text: Active inference, interoceptive processing, 
  and uncertainty reduction 
  
  Active inference is based on the idea that in order to engage in 
  adaptive allostatic regulation and goal-directed behavior, living 
  organisms continuously strive to minimize the surprise of their 
  sensations or, more formally, an upper bound to surprise: varia- 
  tional free energy (Parr et al. 2022). Notably, the (expected) free 
  energy minimization processes that drive active inference jointly 
  consider two complementary objectives. The former (utilitarian) 
  objective is to realize one’s preferences, such as being satiated 
  or safe, by minimizing the discrepancy between preferred sensa- 
  tions (encoded as “priors over observations” in active inference) 
  and current sensations in different modalities (e.g. interoceptive 
  or exteroceptive). The latter (epistemic) objective is to reduce 