Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots
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Stefano Nolfi
Abstract
Modeling the evolution of communication and language is one of the most fascinating and challenging problems in science. Progressing toward this ambitious goal implies explaining how simple communication forms emerged in the first place and how they evolved into structured communication systems with the characteristics of human language. In this chapter, we will illustrate how communication systems originate and evolve in a population of robots that adapt to a given task/environment. The analysis of these synthetic experiments can help us to understand: (i) how communication can emerge in a population of initially noncommunicating individuals, (ii) what conditions represent a prerequisite for the emergence of a robust and stable communication system, (iii) how the communication system changes by eventually increasing in complexity, and (iv) how signals and meanings originate and how they are grounded in robots’ sensorimotor states.
Abstract
Modeling the evolution of communication and language is one of the most fascinating and challenging problems in science. Progressing toward this ambitious goal implies explaining how simple communication forms emerged in the first place and how they evolved into structured communication systems with the characteristics of human language. In this chapter, we will illustrate how communication systems originate and evolve in a population of robots that adapt to a given task/environment. The analysis of these synthetic experiments can help us to understand: (i) how communication can emerge in a population of initially noncommunicating individuals, (ii) what conditions represent a prerequisite for the emergence of a robust and stable communication system, (iii) how the communication system changes by eventually increasing in complexity, and (iv) how signals and meanings originate and how they are grounded in robots’ sensorimotor states.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
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Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
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Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
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Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
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Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
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Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
-
Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
-
Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
-
Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
-
Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
