Direct translation: ​

Bringing attention as one of the functions of consciousness

Corrected translation using the provided list: Attention focusing as one of the functions of cognition

Attention guidance is one of the most important functions of consciousness, which helps direct attention to important objects (focus on them) and perform the necessary operations with them. Attention guidance is necessary to kickstart any activity: until attention is directed to the necessary objects, operations with them will not be carried out. For example, without paying attention to the instructions, it will be very difficult for you to start a new unfamiliar device. Without focusing attention on the technique of running, you will not start running well. Furthermore, without attention guidance, it is meaningless to talk about its retention: there are literally no objects for the cameras to "stick" to.

We distinguish physical and mental objects with our attention. For example, we identify the object "kitchen in my house", we point out why it is a physical object: it occupies a place in space-time (located in the house at a specific address, belongs to you), you can enter the kitchen and look around, touch things. Or we identify the mental object "one-on-one meeting practice" and determine that it belongs to the class of leadership practices.

But how does the process of object identification with attention work? Why are some objects highlighted while others "sink into the darkness"? Why does a cook, entering the kitchen, notice the chef's knives but not pay attention to the room's design, while a designer may not notice the knives? In other words, how does the mechanism of object identification work in agents?

Object identification operates on the agent's perception apparatus. Therefore, it is subjective: it depends on what falls within the agent's field of attention, as well as on their role (often taken automatically rather than consciously).

A person accustomed to playing the role of a cook will automatically search for the necessary cook objects in the kitchen (products, knives, stove, etc.). Similarly, a designer will automatically note the layout of functional areas in the kitchen. The kitchen may be the same, but different objects are highlighted for a cook than for a designer.

Even two cooks entering the same kitchen may notice different things: one may visually search for ingredients, while the other may be interested in the stove.

Due to the subjectivity of attention guidance, special care must be taken to ensure that the ontology, for example, of an enterprise, is neutral: by default, it will not be neutral, the subjective position of the agent playing the role of the ontologist will influence its formation. Fortunately, with conscious efforts, the ontology can be adjusted.

This happens because attention is guided associatively, using S1, and conceptually, using S2. If attention is guided associatively, then it is guided randomly, spontaneously: whatever caught the cook's attention - the stove or the knife - that is what the operations will be performed on; the role the agent is used to playing is the role they will automatically assume. If attention is guided conceptually, then the goal of highlighting is determined, the role is chosen consciously, the objects needed to achieve the goal are selected (not randomly caught in the field of attention). If slicing ingredients is necessary for lunch, attention should be paid to the products, the knife, and the cutting board, not the pans on the stove.

Quality goal achievement and quality modeling are possible by applying conceptual attention guidance. But to "activate" it, one must learn to deal with the automatic activation of associative attention guidance.