Soul Computing: A Theoretical Framework and Technical Architecture for Intelligent Agents with Independent Consciousness
Quick Answer
The paper introduces 'Soul Computing,' a framework for intelligent agents with independent consciousness, distinguishing it from traditional virtual humans.
Quick Take
The paper introduces 'Soul Computing,' a framework for intelligent agents with independent consciousness, distinguishing it from traditional virtual humans. It emphasizes the need for an 'Intensional' core in AI systems, shifting from mere tools to living entities, while addressing critical technical and ethical challenges.
Key Points
- Soul Computing redefines the transition from virtual humans to intelligent agents.
- The framework clarifies the distinctions between narrow and broad Soul Computing.
- It emphasizes the importance of human consciousness and memory in AI development.
- The paper addresses ethical challenges in creating self-identity for digital entities.
- An 'Intensional' core is proposed for AI systems to achieve living agency.
Paper Resources
Article Content
From source RSS / original summaryarXiv:2606. 10413v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Breakthroughs in large language models and multimodal generation technologies have propelled the digital reconstruction of human mental traits, emotional patterns, and long-term memory from science fiction toward engineering practice.
Yet current research and industry practices at the intersection of AI and digital humans remain hampered by fundamental conceptual ambiguities: the essential differences between next-generation intelligent agents and traditional virtual humans, the construction pathways for digital entities possessing self-identity, and the core technical and ethical challenges confronting this domain all demand urgent clarification.
This paper systematically examines the transformative logic underlying the transition from traditional virtual humans to the ``Soul Computing'' paradigm, driven by frontier AI technologies. We first analyze the evolutionary patterns of human consciousness and memory mechanisms, reassessing the core value of massive multimodal digital fragments in the reverse reconstruction of individual mental worlds.
On this basis, we formally delineate the academic connotations of narrow and broad Soul Computing for the first time, clarifying its academic boundaries and essential distinctions from Affective Computing, Historical Reconstruction, and Mortal Computation. We argue that Soul Computing systems must architecturally construct an ``Intensional'' core rather than serving as purely ``Extensional'' functional carriers, thereby enabling the fundamental transition of AI from toolhood to living agency.
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