IN SEARCH OF "AUTONOMY"

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of autonomy as it pertains to computer systems. Two rather different strands of meaning are identified. The first regards autonomy as self-government or self-motivation. This is developed by reviewing some recent AI research on representing and using goals, together with physiological, psychological, and philosophical viewpoints on motivation and goal-seeking behavior. The second concerns the biological independence of organisms which have the ability to maintain their own organization in a capricious environment. The advantages of such organisms have been realized recently in a number of different computer contexts, and the examples of worm programs, self-replicating Trojan horses and viruses are introduced and discussed.