Computers as Brains A Robot’s Tale

Lorenz, Tamara

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Computers as Brains A Robot’s Tale Open Access Deposited

Date Uploaded: 06/15/2026
Date Modified: 06/15/2026

The computer metaphor of mind and brain states broadly that the brain is the control organ for the body. This implies that brain (including mind) and physical body are separable from each other and the physical and social environment. Given the dominance of computing technology in daily life, many brain researchers and subsequently also engineers are furthermore compelled to take brain-computer analogies not as metaphors but as literal descriptions of brain function. These two fundamental assumptions manifest as overwhelming challenges when pursuing synthetic rather than analytic approaches, i.e., when we attempt to computationally control artificial bodies such as robots, especially when co-located with humans. I will discuss the computational brain metaphor from the perspective of bodies for whom computational control is a reality – robots, and their creators – engineers. Rather than presenting new metaphors, I will use evidence from control engineering and human-robot interaction to argue for a shift of thought: if we can enrich how engineers approach robotic control, new robots could offer powerful momentum to shifting the scientific opinion towards embracing a less dualistic, more holistic view of the brain’s embedding in body and world.

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