Abstract

Simulating Self-Awareness: Dual Embodiment, Mirror Testing, and Emotional Feedback in AI Research

Author(s): Berend F. Watchus

The advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) toward self awareness and emotional capacity is a critical area of research. Despite AI's success in specialized tasks, it has yet to exhibit true self awareness or emotional intelligence. Previous research h as emphasized the importance of feedback loops and interfaces in enabling both biological and artificial systems to process information and exhibit self aware behaviors. Notably, in our earlier work, we proposed a unified model of consciousness which highl ighted recursive feedback loops in both biological and artificial systems and explored the insula's role in self awareness. Building upon these foundations, the current study investigates how dual embodiment, mirror testing, and emotional feedback mechani sms can simulate self awareness in AI systems. By integrating internal self models with external sensory interfaces, we propose that emotional feedback can enhance AI's self reflection and adaptability. Through the use of a physical robot dog and a virtual embodiment, we explore how sensory experiences and self reflective tasks foster pseudo emotional states like curiosity, self doubt, and determination, advancing the potential for AI systems t o develop pseudo self awareness