Notation for Recalling PoC Model
Core Idea: Who Hosts What?
- Agent A = “me”
- Agent B = “the other”
- i_X(Y) = “Inside X, the illusion of Y’s consciousness is instantiated.”
- e_{X→Y} = “X directs an Elicitation toward Y (a bid: ‘please instantiate me within you’).”
- ĭ_A[B(A)] = “A’s inference that i_B(A) exists — A’s internal model of ‘B must be hosting an instantiation of me.’” (This construct exists only inside A; it is never directly verifiable.)
Step-by-Step Development (PoC Vocabulary Version)
① Instantiation (Other-in-A)
Within A, i_A(B) arises.
→ A experiences: “B seems to have consciousness” (the emergence of the illusion of another mind).
② Elicitation (A→B)
A performs e_{A→B}, a bid that “B should instantiate me.”
→ This may take the form of a gesture, a greeting, or calling the other’s name.
③ Inference of Instantiation (A’s Hypothesis)
From B’s responses or contextual cues, A infers that i_B(A) has arisen. A maintains ĭ_A[B(A)], the internal construct of “me-in-the-other.”
※ This “me-inside-B” exists only within A as an assumption, not as a fact.
④ Re-importation / Relocation
A re-imports ĭ_A[B(A)] as if it were an object inside A itself.
→ A paradox arises: what should belong inside B is relocated into A, reshaping A’s relation both to itself and to the other. (This structural paradox is the basis of self-consciousness.)
⑤ Loop (Reciprocal Elicitation)
When B responds with e_{B→A}, a circulation of Elicitations forms. Each side acts on the belief that “the other is hosting me inside them.”
→ Through this circulation, the illusion stabilizes: the Loop.
Key Notes
Feedback (Reciprocal) Elicitation = a returned Elicitation from B to A (e_{B→A}).
Genuine vs. Fake: It cannot be objectively guaranteed that i_B(A) has occurred.
- If both A and B sustain their inferences (ĭ), the Loop is experienced as “genuine.”
- If only one side sustains the inference, the Loop is effectively “fake.”
The Loop requires no objective Instantiation (All Loops are Perhaps-Loops).\ Even if the other never instantiated me, as long as I infer it (ĭ) and act accordingly, the structure functions subjectively.
This notation extends to Modes: