Ago Ergo Sum

In this paper I explore the hypothesis that some of today robots might possess a form of consciousness whose substrate is a mere algorithm. First, consciousness is deened within an evolutionary framework as awareness of one's own state in relation to the external environment. Then, the basic prerequisites for such conscious activity are discussed, namely embodiment , autonomy, and adaptation mechanisms. Artiicial evolution, rather than evolutionary optimisation, is presented as a viable methodology to create conscious robots, accompanied by some examples of behaviours of artiicially evolved robots. Finally, I argue that what might be problematic with the concept of robot consciousness is not the robot, but the notion of consciousness itself. Could the ordered list of operations which forms any computer algorithm constitute the basis of consciousness for a robot? \Of course not", would be the sensible answer probably given by most readers with a scientiic or engineering oriented mind. The popular justiication for such view is that computer programs are instructions used to control machines which must carry out a speciic task, such as a lengthy computation or assembly of car components. A robot controlled by such an algorithm would be nothing more than an automata, a mechanical device which blindly and repetitively executes a pre-speciied set of instructions (see 39, chapter 1] for elegant elaborations of this view). In this paper, I shall consider a diierent position and argue that it is not possible to exclude that some of today robots might indeed possess a form of proto-consciousness whose substrate is a mere algorithm, or something that can in principle be described in terms of algorithmic computation (e.g., an artiicial neural network, a rule-based system, a classiier system, etc.). I will do so by showing why this might be possible at all and by describing what are the basic ingredients that, if accurately mixed together, might give rise to forms of conscious behaviour. I will also try to support my line of reasoning with examples Ago, rst singular person of the Latin verb of Greek root, meaning \to lead, to play an active role, to behave".