Without understanding the nature of the emergence of intelligence and the mechanisms of intelligent behavior, it is impossible to create artificial intelligence. It is possible to compile networks of neuron-like elements indefinitely by varying their number, organization, and algorithms, but it is impossible to repeat it randomly the way evolution has for millions of years. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to create an intellect based on some other fundamentals, distinct from the basics of the human intellect. To fly it is not necessary model aircraft based only on flapping wings, but it is necessary to know the laws of aerodynamics in order to design them. Therefore, first one needs to understand the workings of the only known example of intelligence on the planet Earth.

The nature of the activity of living organisms is determined by their needs, such as the need to survive, eat, multiply and conserve energy. No living being acts outside the inner motives formed by their needs, and it is impossible to imagine a mind devoid of inner motives and goals. Every movement of our eyes, utterance of words, and formation of thoughts is the result of the mechanisms responsible for satisfying our needs. The creation of an absolute intellect, not conditioned by needs, would be the creation of a lifeless automaton or mechanistic cog. Our surrounding world is very complex and diverse, and the creation of reflexes for all occasions that would allow the organism to be successful in this world is not possible. Therefore, nature has created a mechanism that allows us to form and select the reflexes that lead to the desired result — these are emotions, or emotional mechanisms.

But what kind of needs can an artificial intelligence have? Because it does not need to experience hunger, and a sense of fear can provoke actions to self-defense; love and affection — these feelings even for humans have create a lot of hassle. The only thing that is really necessary for artificial intelligence is the desire to learn, curiosity and the desire for novelty. The nature of all emotion is similar and all of the above emotions may be embodied in artificial intelligence.

In our brain, there are many different areas, and we can say that there are certain interrelations between these areas; these connections are of a higher level than those that exist between neurons. These departments influence each other through chemical signals, this is a slower type of information channel. Each emotion is conditioned by its own area in the brain, the causes of its origin, by the effects it has on other areas, and, as a consequence, on the behavior of the organism itself.

Vital needs and emotional mechanisms associated with them

For most emotions, two states can be distinguished: hunger and satiety. Thirst and quenching thirst, prolonged muscle tension and relaxation, fear and sense of avoiding danger, pain and retreat of pain, boredom and novel experience, lack of an object of attachment and the joy of contact with the object of attachment are the two opposite parts of emotional mechanisms.

What is hunger?

Imagine a certain area of neurons in the nervous system, in which the activity will increase as a need increases, the more the need increases, the more often the activation of these cells rises and the more they become involved in mental activity. And accordingly, if there is no need, these cells will not be activated. You can call these cells — requirements cells, they seem to require the implementation of the actions necessary for calming them.

Try to hold your breath, and you will feel the action of the “requirement cells” of the respiratory center. Over time, with a delay in breathing, signals from internal organs about the increase in carbon dioxide will come to the nerve center responsible for breathing, increasing its activity. Activity increases so much that it is impossible to restrain breathing through the inhibitory effect of the cerebral cortex. And this nerve center by its activity will cause the necessary reflex for breath. For each need, there exist corresponding “requirement cells”, although in some cases the work of groups of these cells is interrelated.

A living organism can have many needs and there are priorities between these needs, the need for self-protection is always higher than the need to satisfy food hunger. These priorities are ordered by means of the maximum level of activity for the corresponding requirement cells and mutual suppression. The organism will perform those reflexes that are related to the satisfaction of the requirement cells having primacy in its nervous system at the present moment.

We will study how needs and emotions control the behavior of animals, and what internal processes take place with the help of a computer model.

To do this, we will look at a specific system in the program. There are two areas in the system, A and B. These areas are necessary so that we can logically separate and isolate groups of neurons. Area A is responsible for some need, and area B is encoded with a set of simple reflexes. Three reflexes with the headings Q, W, E (a) whose activation leads to the three actions “1”, “2”, “3” respectively (b), each reflex has representations in the area A (с), the transmission of excitation between the reflex and the representation is bilateral. Such an organization is derived from the principles of the organization of the nervous system, but it has been greatly simplified. Areas responsible for emotions and needs are localized in the limbic system, these areas are closely related to the hippocampus, which is responsible for temporary memory and has many cortical representations. And with virtual access to the hippocampus, we have access to a variety of cortical reflexes.

Through stimulus A, we can activate the need (d), this stimulus can symbolize, for example, the signal from the internal organs about the lack of necessary nutrients, which leads to a feeling of hunger and the activation of the corresponding requirement cells (e). Also, there may be a number of additional stimuli that have only a modulating effect on the requirement cells, for example, appetizing smells of food can increase the sensitivity of cells to food starvation requirements, which will increase their activity. But with absolute absence of hunger, the smell of food will not affect the behavior of the animal.

Suppose that when action “2” is performed by animals, it leads to satisfaction of a certain need (f). For satiation, the neuron (g) will be responsible, the activity of which leads to imprinting in area A. In this case, the neuroplasticity changes for one second from 0 to 0.1 and back (h). When we discussed the topic of memory, we talked about the mechanism of emotional memory and this is an example of how this mechanism is used. In the same way, the center responsible for the activity of the requirement cells (i) is suppressed, but this suppression is delayed, and this gives rise to the possibility of forming associative links. An analogue of these processes is the activation of dopamine neurons. The dopamine mediator is inhibitory, it has a retarding effect in the areas responsible for hunger. Also, the release of various “happiness hormones” that affect the plasticity of some areas in the brain change the ability to concentrate attention and perception, and reduce the pain threshold, which in aggregate can be interpreted as a state of euphoria, or an uplift in mood.

Even with the activity of the “requirement cells”, actions that do not lead to satiation do not cause any significant changes in the region A. But at the first start of the reflex leading to satiation, a reflex arc is created that connects the “requirement cells” and the representation of the reflex leading to the desired actions. Thus, a certain closed contour is formed; the emergence of the need leads to the activation of “requirement cells”, which activates the reflex that forms the actions leading to activation of the satiation center. The feeling of satiation extinguishes activity in the “requirement cells”, until the need arises again. With each repetition, the formed reflex arc will be strengthened by increasing the strength of the synapses. In this case, the value of the maximum force of the synapse 100 is set, it will take 10 repetitions to reach the maximum value of the stability of the reflex act.

In the event that we further cancel the condition: by the action of “2” lead to saturation, then when the need arises, this action will be aggressively carried out, at first very actively, but over time, the habituation processes will lead to the attenuation of the performance of this reflex, and the adaptation processes will contribute to periodic return to action “2”. There are not any mechanisms for erasing information, and the reflex arc will persist. The reflex arc can be lost due to retraining and participation of neurons belonging to it in other reflex acts. In biological systems a situation is possible when useless actions are suppressed by the needs associated with the conservation of energy. In fact, the need to conserve energy will always arise when performing any actions, but is satiated when performing reflexes that suppress the action of motor neurons as a result of inaction.

Another option is to add a condition such that action “1” will lead to satiation. In this case it is not enough just to introduce a new condition, it is necessary to train the organism at the very beginning that there is such an opportunity. After several acts of training, when a need arises, both actions will be performed, although these actions may be in competition when performed simultaneously. More often the reflex act will be performed, the reflex arc of which is more stable as there are stronger links, and in the end this reflex will completely dominate. Simply put, the organism is more likely to perform those actions that previously led to positive results.

If, for example, the execution of action “1” is more effective for saving energy, then it will give one an advantage over action “2”.

And of course it is possible to completely retrain, even if there is a maximum stable reflex, given that you establish the appearance of a sense of satiation only in response to the action of “1”. This will require some training. After that, for some time, action “2” (“out of habit”) may be performed, but in the end the organism will only perform action “1” when the need arises.

The considered relationship between emotions and the satisfaction of needs is possible only in the presence of some preconfigured reflexes and a teacher, which at the appropriate moment will lead to the implementation of the necessary actions. In fact, this is quite consistent with the natural world. But what about the situation in which an organism tries to study the environment on its own? This is possible due to the very important need for new information, or novelty seeking.

The need for novelty

The emotional mechanism behind the need for novelty works according to principles similar to those of any other need, and because of this we need to determine a certain criterion for the novelty of incoming information. If for some time the body does not receive new information, then the need for novelty will begin to arise and activation of the corresponding “requirement cells” begin to occur.

From an evolutionarily perspective the need for obtaining new information appears relatively early, and physiologists have found some basic neural networks for assessing the novelty of information in the nervous system. For example, a neural network that allows you to identify abrupt changes in sound level, which is necessary to attract the attention to changing aspects of the environment.

This neural network responds only at the beginning of a series of spikes. If you have such networks for the whole spectrum of sounds, then you can only select new sounds and react to them.

But it is difficult to imagine a scheme that can evaluate the novelty of information at the level of abstract thinking, the level of formation of images and associations. For a model neuron, there is a very simple way to evaluate new information, the change in the cumulative state and changes in synapses. Having this criterion of novelty for each neuron at the moment of its activation, it is possible to obtain a medium-term value of the level of novelty.

A criterion for the novelty of combinations of receptor activation

In the biological analogue, there may be some chemical signal that the neuron has to start the program of changing the forces of its synapses under the influence of external factors.

In order to understand what is the emotion of novelty, I want to present an example of an experiment from the book Development in Infancy by T.G.R. Bower:

The baby can turn on the light, turning his head to the left. Most 2–3-month-old babies will turn on the light several times in a short time. Then the frequency of turning to the left falls below the level that serves as the criterion of learning. It will not increase as long as there is a stable connection between the lighting of the light and the turning of the head to the left. Let us assume that the experimenter changes the direction of communication: the light turns on when the head is turned to the right. Sooner or later the baby will turn his head to the left and the light will not light. In this case, a large number of turns to the left followed, then detection of the right circuit, which is indicated by a short high turn frequency to the right, which then decreases. If the situation does not change, this frequency will also remain low. If the reinforcement scheme changes again, so that to turn on the light, first turn the head to the left and then turn to the right, then the frequency of the right turns will increase after the first attempt, when the light does not light; the frequency of the left turns will also increase, and finally the baby will turn his head to the left, then to the right and turn on the light. After a brief increase in the frequency of turns from left to right, the frequency will decrease and remain constant until the situation changes. Changing the reinforcement program causes a flash of activity, which stops after finding the right combination of turns. Thus, the child learns a fairly complex sequence of movements: for example, to the right — to the right — to the left — to the left. Growth of activity is observed every time with a change of situation. Studies show that this activity is not accidental. The baby sort of sorts through a series of hypotheses, testing sequences of movements to find out which of them is effective at the moment. Having found the correct one, he checks it several times and then stops the expressed activity. It again increases only when the previous sequence ceases to be applicable. From the behavior of babies it is clear enough that a light stimulus is not a motivating factor. When testing of hypotheses begins, the baby after the first success hardly looks at the light source. He casts a fleeting glance at it to see if it is on lit or not. After making sure that the light has come on, he can show signs of pleasure, but he does not pay attention to the light source, which obviously is not the reason for his satisfaction.

Let’s analyze the internal mechanisms of the child’s behavior from the example described in the example with the model:

Take two areas, A and B, the first is responsible for the emotion of novelty, and the second is the area responsible for the assessment of the level of informational novelty. Region B has four input signals (a), and let’s say that signal Q is some kind of internal or external motive of turning the head to the left; this motivating signal activates the corresponding reflex, leading to action “1” (b), which will be the act of turning the head left. Similarly for stimulus W, but instead for turning the head to the right. Irritant E can be an internal motive for turning the head first left then right. Images of whole combinations of movements are formed in the motor cortex, which is within the cerebral cortex. So the presence of this representation of the reflex is entirely logical. And the stimulus R is the result of the appearance of a visual image of the inclusion of light. Reflexes associated with the motor system have representations both in the region B (с) and in the region A (e).

Combinations of stimuli will form new reflex arcs, new ways of spreading excitation, which will indicate a high level of information novelty. And the repetition of the same combinations with each time will show an ever lower level of novelty.

The value of the novelty level on gif can be seen on the right-hand side above the area B.

In the absence of information with a level of novelty higher than 70% in area B within 10 seconds, there is information starvation, and thus a need for novelty (f). The emotion of novelty in relation to other needs is very low, but the need for its satisfaction very quickly arises; the need for novelty is inferior in cases of necessity for self-preservation, emotions of fear are always stronger, but the need for novelty is almost insatiable. For example, this emotion controls the saccades of our eyes, at the time of viewing the images, as soon as the information transmitted from the eye’s receptors will have a low level of novelty, the eyes move. The speed with which the eye moves through the image indicates the speed of hunger-saturation cycles for the emotion of novelty. Of course, the level of novelty for different areas of the brain can be assessed in different ways.

A high level of novelty (> 70%) in region B leads to the activation of the neural network (h), which shortens the plasticity in region A for a short time to form reflex arcs that will be associated with the actions that lead to satiation. Further, the activity of the “requirement cells” is suppressed (i).

Actions that lead to a satiation of the need for novelty will be repeated, even if they do not bring satisfaction, but in this case it is possible to suppress the action by the influence of other needs. For example, the need for energy conservation, or the emergence of habituation. Combinations, such as turning the head and turning the light on or turning the head and not switching on the light, will be evaluated equally for the level of novelty when they change.

Children often ask questions like “Why?” simply because the center of their emotion of novelty is associated with the performance of this action. Their experience tells them that by asking this question it is possible to receive new information and, accordingly, to meet the need for novelty.

The need for novelty is very important for learning to master the articulatory apparatus and motor skills. These systems have feedback; the actions of motor activity are immediately reflected in the receptors of the organs of vision, touch, and vestibular apparatus. And the action of the articulatory apparatus is reflected in the receptors of the organ of hearing. At the first stages of the development of animals, the combination of action and the perception of the results of this action form new reflex arcs, which, given the emotional mechanism of the need for novelty, leads to the desire to repeat these actions, as well as combinations of similar actions.

An example is children’s babble, which begins actively at about the age of six months of the baby. This stage of child development is initiated by the activation of unconditioned reflexes provoking pronouncing of sounds, but is supported by the emotion of novelty, causing the child to pronounce the same sounds or play with them.

Striving for active games, interaction with objects, etc. allows an animal and a person to not only satisfy the need for novelty, but also teaches them to manage their body and form its image.

Love and affection

The mechanisms for satisfying needs are universal, it is enough to single out the internal criteria of hunger and satiation. For example, consider the emotion of attachment. There are different kinds of attachments: mutual affection of mother and child, attachment to spouse, relative, etc. This emotion is expressed in the desire to be near the object of attachment or to have it in sight. In the event of loss of the attachment object, an anxious or stressful state may arise, and if the attachment object returns, then joy and other signs of pleasure are manifested. Studies and experiments of the Australian ethologist Konrad Lorenz demonstrate the mechanisms of emotion of attachment. For example, investigating the behavior of ducklings, Lorentz established that the first thing a newly hatched chick does is search for the “image of the mother”.

The only thing that a candidate had to do for the role of the mother is to move. If a moving object appears before the newly hatched ducklings, they begin to follow it. The process of writing an attachment object image into memory is called imprinting. After birth, one day with the mother is enough for her imprint to be completed. Thereafter they will completely ignore even their real mother, and they will follow the “surrogate mother” more readily.

At certain key moments of vital activity of the organism, the cells of active images are labeled and presumably this occurs with the help of the oxytocin mediator. Oxytocin is called the hormone of trust and attachment, it stands out in the dynamics of successful social contacts and interactions, breastfeeding, mutual grooming and sex. The nervous system remembers those neurons that are active at the time of increased levels of oxytocin.

The criterion of hunger for attachment emotion can be a low level of activity of “tagged” neurons, and the satiation criterion is the activity of these neurons. According to the described scheme of satisfying the needs of the nervous system, those actions that lead to a state of satiation of the need will be remembered and executed. The desire to admire the face of a loved one, a child crying at parting with the mother, the manifestation of maternal tenderness and care, grief for the loss of a kinship or loss of a pet are all the result of the work of the brain centers responsible for the emotions of attachment.

The presented model of the emotional mechanism allows us to speak about qualitative characteristics of separate emotions. Changing the speed or measure of satiation, the speed of the onset of hunger, and the overall maximum level of activity of “requirement cells” in relation to other emotional centers form the dynamics of the modeled nervous system.

The level of curiosity, the power of attachments, courage, greed, diligence, laziness, and cheerfulness, these and many other qualities of character are conditioned by the initial settings of the centers of satisfaction of needs.

In the future, developers of artificial intelligence programs will be not only focus on technical tasks, but also on tasks related to the mental qualities of the program, as is well illustrated in the film “Eva” (2011).

Understanding the nature of emotions will help “program” artificial minds to execute the three laws of robotics with fidelity, it will not just be a set of instructions; the implementation of these laws themselves will bring real joy and happiness to such artificial minds.