Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)

Autopoitic Enactivism and the Free Energy Principle - Prof. Friston, Prof Buckley, Dr. Ramstead

37 snips
Sep 5, 2023
In a thought-provoking discussion, Karl Friston, the inventor of the free energy principle; Chris Buckley, a neural computation expert; and Maxwell Ramstead, a leading scholar, explore deep connections between the free energy principle and enactivism. They debate cognitive structures, the role of goals in systems, and operational closure concepts. Maxwell highlights how generative models capture organizational dependencies, while Chris shares his journey from skepticism to advocacy for FEP. Together, they tackle philosophical divides, embodying the intricacies of cognition and autonomy.
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ANECDOTE

Backgrounds in Enactivism

  • Maxwell Ramstead and Chris Buckley were trained in the enactive, embodied tradition.
  • Ramstead now considers himself a "reformed inactivist."
INSIGHT

Two Roads of Enactivism

  • Enactivism has a "low road" focusing on embodied agents and rejecting representationalism and a "high road" embracing autopoiesis.
  • The high road views operational closure as key, causing tension with FEP.
INSIGHT

FEP: Bridging Internalism and Externalism

  • FEP accommodates both internalist and externalist views by starting with an externalist universe (dynamical system).
  • A partition separates something, creating an internalist explanation of how that thing interprets its world.
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