Brains working towards machine consciousness

Collaborative systems, eLearning and machine learning research

My main interests lie in modeling human consciousness in order to be able to try to build computer systems which are, or appear to be, conscious. In order to do this, I am currently looking at eLearning systems for a number of reasons:

1. eLearning systems can provide a common interface to both man and machine
2. A caring life-long learning agent which adapts to the user is more likely to be able to both provide a benefit to the user, and to be able to develop similar traits, than something pre-programmed or static
3. The mind as a community of agents is a compelling model, with similarities to a number of leading theories, ranging from Baars' "Global Workspace Theory" to Dennet's "Multiple Drafts Theory".
4. Collaboration tools can provide a direct benefit to learners, whilst also allowing models of mind to be explored
5. Games based learning should allow for compelling environments to be developed which have the ability to attract learners to use them, whilst also being able to learn from them
6. Collaborative systems draw together inputs from psychology, sociology, pedagogy, philosophy and computer science, making for a rich set of expert opinions and world views on which to base research and development of new systems.
7. VLE systems provide a rich source of information about user behaviour on which to base machine learning systems to help provide adaptive learning companion software

Work and membership of organisations and communities

I am a member of the LeMore (Learner Modelling for Reflection), the International Artificial Intelligence in Education Society and have collaborated on an eBook by Benoit Hardy-Valee as editor called The Philosophy of Social Cognition, as well as being an active participant exploring the ideas of Connectivism.