Framework for Incorporating Artificial Somatic Markers in the Decision-Making of Autonomous Agents

Abstract

The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that when a person faces a decision scenario, many thoughts arise and different “physical consequences” are fleetingly observable. It is generally accepted that affective dimension influences cognitive capacities. Several proposals for including affectivity within artificial systems have been presented. However, to the best of our knowledge, a proposal that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in a disaggregated and specialized way for the different phases that make up a decision-making process has not been observed yet. Thus, this research work proposes a framework that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in different phases of the decision-making of autonomous agents: recognition of decision point; determination of the courses of action; analysis of decision options; decision selection and performing; memory management. Additionally, a unified decision-making process and a general architecture for autonomous agents are presented. This proposal offers a qualitative perspective following an approach of grounded theory, which is suggested when existing theories or models cannot fully explain or understand a phenomenon or circumstance under study. This research work represents a novel contribution to the body of knowledge in guiding the incorporation of this biological concept in artificial terms within autonomous agents.