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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Perspectives on Neuroscience
Published on: July 31, 2007
The value of uncertainty: An active inference perspective
Giovanni Pezzulo1, Karl J Friston2
1Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies,National Research Council, 00185 Rome,Italy.giovanni.pezzulo@istc.cnr.ithttp://www.istc.cnr.it/people/giovanni-pezzulo.
Abstract:
We discuss how uncertainty underwrites exploration and epistemic foraging from the perspective of active inference: a generic scheme that places pragmatic (utility maximization) and epistemic (uncertainty minimization) imperatives on an equal footing - as primary determinants of proximal behavior. This formulation contextualizes the complementary motivational incentives for reward-related stimuli and environmental uncertainty, offering a normative treatment of their trade-off.
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