Comment by inshard
Also good context here is Friston’s Free Energy Principle: A unified theory suggesting that all living systems, from simple organisms to the brain, must minimize "surprise" to maintain their form and survive. To do this, systems act to minimize a mathematical quantity called variational free energy, which is an upper bound on surprise. This involves constantly making predictions about the world, updating internal models based on sensory data, and taking actions that reduce the difference between predictions and reality, effectively minimizing prediction errors.
Key distinction: Constant and continuous updating. I.e. feedback loops with observation, prediction, action (agency), and once more, observation.
It should have survival and preservation as a fundamental architectural feature.
> taking actions that reduce the difference between predictions and reality, effectively minimizing prediction errors
Since you can't change reality itself, and you can only take actions to reduce variational free energy, doesn't this make everything into a self-fulfilling prophecy?
I guess there must be some base level of instinct that overrides this; in the case of "I think that sabertooth tiger is going to eat me" you want to make sure the "don't get eaten" instinct counters "minimizing prediction errors".