. 67
Compunng nature
Gordana Dod|g-Crnkov|c and kaae|a G|ovagno||,
Sprlnger SAL8L book serles, 2013

p. 68
1wo brand new books
2013
Cn Lhe Loplc of llfe,
compuLauon, evoluuon &
cognluon.
Wrluen by a compuLer sclenusL.
p. 69
1wo brand new books
2014
Cn Lhe Loplc of on Lhe Loplc
of (physlcal) compuLauon &
cognluon.
Wrluen by a phllosopher.
New computanona| parad|gm:
Generanve compunng - ce||u|ar automata
p. 70
A New Kind of Science

Book available at:
http://www.wolframscience.com

Based on cellular automata, complexity
emerging from repeating very simple rules

See also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eC14GonZnU
A New Kind of Science - Stephen Wolfram

Books in the New Computational Paradigm
A New arad|gm of Compunng
- Interacnve Compunng
Interactive Computation: the New Paradigm
Springer-Verlag in September 2006
Dina Goldin, Scott Smolka, Peter Wegner, eds.
Dina Goldin, Peter Wegner
The Interactive Nature of Computing:
Refuting the Strong Church - Turing Thesis
Minds and Machines
Volume 18 , Issue 1 (March 2008) p 17 - 38
http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/pw/strong-cct.pdf

Biology as Reactivity http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/
144550/CACM_11.pdf
p. 71
p. 72
Se|f-mod|fy|ng Systems |n 8|o|ogy and
Cogn|nve Sc|ence


The topic of the book is the self-generation of
information by the self-modification of
systems. The author explains why biological
and cognitive processes exhibit identity
changes in the mathematical and logical
sense. This concept is the basis of a new
organizational principle which utilizes shifts of
the internal semantic relations in systems.
ftp://wwwc3.lanl.gov/pub/users/joslyn/kamp_rev.pdf
rogrammlng Lhe unlverse: A
uanLum CompuLer SclenusL
1akes on Lhe Cosmos

by SeLh Lloyd

p. 73
1he Un|verse as quantum |nformanon
p. 74
1he Un|verse as quantum |nformanon
uecodlng 8eallLy
8y valLko vedral

8eallLy lnformauon

under Coogle books Lhere are parLs
of Lhls book avallable.
Se|f-Crgan|zanon and Se|ecnon |n Lvo|unon
p. 7S
Stuart Kauffman presents a brilliant new
paradigm for evolutionary biology, one that
extends the basic concepts of Darwinian
evolution to accommodate recent findings and
perspectives from the fields of biology, physics,
chemistry and mathematics. The book drives to
the heart of the exciting debate on the origins of
life and maintenance of order in complex
biological systems.

It focuses on the concept of self-organization:
the spontaneous emergence of order widely
observed throughout nature. Kauffman here
argues that self-organization plays an important
role in the emergence of life itself and may play
as fundamental a role in shaping life's
subsequent evolution as does the Darwinian
process of natural selection.
http://books.google.se/books/about/The_Origins_of_Order.html?id=lZcSpRJz0dgC&redir_esc=y
1he re|anonsh|p between m|nd and mauer
p. 76
lncompleLe naLure. Pow mlnd emerged
from mauer

by 1errence ueacon

"We can on|y see a shorL dlsLance ahead, buL we can see
plenLy Lhere LhaL needs to be done."
(1urlng 1930)

1urlng, A. M. (1930). Compuung machlnery and lnLelllgence, Mlnd Ll, 433-60.
hup://cogprlnLs.org/499/0/Lurlng.hLml
Let me hn|sh by 1ur|ng quote
p. 77
8ased on the fo||ow|ng arnc|es

! uodlg-Crnkovlc C. and Clovagnoll 8. (Lds), Compuung naLure - A neLwork of neLworks
of ConcurrenL lnformauon rocesses, ln: CCMu1lnC nA1u8L, (book) Sprlnger,
Peldelberg, SAL8L book serles, pp. 1-22, May 2013. hup://arxlv.org/abs/1210.7784
! uodlg-Crnkovlc C., uynamlcs of lnformauon as naLural CompuLauon, lnformauon 2011,
2(3), 460-477 dol:10.3390/lnfo2030460 Speclal lssue: SelecLed apers from llS 2010
8el[lng Conference, 2011.
hup://www.mdpl.com/[ournal/lnformauon/speclallssues/selecLedpapbel[lng
hup://www.mdpl.com/2078-2489/2/3/460/ See also:
hup://llvlngbooksabouLllfe.org/books/LnergyConnecuons
! uodlg Crnkovlc, C. lnformauon and Lnergy/Mauer. lnformauon 2012, 3(4), 731-733.
Speclal lssue "lnformauon and Lnergy/Mauer" dol:10.3390/lnfo3040731

All arucles can be found under:


p. 78
http://www.idt.mdh.se/~gdc/work/publications.html
A Mathematical Model for Info-
computationalism- A. C. Lhresmann
p. 79
Cpen peer commenLary on Lhe arucle
lnfo-compuLauonal ConsLrucuvlsm and
Cognluon" by Cordana uodlg-Crnkovlc.

Lhresmann proposes a maLhemaucal
approach Lo Lhe framework developed by
uodlg-Crnkovlc. 8ased on Lhe roperLy of
naLural compuLauon, called Lhe
mulupllclLy prlnclple developmenL of
lncreaslngly complex cognluve processes
and knowledge ls descrlbed.
Local dynamlcs are classlcally
compuLable, a consequence of Lhe M ls
LhaL Lhe global dynamlcs ls noL, Lhus
ralslng Lhe problem of developlng more
elaboraLe compuLauon models."
An Info-Computanona| Mode| for
(Neuro-)cogn|nve Systems Capab|e of
Creanv|ty - Andre C. Lhresmann

Andre C. Lhresmann hup://www.mdpl.com/1099-4300/14/9/1703
p. 80
The model, based on a dynamic
Category Theory, accounting for
the functioning of the neural,
cognitive and mental systems at
different levels of description and
across different timescales.