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Emergent functionality among intelligent systems: Cooperation within and without minds

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Abstract

In this paper, the current AI view that emergent functionalities apply only to the study of subcognitive agents is questioned; a hypercognitive view of autonomous agents as proposed in some AI subareas is also rejected. As an alternative view, a unified theory of social interaction is proposed which allows for the consideration of both cognitive and extracognitive social relations. A notion of functional effect is proposed, and the application of a formal model of cooperation is illustrated. Functional cooperation shows the role of extracognitive phenomena in the interaction of intelligent agents, thus representing a typical example of emergent functionality.

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Castelfranchi, C., Conte, R. Emergent functionality among intelligent systems: Cooperation within and without minds. AI & Soc 6, 78–87 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02472771

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