Universal Semantic Communication

Is meaningful communication possible between two intelligent parties who share no common language or background? In this work, a theoretical framework is proposed in which it is possible to address when and to what extent such semantic communication is possible: such problems can be rigorously addressed by explicitly focusing on the goals of the communication. Under this framework, it is possible to show that for many goals, communication without any common language or background is possible using universal protocols. This work should be accessible to anyone with an undergraduate-level knowledge of the theory of computation. The theoretical framework presented here is of interest to anyone wishing to design systems with flexible interfaces, either among computers or between computers and their users. Front Matter....Pages I-XIX Introduction....Pages 1-25 Theory of finite goal-oriented communication....Pages 27-58 Verifiable goals for communication....Pages 59-89 Conditions for efficiency in finite executions....Pages 91-117 Computational complexity of goals....Pages 119-157 Theory of goal-oriented communication in infinite executions....Pages 159-209 The power of relaxed models....Pages 211-232 The error complexity of strategies in infinite executions....Pages 233-261 Towards applications: communication with a changing network protocol....Pages 263-330 Conclusions and directions for future work....Pages 331-341 Back Matter....Pages 343-397