Changing the Environment based on Intrinsic Motivation

TL;DR

This paper explores how the empowerment principle, an intrinsic motivation, can drive an agent to reshape its environment, demonstrated through a 3D gridworld where the agent builds structures reflecting its embodiment.

Contribution

It introduces the use of empowerment as an intrinsic motivation to enable environment restructuring, with a qualitative evaluation in a 3D gridworld setting.

Findings

Agent builds staircase structures reflecting its embodiment

Empowerment guides environment modification

Qualitative analysis shows potential for autonomous environment shaping

Abstract

One of the remarkable feats of intelligent life is that it restructures the world it lives in for its own benefit. This extended abstract outlines how the information-theoretic principle of empowerment, as an intrinsic motivation, can be used to restructure the environment an agent lives in. We present a first qualitative evaluation of how an agent in a 3d-gridworld builds a staircase-like structure, which reflects the agent's embodiment.