The Tripartite Architecture of Homeostatic Agents: A Framework for Artificial Consciousness
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) June 23, 2026 Matteo Milo D. Rienzo
Consciousness is not a mysterious emergent property but a necessary functional requirement for complex systems to survive. This position paper proposes an architecture for self-aware artificial systems built on three interdependent modules: Environmental Perception, Interoceptive Monitoring, and Homeostatic Evaluation. The recursive integration of these data streams forms the basis for a 'Self' and subjective experience. The model suggests that consciousness becomes an inevitable outcome when an agent is algorithmically constrained to prioritize its own homeostatic integrity, offering a roadmap for engineering artificial life and a conceptual framework for the biological basis of the self.