dynamic of information as natural computation

Dynamic of Information as Natural Computation Gordana'Dodig'Crnkovic'Professor'of'Computer'Science'Mälardalen'University,''School'of'Innova@on,'Design'and'Engineering'''gordana.dodigCcrnkovic@mdh.se

http://www.infotec.com.mx/ 09 April2014

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Mälardalen)University)

Mälardalen)University)Sweden)12,000'students'and'around'900'employees,'of'which'67'are'professors'

'–'Research'Methods'in'Natural'Sciences'and'Engineering''–'Compu@ng'and'Philosophy''–'Computa@onal'Thinking'and'Wri@ng'Toolbox''–'Formal'Languages,'Automata'and'Theory'of'Computa@on''–'Professional'Ethics'''

My)background:)teaching)

p. 4

PhD'in'Theore@cal'Physics'from'Zagreb'University'(1988)''PhD'in'Compu@ng'from'Mälardalen'University'(2006)''hZp://www.idt.mdh.se/personal/gdc/work/courses.html''''

–'Compu@ng'Paradigms,'infoCcomputa@onalism'

–'InfoCcomputa@onal'knowledge'genera@on'

–'InfoCcomputa@onal'aspects'of'Intelligence'and'Cogni@on''

–'Theory'of'Science/'Philosophy'of'Science;'''

–'Informa@on'science'(genera@on'of'informa@on'in'cogni@ve'systems)'

–'Compu@ng'and'Philosophy'and''

–'Ethics'(Ethics'of'Compu@ng,'Informa@on'Ethics,'Roboethics'and'Engineering'Ethics).'

'hZp://www.idt.mdh.se/personal/gdc/work/publica@ons.html'''

My)background:)research)

p. 5

Informa=on)>)science)in)making)

”I#invite#readers#not#on#a#visit#to#an#archaeological#museum,#but#rather#on#an#adventure#in#science#in#making”####Ilja#Prigogine'in'The'End'of'Certainty:'Time,'Chaos'and'New'Laws'of'Nature,'1997'

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Informa@on' is' everywhere' –' whether' it’s' digital' informa@on' in' our' devices,'analogue'content'in'books,'or'biological'data'encoded'in'our'cells.'But'how'do'they'compare'in'terms'of'storage'amount?'How'have'our'means'of'storing'informa@on'grown'over'the'decades?'And'do'you'know'what'a'zeZabyte'or'a'yoZabyte'is?''

BBC'C'Future'C'Technology'C'ByteCsized'graphic'guide'to'data'storage'

hZp://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130621CbyteCsizedCguideCtoCdataCstorage''

Increasing)amounts)of)informa=on))

8

Million 106 M (mega)

9 Billion (Milliard) 109 G (giga)

10

Billion (Milliard) 109 G (giga)

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Trillion (Billion) 1012 T (tera)

12

Quadrillion 1015 P (peta)

13

Quintillion (Trillion) 1018 E (exa)

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Sextillion 1021 Z (zetta)

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Septillion (Quadrillion) 1024 Y (yotta)

“The'word' “informa@on”' has' been' given' different'meanings'by'various'writers'in'the'general'field'of'informa@on'theory.'It'is'likely'that'at'least'a'number'of'these'will'prove'sufficiently'useful' in' certain' applica@ons' to' deserve' further' study' and'permanent'recogni@on.''It'is'hardly'to'be'expected'that'a'single'concept'of'informa@on'would' sa@sfactorily' account' for' the' numerous' possible'applica@ons'of'this'general'field.'“'''

' ' ' ''''C'Shannon,'1993,'“The'Lajce'Theory'of'Informa@on”''

Informa=on)concept))–)Claude)Shannon

A'special'issue'of'the'Journal'of'Logic,'Language'and'Informa@on'(Volume'12'No'4'2003)'Johan'van'Benthem,'Robert'van'Rooy,'Edts.'is dedicated to the different facets of information.

Pieter'Adriaans,'Johan'van'Benthem,'Edts.'(2008)'Philosophy'of'Informa@on'(Handbook'of'the'Philosophy'of'Science)'Elsevier.'

''''''

hZp://www.illc.uva.nl/HPI/'

What)is)informa=on?)>)Pieter)Adriaans,)Johan)van)Benthem)

If'informa@on'is'to'replace'maZer/energy'as'the'primary'stuff'of' the' universe,' as' H' von' Baeyer' (2003)' suggests,' it' will'provide' a' new' basic' unifying' framework' for' modeling' of'reality'in'the'twentyCfirst'century.''L'Floridi'proposes'Informa@onal'Structural'Realism'C'a'view'of'the'world'as'the'totality'of'informa@onal'objects'dynamically'interac@ng'with'each'other.'

Informa=on)as)the)primary)stuff)of)the)universe)–)informa=onalism)(informa=onal)structural)realism))–)Luciano)Floridi)

Von Baeyer, H. (2004) Information: The New Language of Science. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Floridi, L. (2008). A defence of informational structural realism. Synthese, 161(2), 219-253 Luciano Floridi (2011) The philosophy of information, Oxford Univesity Press

Informa=on)flow)>))Fred)Dretske,''Jon)Barwise)and)Jerry)Seligman''

●  Tradi@onally,'informa@on'was'considered'to'be'a'building'block'of'knowledge'and'thus'supposed'to'always'be'true.''

●  The'early'developments'of'the'field'of'dynamic'of'informa@on'such'as'seminal'work'of'(Dretske,'1999)'(informa@on'flow'as'linguis@c'regulari@es)'and'(Barwise'&'Seligman,'1997)'(informa@onal'rela@on'between'situa@ons)''

●  Described'in'the'Philosophy'of'Informa@on'handbook'(Benthem'van'&'Adriaans,'2008),'as'well'as'(Burgin,'2010)'or'(Floridi,'2011).''

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Dretske, F. (1999). Knowledge and the flow of information (pp. 1-288). N. Y.: Cambridge Univ. Press. Barwise, J., & Seligman, J. (1997). Information flow: the logic of distributed systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

●  Dretske'formulated'the#strongly#seman8c#view#of#informa8on,'that'informa@on'must'be'true:''‘False'informa@on'and'misCinforma@on'are'not'kinds'of'informa@on—any'more'than'decoy'ducks'and'rubber'ducks'are'kinds'of'ducks.’'(Dretske,'1981,'p.'55).'*)

'

●  However,'Burgin'argues'that'false'informa@on'is'informa@on'too,''in'the'same'way'as'false'statement''is'a'statement'and'a'fall'impression'is'impression.'

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True)and)false)informa=on)Mark)Burgin'

*Patrick'Allo'Ed.'(2011)'Pujng'Informa@on'First:'Luciano'Floridi'and'the'Philosophy'of'Informa@on,'WileyCBlackwell'''Dretske,'F.'(1999).'Knowledge#and#the#flow#of#informa8on'(pp.'1C288).'N.'Y.:'Cambridge'Univ.'Press.'Mark'Burgin'(2011)'Theory'of'Informa@on:'Fundamentality,'Diversity'and'Unifica@on,'World'Scien@fic'

●  Interac@ons'within'informa@on'environments'and'their'internal'developments,'etc.;'

●  'Informa@on'life'cycles,'from'ini@al'occurrence'to'final'u@liza@on'and'possible'disappearance;'and'

●  Computa@on,'both'in'the'TuringCmachine'sense'of'algorithmic'processing,'and'in'the'wider'sense'of'informa@on'processing.'“'(Floridi,'2002)'

Floridi,'L.'(2002).'What'is'the'Philosophy'of'Informa@on?'Metaphilosophy,'33(1&2),'123C145.''

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Dynamics)of)informa=on))Luciano)Floridi'

Logical)dynamics)of)informa=on)))Johan)van)Benthem)

●  A'recent'study'of'informa@on'dynamics'within'a'framework'of'logic'is'presented'in'Van)Benthem’s)book)Logical)Dynamics)of)Informa=on)and)Interac=on,'developed'as'a'theory'of'informa=on>driven)ra=onal)agency)and)intelligent)interac=on)between)informa=on>processing)agents.''

●  Van'Benthem'connects'logic,'philosophy,'computer'science,'linguis@cs'and'game'theory'in'a'unified'mathema@cal'theory'which'provides'dynamic'logics'for'inference,'observa@on'and'communica@on,'with'update'of'knowledge'and'revision'of'beliefs,'changing'of'preferences'and'goals,'group'ac@on'and'strategic'interac@on'in'games.''

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Benthem van, J. (2011). Logical dynamics of information and interaction (pp. 1-384). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://ai.stanford.edu/~epacuit/lograt/Dyn2010.Ch1.pdf (preprint).

Emergent)informa=on)Wolfgang)HoUirchner)))

●  Informa@onal'dynamics'may'be'characterized'as'processes'of'selfCorganiza@on.'Whenever'selfCorganizing'systems'relate'to'the'environment,'they'create/generate'informa@on,'called'“emergent'informa@on”.''

●  The'informa@on'genera@on'is'consis@ng'of'cogni@on'(informa@on'genera@on'of'a'selfCorganizing'system'visCáCvis'its'environment);'communica@on'(the'coupling'of'cogni@ve'processes'of'at'least'two'selfCorganizing'systems)'and'coopera@on.'Coopera@on'feeds'back'to'communica@on'as'communica@on'does'to'cogni@on.'That’s'the'basic'dynamics'of'emergent'informa@on.''

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Wolfgang'Hovirchner'(2011)'Emergent'Informa@on:'A'Unified'Theory'of'Informa@on'Framework,'World'Scien@fic'

Three)forms)of)informa=on)Terrence)Deacon)

●  Deacon'(2011)'dis@nguishes'between'the'following'three'forms'of'informa@on:'

●  Informa8on#1'(Shannon)'(data,'paZern,'signal)'(data'

communica@on)'[syntax]'

●  Informa8on#2'(Shannon'+'Boltzmann)'(inten@onality,'

aboutness,'reference,'representa@on,'rela@on'to'object'or'

referent)'[seman@cs]''

●  Informa8on#3'((Shannon'+'Boltzmann)'+'Darwin)'(func@on,'

interpreta@on,'use,'pragma@c'consequence)'[pragma@cs]'

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Deacon’s'three'types'of'informa@on'parallel'his'three'

forma8ve#mechanisms:'

●  [MassCenerge@c'[SelfCorganiza@on'[SelfCpreserva@on'

(semio@c)]]]'

●  Emergent#dynamics:'[ThermoC'[MorphoC'[TeleoCdynamics]]]'

●  Corresponding'Aristotle’s#causes:'[Efficient'cause'[formal'

cause'[final'cause]]].'

p. 25

Three)forms)of)informa=on)Terrence)Deacon)

Levels of Description – Levels of Abstraction – Levels of Organization

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A'complex'system'is'a'system'composed'of'interconnected'parts' that' as' a' whole' exhibit' one' or' more' proper@es'(behavior'among'the'possible'proper@es)'not'obvious'from'the'proper@es'of'the'individual'parts.'''Disorganized'complexity' is'a'result'of'a'very' large'number'of' parts,' and' organized' complexity' is' a' maZer' of' the'subject'system'exhibi@ng'emergent'proper@es.'

''Complex'systems'are'found'between'orderly'systems'with'high' informa@on' compressibility' and' low' informa@on'content'and'random'systems'with' low'compressibility'and'high'informa@on'content.'

'

Information and complexity

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_system

Complexity)

In'a'complex'system,'what'we'see'is'dependent'on'where'we'are'and'what'sort'of'interac@on'is'used'to'study'the'system.'(observer'dependence)'

Study'of'complex'systems:'

Genera=ve)Models'

How'does'the'complexity'arise?'

Evolu@on'is'the'most'well'known'

genera@ve'mechanism.'

Complexity'generated'from'simple'elements'with'simple'rules'(CA)'

p. 28 http://www.morphwize.com/company/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=tag&tag=complex+system+solution

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Protein network in yeast cells

Social network

Human protein interaction network

Human connectome

Network)modells)of)complex)systems)

Computa=on)as)informa=on)processing)

With information as the primary stuff of the universe (informational structural realism), the most general view of computation is as dynamics of information (information processes). This results in a dual-aspect universe: informational structure with computational dynamics. (Info-Computationalism, Dodig Crnkovic) Information and computation are closely related – no computation without information, and no information without computation (dynamics).

Beyond)Conven=onal)Compu=ng)Machinery:)Natural)Compu=ng)

●  According' to' the'Handbook' of' Natural' Compu@ng' natural'compu@ng' is'“the)field)of) research)that) inves=gates)both)human>designed) compu=ng) inspired) by) nature) and)compu=ng)taking)place)in)nature.”))

●  It' includes' among' others' areas' of' cellular' automata' and'neural' computa@on,' evolu@onary' computa@on,' molecular'computa@on,' quantum' computa@on,' natureCinspired'algorithms'and'alterna@ve'models'of'computa@on.'

p. 31

Grzegorz Rozenberg, Joost N. Kok, Thomas Bäck (2102) Handbook of Natural Computing, Springer.

Cognition as processing of information

Biophysics of Computation: Information Processing in Single Neurons Christof Koch, 1999. http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~koch/biophysics-book/

100 billions of neurons connected with tiny "wires" in total longer more than two times the earth circumference. This intricate and apparently messy neural circuit that is responsible for our cognition and behavior. http://www.istc.cnr.it/group/locen

●  Process'of'perceiving,'reasoning,'decision'making'and'thinking.'

●  Body�s'&'brain'�s'way'of'processing'informa@on''to'create'meaning'/'make'sense'for'an'agent.'

●  Cogni@on'='Life'(Maturana'&'Varela,'1980)'

What)is)Cogni=on?)

33 Maturana, H. & Varela, F., 1980. Autopoiesis and cognition: the realization of the living, Dordrecht Holland: D. Reidel Pub. Co.

Technological)Applica=on:))Cogni=ve)Network)Technology)

p. 34 http://iptechwiki.cttc.es/Cognitive_Network_Optimization_Techniques

How)does)nature)compute?))Self>organiza=on)+)evolu=on)

Cri@cs'of'the'evolu@onary'approach'men@on'the'impossibility'of'“blind'chance”'to'produce'such'highly'complex'structures'as'intelligent'living'organisms.'Proverbial'monkeys'typing'Shakespeare'are'o|en'used'as'illustra@on'(an'interes@ng'account'is'given'by'GellCMan'in'his'Quark#and#the#Jaguar.)''

Chai@n'and'Bennet:'Typing'monkeys’'argument'does'not'take'into'account'physical'laws'of'the'universe,'which'drama@cally'limit'what'can'be'typed.'Moreover,'the'universe'is'not'a'typewriter,'but'a'computer,'so'a'monkey'types'random'input'into'a'computer.'The'computer'interprets'the'strings'as'programs.''

Naturalizing)epistemology))

●  Naturalized'epistemology'(Feldman,'Kornblith,'S@ch)'is,'in'general,'an)idea)that)knowledge)may)be)studied)as)a)natural)phenomenon'CC'that'the'subject'maZer'of'epistemology'is'not'our'concept'of'knowledge,'but'the'knowledge'itself.'

●  The#s8mula8on#of#his#sensory#receptors#is#all#the#evidence#anybody#has#had#to#go#on,#ul8mately,#in#arriving#at#his#picture#of#the#world.#Why$not$just$see$how$this$construc0on$really$proceeds?#Why#not#seLle#for#psychology?'("Epistemology'Naturalized",'Quine'1969;'emphasis'mine)''

●  I'will'reCphrase'the'ques@on'to'be:'Why)not)se_le)for)compu=ng?''

Why)not)se_le)for)compu=ng)when)modeling)knowledge?))

In this framework knowledge is seen as a result of the structuring of input data: data → information → knowledge

by an interactive computational process going on in the nervous system during the adaptive interplay of an agent with the environment, which clearly increases its ability to cope with the dynamical changing of the world. Hebbian learning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebbian_theory

●  A'great'conceptual'advantage'of'cogni@on'as'a'focus'of'study'is'that'all'living'organisms'possess'some'cogni@on,'in'some'degree.'Maturana'and'Varela'(1980)''

●  Maturana’s'and'Varelas’'understanding'of'cogni@on'is'most'suitable'as'the'basis'for'a'computa@onalist'account'of'the'naturalized'evolu@onary'epistemology.''

Naturalist)understanding)of)cogni=on)

See also: Dodig-Crnkovic, G. Where do New Ideas Come From? How do they Emerge? Epistemology as Computation (Information Processing) in Randomness & Complexity, from Leibniz to Chaitin, C. Calude ed. 2007

InfoCcomputa@onalist'project'of'naturalizing'epistemology'by'defining'cogni@on'as'informa@on'processing'phenomenon'is'closely'related'to'the'development'of'mul@level'dynamical'computa@onal'models'and'simula@ons'of'cognizing'systems,'and'has'important'consequences'for'the'development'of'ar@ficial'intelligence'and'ar@ficial'life.'''Natural'computa@on'opens'possibili@es'to'implement'embodied'cogni@on'into'ar@ficial'agents,'and'perform'experiments'on'simulated'ecoCsystems.''

Cogni=on)as)re>structuring)an)agent)through)interac=on)with)the)environment)

●  “Symbolic simulation is thus a two-stage affair: first

the mapping of inference structure of the theory onto hardware states which defines symbolic computation; second, the mapping of inference structure of the theory onto hardware states which (under appropriate conditions) qualifies the processing as a symbolic simulation.

●  Analog simulation, in contrast, is defined by a single mapping from causal relations among elements of the simulation to causal relations among elements of the simulated phenomenon.” R. Trenholme, “Analog Simulation,” Philosophy of Science, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 115–131, 1994.

Digital)vs.)analog,)discrete)vs.)con=nuous)and)symbolic)vs.)sub)symbolic)informa=on)

p. 40

Symbolic)vs.)sub>symbolic)computa=on)(informa=on)processing))

p. 41 Douglas Hofstadter in his dialogue “Prelude…Ant fugue” in Godel, Escher, Bach.

Info-computationalism, in a nutshell

●  Nature can be described as a complex informational structure for a cognizing agent.

●  Computation is information dynamics (information processing)

●  Computation is constrained and governed by the laws of physics on the fundamental level (morphology).

p. 42

●  Turing proposed di ffusion-react ion model of morphogenesis as the explanation of the development of biological patterns (spots and stripes on animal skin).

●  Morphogenesis is a process of morphological comput ing. Phys ica l process – though not computational in the traditional sense, presents natural (unconventional), morphological computation. Essential element in this process is the interplay between the informational structure and the computational process - information self-structuring and information integration, both synchronic and diachronic, going on in different time and space scales in physical bodies.

p. 43

Morphogene=c/morphological)compu=ng.)From)raw)data)to)seman=c)informa=on)

Morphogene=c/morphological)compu=ng.)From)raw)data)to)seman=c)informa=on)

●  InfoCcomputa@onal' naturalism' describes' nature' as'informa@onal' structure' –' a' succession' of' levels' of'organiza@on'of'informa@on.''

●  Morphological' compu@ng' on' that' informa@onal' structure'leads'to'new'informa@onal'structures'via'processes'of'selfCorganiza@on'of'informa@on.''

●  Evolu@on' itself' is' a'process'of'morphological' computa@on'on'a'longCterm'scale.''

p. 44

A Mathematical Model for Info-computationalism- A.)C.)Ehresmann)

p. 45

Open'peer'commentary'on'the'ar@cle'“InfoCcomputa@onal'Construc@vism'and'Cogni@on”'by'Gordana'DodigCCrnkovic.'''Ehresmann'proposes'a'mathema@cal'approach'to'the'framework'developed'by'DodigCCrnkovic.'Based'on'the'Property'of'natural'computa@on,'called'the'mul@plicity'principle'development'of'increasingly'complex'cogni@ve'processes'and'knowledge'is'described.''“Local'dynamics'are'classically'computable,'a'consequence'of'the'MP'is'that'the'global'dynamics'is'not,'thus'raising'the'problem'of'developing'more'elaborate'computa@on'models.”'

An)Info>Computa=onal)Model)for)(Neuro>)cogni=ve)Systems)Capable)of)Crea=vity)>)Andrée)C.)Ehresmann))

Andrée'C.'Ehresmann'hZp://www.mdpi.com/1099C4300/14/9/1703' p. 46

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.

Topics of importance for the development of new understanding of computation as the dynamic of information and its role in the physical world: ●  Natural computation as generalized model of

computation (natural information processing) ●  Interactivity as fundamental for computational

modelling of concurrent distributed information processing systems such as living organisms and their networks

●  It will be instructive to study processes of self organization of information in physical agents (and their networks) able to re-structure themselves through interactions with the environment as a result of morphological/morphogenetic computation.

Conclusions)

p. 47

“(O)ur task is nothing less than to discover a new, broader, notion of computation, and to understand the world around us in terms of information processing.” G. Rozenberg and L. Kari, “The many facets of natural computing,” Communications of the ACM, vol. 51, pp. 72–83, 2008.

p. 48

In preparation: Information Journal, Special Issue "Physics of Information" , Hector Zenil and Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic, guest editors

p. 49

A Computable Universe

Computation, Information,

Cognition Editor(s): Gordana Dodig Crnkovic and

Susan Stuart, Cambridge Scholars

Publishing, 2007

Computation, Information, Cognition

p. 50

Information and Computation Editor(s): Gordana Dodig Crnkovic and

Mark Burgin, World Scientific, 2011

Computing Nature Editor(s): Gordana Dodig Crnkovic and

Raffaela Giovagnoli, Springer, 2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37225-4

Based on the Articles

●  DodigCCrnkovic'G.,'Dynamics'of'Informa@on'as'Natural'Computa@on,'Informa@on'2011,'

2(3),'460C477;'doi:10.3390/info2030460'Special'issue:'Selected'Papers'from'FIS'2010'Beijing'Conference,'2011.'hZp://www.mdpi.com/journal/informa@on/special_issues/selectedpap_beijing'hZp://www.mdpi.com/2078C2489/2/3/460/''See'also:'hZp://livingbooksaboutlife.org/books/Energy_Connec@ons''

●  DodigCCrnkovic,'G.'Informa@on,'Computa@on,'Cogni@on.'AgencyCbased'Hierarchies'of'Levels.'In'V.'C.'Müller'(Ed.),'Fundamental'Issues'of'Ar@ficial'Intelligence'(Synthese'Library).'Berlin:'Springer.'(forthcoming)'

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