Of implementing neural epigenesis, reinforcement learning, and mental rehearsal in a mobile autonomous robot

One of the key implications of functionalism is that minds can, in principle, be implemented with any physical substratum provided that the right functional relations are preserved. In this paper we present an architecture that implements neural epigenesis, reinforcement learning, and mental rehearsal, some of the functional building blocks that may enable us to build an artificial brain. However, we conclude that a new kind of machines, where the learning algorithms would emerge from the dynamics of the interconnection between the processing elements, are necessary for the implementation of cognitive abilities that are irreducible to a mechanistic computing algorithm.