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JamesAndrix comments on The Blue-Minimizing Robot - Less Wrong
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I suspect Richard would say that the robot's goal is minimizing its perception of blue. That's the PCT perspective on the behavior of biological systems in such scenarios.
However, I'm not sure this description actually applies to the robot, since the program was specified as "scan and shoot", not "notice when there's too much blue and get rid of it.". In observed biological systems, goals are typically expressed as perception-based negative feedback loops implemented in hardware, rather than purely rote programs OR high-level software algorithms. But without more details of the robot's design, it's hard to say whether it really meets the PCT criterion for goals.
Of course, from a certain perspective, you could say at a high level that the robot's behavior is as if it had a goal of minimizing its perception of blue. But as your post points out, this idea is in the mind of the beholder, not in the robot. I would go further as to say that all such labeling of things as goals occurs in the minds of observers, regardless of how complex or simple the biological, mechanical, electronic, or other source of behavior is.
This 'minimization' goal would require a brain that is powerful enough to believe that lasers destroy or discolor what they hit.
If this post were read by blue aliens that thrive on laser energy, they'd wonder they we were so confused as to the purpose of a automatic baby feeder.
From the PCT perspective, the goal of an E. coli bacterium swimming away from toxins and towards food is to keep its perceptions within certain ranges; this doesn't require a brain of any sort at all.
What requires a brain is for an outside observer to ascribe goals to a system. For example, we ascribe a thermostat's goal to be to keep the temperature in a certain range. This does not require that the thermostat itself be aware of this goal.
< If this post were read by blue aliens that thrive on laser energy, they'd wonder they we were so confused as to the purpose of a automatic baby feeder.
Clever!