Minsky has described a convoluted strategy in which "WORK exploited ANGER to stop SLEEP. But why should WORK use such a devious trick? [...] If WORK could simply turn off SLEEP, we'd quickly wear our bodies out. If WORK could simply seitch ANGER on, we'd be fighting all the time. Directness is too dangerous. We'd die."
Devious relations among agents make sense, on reflection. "Deviousness" is a result of checks and balances among agents. Fantasies replace direct links between agents that evoultion has removed, but the use of these fantasies requires learning. "Human self-control is no simple skill, but an ever-growing world of expertise that reaches into everything we do."
(NB: I must be a slow learner, picking up on this so late in the game -- but another recurring theme in this book is LEARNING -- learning, at the very least, defines the evolution of an agency. And changes in agencies have been raised at several points before this!)
Pearl Street | Society of Mind Home Page | Dawson Home Page |