Imagine a robot that performs at least two kinds of tasks:
- It is able to move around its environment to find electrical sockets to recharge itself. If a socket recharges it, the robot marks a "yes" in its memory for that socket. If the socket drains the robot's battery, the robot marks the socket "no".
- It is able to answer questions about stories in its memory, responding accurately to to queries with "yes" or "no" answers.
Such a robot has intentionality if it can demonstrate the meaning of "yes" and "no" answers in terms of the actions it uses when seekeing to recharge its batteries.
Intentionality just amounts to this kind of connection between an entity's symbols and its goal directed actions.
Natika Newton 1988.