This study deals with speech acts addressed to Hadza infants in Tanzania, a group that has tradit... more This study deals with speech acts addressed to Hadza infants in Tanzania, a group that has traditionally lived off hunting and gathering. Three research questions are addressed: How do Hadza speech acts compare with those found in previous studies in other cultures? Are there differences between child and adult speakers? And do speech acts differ with camp livelihood patterns? Speech acts are seen as a part of language socialization, which reflects overarching cultural values and socialization goals. The results indicate that Hadza infants experience many requests for action/imperatives—a way of expressing hierarchies—more than the infants in the comparative cultural communities, in spite of the fact that hunter–gatherers have been described as egalitarian in the past. Children’s and adults’ speech acts differ in several ways: adults use more requests for action and information (questions) with infants, while children use more assertives. Finally, the comparison of camp livelihoods revealed differences mainly between camps living off tourism and those that are more isolated from outside influence. The former use more imperatives, the latter more vocatives. The results are discussed in terms of cultural change toward more hierarchical structure related to livelihood activities, particularly tourism, and different activities that children and adults engage in when interacting with infants.
In this paper we introduce a model for the simulation of language evolution, which is incorporate... more In this paper we introduce a model for the simulation of language evolution, which is incorporated in the New Ties project. The New Ties project aims at evolving a cultural society by integrating evolutionary, individual and social learning in large scale multi-agent simulations. The model presented here introduces a novel implementation of language games, which allows agents to communicate in a more natural way than with most other existing implementations of language games. In particular, we propose a hybrid mechanism that combines cross-situational learning techniques with more informed feedback mechanisms. In our study we focus our attention on dealing with referential indeterminacy after joint attention has been established and on whether the current model can deal with larger populations than previous studies involving cross-situational learning. Simulations show that the proposed model can indeed lead to coherent languages in a quasi realistic world environment with larger populations.
Typically, multi-agent models for studying the evolution of perceptually grounded lexicons assume... more Typically, multi-agent models for studying the evolution of perceptually grounded lexicons assume that agents perceive the same set of objects, and that there is either joint attention, corrective feedback or cross-situational learning. In this paper we address these two assumptions, by introducing a new multi-agent model for the evolution of perceptually grounded lexicons, where agents do not perceive the same set of objects, and where agents receive a cue to focus their attention to objects, thus simulating a Theory of Mind. In addition, we vary the amount of corrective feedback provided to guide learning word-meanings. Results of simulations show that the proposed model is quite robust to the strength of these cues and the amount of feedback received.
In this paper we discuss issues relating to modelling language evolution in large populations of ... more In this paper we discuss issues relating to modelling language evolution in large populations of au- tonomous agents that are situated in a realistic environment where they have to evolve and learn means to survive for extended periods of time. As we intend to build such a model in relation to the recently started New Ties project, we identify three
Proceedings of the first international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems part 2 - AAMAS '02, 2002
Agent communication languages such as ACL and KQML provide a standard for agent communication. Th... more Agent communication languages such as ACL and KQML provide a standard for agent communication. These languages enable an agent to specify the intention and the content of a message as well as the protocol, the language, and the ontology that are used. For the protocol and the language some standards are available and should be known by the communicating agents.
This paper shows that realistic and coherent vowel systems can emerge from scratch in a populatio... more This paper shows that realistic and coherent vowel systems can emerge from scratch in a population of agents that imitate each other under human-like constraints of production and perception. The simulation is extended so that populations can change; old agents can be removed, and new agents can be added. In these circumstances vowel systems can also emerge and be preserved. It is shown that sometimes an age structure in the population can improve preservation of the vowel systems.
This paper illustrates how external (or social) symbol grounding can be studied in simulations wi... more This paper illustrates how external (or social) symbol grounding can be studied in simulations with large populations. We discuss how we can simulate language evolution in a relatively complex environment which has been developed in the context of the New Ties project. This project has the objective of evolving a cultural society and, in doing so, the agents have to
We present a mathematical model of cross-situational learning, in which we quantify the learnabil... more We present a mathematical model of cross-situational learning, in which we quantify the learnability of words and vocabularies. We find that high levels of uncertainty are not an impediment to learning single words or whole vocabulary systems, as long as the level of uncertainty is somewhat lower than the total number of meanings in the system. We further note that even large vocabularies are learnable through cross-situational learning.
This methodological article serves as an introduction to this special issue, which is meant to en... more This methodological article serves as an introduction to this special issue, which is meant to encourage more and better interaction between empirical studies and computer modeling with regard to the study of language evolution. We argue that research into the field of language evolution is so complex that computer modeling forms an essential tool to generate predictions based on some,
This study investigates how more advanced joint attentional mechanisms, rather than only shared a... more This study investigates how more advanced joint attentional mechanisms, rather than only shared attention between two agents and an object, can be implemented and how they influence the results of language games played by these agents. We present computer simulations with language games showing that adding constructs that mimic the three stages of joint attention identified in children's early development (checking attention, following attention and directing attention) substantially increase the performance of agents in these language games. In particular, the rates of improved performance for the individual attentional mechanisms have the same ordering as that of the emergence of these mechanisms in infants' development. These results suggest that language evolution and joint attentional mechanisms have developed in a co-evolutionary way, and that the evolutionary emergence of the individual attentional mechanisms is ordered just like their developmental emergence.
European Conference on Artificial Life, Cambridge, MA, Jul 11, 1997
The paper addresses the question how a group of physically embodied robotic agents may originate ... more The paper addresses the question how a group of physically embodied robotic agents may originate meaning and language through adaptive language games. The main principles underlying the approach are sketched as well as the steps needed to implement these principles on physical agents. Some experimental results based on this implementation are presented.
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Mar 31, 2006
The NewTies project is implementing a simulation in which societies of agents are expected to de-... more The NewTies project is implementing a simulation in which societies of agents are expected to de-velop autonomously as a result of individual, population and social learning. These societies are expected to be able to solve environmental challenges by acting collectively. The challenges are in-tended to be analogous to those faced by early, simple, small-scale human societies. This report on work in progress outlines the major features of the system as it is currently conceived within the project, including the design of the agents, the environment, the mechanism for the evolution of language and the peer-to-peer infrastructure on which the simulation runs.
This study deals with speech acts addressed to Hadza infants in Tanzania, a group that has tradit... more This study deals with speech acts addressed to Hadza infants in Tanzania, a group that has traditionally lived off hunting and gathering. Three research questions are addressed: How do Hadza speech acts compare with those found in previous studies in other cultures? Are there differences between child and adult speakers? And do speech acts differ with camp livelihood patterns? Speech acts are seen as a part of language socialization, which reflects overarching cultural values and socialization goals. The results indicate that Hadza infants experience many requests for action/imperatives—a way of expressing hierarchies—more than the infants in the comparative cultural communities, in spite of the fact that hunter–gatherers have been described as egalitarian in the past. Children’s and adults’ speech acts differ in several ways: adults use more requests for action and information (questions) with infants, while children use more assertives. Finally, the comparison of camp livelihoods revealed differences mainly between camps living off tourism and those that are more isolated from outside influence. The former use more imperatives, the latter more vocatives. The results are discussed in terms of cultural change toward more hierarchical structure related to livelihood activities, particularly tourism, and different activities that children and adults engage in when interacting with infants.
In this paper we introduce a model for the simulation of language evolution, which is incorporate... more In this paper we introduce a model for the simulation of language evolution, which is incorporated in the New Ties project. The New Ties project aims at evolving a cultural society by integrating evolutionary, individual and social learning in large scale multi-agent simulations. The model presented here introduces a novel implementation of language games, which allows agents to communicate in a more natural way than with most other existing implementations of language games. In particular, we propose a hybrid mechanism that combines cross-situational learning techniques with more informed feedback mechanisms. In our study we focus our attention on dealing with referential indeterminacy after joint attention has been established and on whether the current model can deal with larger populations than previous studies involving cross-situational learning. Simulations show that the proposed model can indeed lead to coherent languages in a quasi realistic world environment with larger populations.
Typically, multi-agent models for studying the evolution of perceptually grounded lexicons assume... more Typically, multi-agent models for studying the evolution of perceptually grounded lexicons assume that agents perceive the same set of objects, and that there is either joint attention, corrective feedback or cross-situational learning. In this paper we address these two assumptions, by introducing a new multi-agent model for the evolution of perceptually grounded lexicons, where agents do not perceive the same set of objects, and where agents receive a cue to focus their attention to objects, thus simulating a Theory of Mind. In addition, we vary the amount of corrective feedback provided to guide learning word-meanings. Results of simulations show that the proposed model is quite robust to the strength of these cues and the amount of feedback received.
In this paper we discuss issues relating to modelling language evolution in large populations of ... more In this paper we discuss issues relating to modelling language evolution in large populations of au- tonomous agents that are situated in a realistic environment where they have to evolve and learn means to survive for extended periods of time. As we intend to build such a model in relation to the recently started New Ties project, we identify three
Proceedings of the first international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems part 2 - AAMAS '02, 2002
Agent communication languages such as ACL and KQML provide a standard for agent communication. Th... more Agent communication languages such as ACL and KQML provide a standard for agent communication. These languages enable an agent to specify the intention and the content of a message as well as the protocol, the language, and the ontology that are used. For the protocol and the language some standards are available and should be known by the communicating agents.
This paper shows that realistic and coherent vowel systems can emerge from scratch in a populatio... more This paper shows that realistic and coherent vowel systems can emerge from scratch in a population of agents that imitate each other under human-like constraints of production and perception. The simulation is extended so that populations can change; old agents can be removed, and new agents can be added. In these circumstances vowel systems can also emerge and be preserved. It is shown that sometimes an age structure in the population can improve preservation of the vowel systems.
This paper illustrates how external (or social) symbol grounding can be studied in simulations wi... more This paper illustrates how external (or social) symbol grounding can be studied in simulations with large populations. We discuss how we can simulate language evolution in a relatively complex environment which has been developed in the context of the New Ties project. This project has the objective of evolving a cultural society and, in doing so, the agents have to
We present a mathematical model of cross-situational learning, in which we quantify the learnabil... more We present a mathematical model of cross-situational learning, in which we quantify the learnability of words and vocabularies. We find that high levels of uncertainty are not an impediment to learning single words or whole vocabulary systems, as long as the level of uncertainty is somewhat lower than the total number of meanings in the system. We further note that even large vocabularies are learnable through cross-situational learning.
This methodological article serves as an introduction to this special issue, which is meant to en... more This methodological article serves as an introduction to this special issue, which is meant to encourage more and better interaction between empirical studies and computer modeling with regard to the study of language evolution. We argue that research into the field of language evolution is so complex that computer modeling forms an essential tool to generate predictions based on some,
This study investigates how more advanced joint attentional mechanisms, rather than only shared a... more This study investigates how more advanced joint attentional mechanisms, rather than only shared attention between two agents and an object, can be implemented and how they influence the results of language games played by these agents. We present computer simulations with language games showing that adding constructs that mimic the three stages of joint attention identified in children's early development (checking attention, following attention and directing attention) substantially increase the performance of agents in these language games. In particular, the rates of improved performance for the individual attentional mechanisms have the same ordering as that of the emergence of these mechanisms in infants' development. These results suggest that language evolution and joint attentional mechanisms have developed in a co-evolutionary way, and that the evolutionary emergence of the individual attentional mechanisms is ordered just like their developmental emergence.
European Conference on Artificial Life, Cambridge, MA, Jul 11, 1997
The paper addresses the question how a group of physically embodied robotic agents may originate ... more The paper addresses the question how a group of physically embodied robotic agents may originate meaning and language through adaptive language games. The main principles underlying the approach are sketched as well as the steps needed to implement these principles on physical agents. Some experimental results based on this implementation are presented.
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Mar 31, 2006
The NewTies project is implementing a simulation in which societies of agents are expected to de-... more The NewTies project is implementing a simulation in which societies of agents are expected to de-velop autonomously as a result of individual, population and social learning. These societies are expected to be able to solve environmental challenges by acting collectively. The challenges are in-tended to be analogous to those faced by early, simple, small-scale human societies. This report on work in progress outlines the major features of the system as it is currently conceived within the project, including the design of the agents, the environment, the mechanism for the evolution of language and the peer-to-peer infrastructure on which the simulation runs.
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Papers by Paul Vogt