262 13 Local, Global and Glocal Knowledge Representation 13.6.1 A Semi-Formal Model of Glocal Memory To explain the notion of glocal memory more precisely, we will introduce a simple semi-formal model of a system S that uses a memory to record information relevant to the actions it carries out. The overall concept of glocal memory should not be considered as restricted to this particular model. This model is not intended for maximal generality, but is intended to encompass a variety of current AI system designs and formal neurological models. In this model, we will consider S’s memory subsystem as a set of objects we’ll call “tokens,” embedded in some metric space. The metric in the space, which we will call the “basic distance” of the memory, generally will not be defined in terms of the semantics of the items stored in the memory; though it may come to shape these dynamics through the specific architecture and evolution of the memory. Note that these tokens are not intended as generally being mapped one-to-one onto meaningful items stored in the memory. The “tokens” are the raw materials that the memory arranges in various patterns in order to store items. We assume that each token, at each point in time, may meaningfully be assigned a certain quantitative “activation level.” Also, tokens may have other numerical or discrete quantities associated with them, depending on the particular memory architecture. Finally, tokens may relate other tokens, so that optionally a token may come equipped with an (ordered or un- ordered) list of other tokens. To understand the meaning of the activation levels, one should think about S’s memory subsystem as being coupled with an action-selection subsystem, that dynamically chooses the actions to be taken by the overall system in which the two subsystems are embedded. Each combination of actions, in each particular type of context, will generally be associated with the activation of certain tokens in memory. Then, as analysts