Interactive computation: stepping stone in the pathway from classical to developmental computation

Abstract

This paper reviews and extends previous work on the domain-theoretic notion of Machine Development. It summarizes the concept of Developmental Computation and shows how Interactive Computation can be understood as a stepping stone in the pathway from Classical to Developmental Computation. A critical appraisal is given of Classical Computation, showing in which ways its shortcomings tend to restrict the possible evolution of real computers, and how Interactive and Developmental Computation overcome such shortcomings. The idea that Developmental Computation is more encompassing than Interactive Computation is stressed. A formal framework for Developmental Computation is sketched, and the current frontier of the work on Developmental Computation is briefly exposed.