Coordinating with the Future: The Anticipatory Nature of Representation

Abstract

Humans and other animals are able not only to coordinate their actions with their current sensorimotor state, but also to imagine, plan and act in view of the future, and to realize distal goals. In this paper we discuss whether or not their future-oriented conducts imply (future-oriented) representations. We illustrate the role played by anticipatory mechanisms in natural and artificial agents, and we propose a notion of representation that is grounded in the agent's predictive capabilities. Therefore, we argue that the ability that characterizes and defines a true cognitive mind, as opposed to a merely adaptive system, is that of building representations of the non-existent, of what is not currently (yet) true or perceivable, of what is desired. A real mental activity begins when the organism is able to endogenously (i.e. not as the consequence of current perceptual stimuli) produce an internal representation of the world in order to select and guide its conduct goal-directed: the mind serves to coordinate with the future.

Model-Based Approaches to Active Perception and Control

“…The representational aspect of this process would not consist in the inference of current (latent/hidden) states, but in the process of anticipating action consequences-for example, in the anticipated softness of grasping a sponge or the anticipated sweetness of eating an apple. This view is compatible with the idea that representation is eminently anticipatory and consists in a set of predictions including action consequences and dispositions [19,78,127]. According to this analysis, the difference between non-representational and representational processes would not depend on the mere presence of constructs such as belief or hidden state or prediction, or even on their "content" (e.g., whether they encode states that "mirror" the external environment), but how they are used: for on-line control only or also for "detached" and off-line processes.…”

Intentional action: from anticipation to goal-directed behavior

“…Combined theoretical, empirical and computational research is revealing that during all the aforementioned activities, the motor system is highly engaged in anticipatory, simulative and generative processes. From a speculative point of view, a case could be made that the same predictive mechanisms provide both a "linkage with the future" required for taking goal-directed action, and a "linkage with others" required to act socially (Pezzulo, 2008;Pezzulo and Castelfranchi, 2007).…”

Driving with Intuition: A Preregistered Study About the EEG Anticipation of Simulated Random Car Accidents

“…Our results could be inserted in the "predictive brain" perspective [34][35][36], extending the capability of the brain to use its inner model to predict future events including those based on the presentation of random stimuli. The capacity to predict environmental dynamics and prepare the body-system to react to incoming stimuli, allows for more efficient and adaptive behaviour, therefore, from an evolutionary point of view, to 'anticipate' a random stimulus could be the most adaptive capacity of the brain, improving the likelihood of the organism's survival.…”