Please Note!
There are ethical and moral considerations you may want to think about when designing a sentient robot. The definitions of ethics and morals are closely related and sometimes their meaning and definitions are interchangeable. In the paralogical model I must use a specific meaning of a word when often there are many meanings to that word. So let me explain how I will use these terms in a consistent way.
For ethical considerations I mean what an individual would justify as a right or wrong thing to do in a given situation. An ethical person could theoretically justify anything. In practice, one's ethics are limited by the person's honor, integrity, and character. This ethical person will use the morals of the society they find themselves in to guide them with their decisions.
For moral considerations I mean what a society (made up of many ethical individuals) would justify as a right or wrong thing to do in a given situation. Morals are concerned with what the society will think of you. If the society thinks you are a moral person, then your personal ethics or personal choices must be aligned with this society. If you find yourself in a different society, then you might be considered by this new society to be immoral and unethical even though your decisions have not changed.
For example, an individual may think it is ethically acceptable to manipulate its own DNA. The society may think it is immoral and not acceptable to expose the society to this individual's manipulated DNA if the individual decides to spread this manipulated DNA through reproduction.
Ethics, reasoning, and decision making are formed in the frontal trilogy of the paralogical model.
How to Structure a Sentient Robot
There are two main themes in structuring a sentient robot. The first is to simplify all the functions of the brain so that there are no overlapping or duplicate functions. When explaining how the brain works there is often two or more areas of the brain doing similar things. The paralogical model attempts to differentiate these functions as well as to distinguish the processes, abilities, and skills of the human brain. The second major theme is how to structure or group all of the sensors, controllers, and actuators. The paralogical model will consistently associate a result coming from a single source with the result coming from multiple sources. Let's call this "single-multiple source association" for now. This is kind of like neuron "A" getting information from two sources: neuron "B" and the sum of neurons "C" through "Z".
My favorite single-multiple source association is a pinprick. The sensors in a robot's hand need to be structured for single sensory inputs like pressure but also structured for multiple sensory inputs like surface area. For example, if all of the sensors in a robot's hand are the same and one sensor is measuring high pressure while all of the sensors around it are measuring normal pressure then this is a pinprick to the hand.
Cognitions of the pinprick are formed using the single-multiple association of controllers. The controllers in a robot's brain need to be structured for single cognitive inputs like what is going on in a certain pathway. But also structured for multiple cognitive inputs ("terminals") of pathways that are relevant in representing multiple pieces of information that led to the cognition of this pinprick. A single controller will recognize the pinprick pathway, but the full cognition would need the information coming from the relevant multiple "terminal" controllers. For example, were any limb actuators obstructed when the pinprick occurred? The robot could then discern if this was a simple pinprick or a harsh pinprick.
The actuators are easily understood when discussing single-multiple source association. One limb actuator doesn't move by itself. But when this limb is attached to multiple limb actuators and multiple joint actuators the freedom of movement is almost limitless.
Sensory Function Example
A single sensor might measure pressure. Another small group of sensors might measure surface area.
Let's say the sensors are working and one sensor measures high pressure and the other group of sensors measure a small surface area. That is all these sensors do. They measure things and get results and store this information.
Almost everyone in the world knows that a high pressure and low surface area sensation is a pin prick. Everyone has the same sensation even though they have different words to describe it. It will take several more steps like this before the individual recognizes the pin prick and names the sensation as a pin prick. It will take even longer to do something about this sensation. Yet, the sensation is universal.
Lesson #1 Processes
Sensors don't sense, they measure things to get results. The sensory function is where the sensing occurs. The sensory function will combine two results to get a sensation.
Controllers compare and contrast information to form abstractions.
Actuators have a potential to perform mechanical, electrical or chemical processes in the very near future. The actuator most likely will perform this potential but it needs the behavioral function to generate this behavior.
Lesson #2 Functions
The sensory function is an associating region. The sensory function looks inside the gathering region and will associate two or more pieces of information that it finds. Then the associating region will send this "new" combined information to the conveying region.
The example of the pinprick from above illustrates that the sensory function is associating low surface area and high pressure. The "new" information will be sent to the sensory experience region as a sensation of that "new" information.
Lesson #3 Priming the next Trilogy
When a trilogy loops the first time around it is sending relatively simple information to the next trilogy. This will "Prime" the next trilogy with current and relevant information. The first trilogy will continue to loop and, after its second loop, will now send "better" or "more complex" information to the next trilogy. Meanwhile, the second trilogy has had a chance to "prime" or activate itself with the simple information and can now assimilate the more complex information easier when it is delivered.
For example: the second trilogy may have an algorithm that is trying to associate only recent information before it fades away. A pinprick will immediately get your attention. Then, depending on what else is going on in your life, this event will fade away quickly.