Definition
Free Energy Principle
The free energy principle proposed by Karl Friston seeks to explain how living systems - from single cells to complex organisms with brains - maintain their structure and function in a constant changing and often chaotic world.
It posits that all living beings resist the natural tendency toward disorder by minimising a quantity called variational free energy, which can be understood as a measure of surprise.
Methods
An agent can reduce its free energy in two ways:
- Perceptual Inference (updating beliefs)
- Active Inference (changing sensations)