Software Agents and Their Bodies

Author: Kushmerick N.

Source: Minds and Machines, Volume 7, Number 2, May 1997 , pp. 227-247(21)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Within artificial intelligence and the philosophy of mind, there is considerable disagreement over the relationship between an agent's body and its capacity for intelligent behavior. Some treat the body as peripheral and tangential to intelligence; others argue that embodiment and intelligence are inextricably linked. Software agents–-computer programs that interact with software environments such as the Internet–-provide an ideal context in which to study this tension. I develop a computational framework for analyzing embodiment. The framework generalizes the notion of a body beyond merely having a physical presence. My analysis sheds light on certain claims made about the relevance of the body to intelligence, as well as on embodiment in software worlds.

Keywords: Embodiment; body; software agents; artificial intelligence; computational transformation

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Box 352350, Seattle, Washington, 98195–2350, U.S.A. (email nick@cs.washington.edu)

Publication date: 1997-05-01