Theory of mind: A think piece

Look around. (No, really. Do it.) Take note of people nearby. Do you recognize that they are thinking their own thoughts and feeling their own feelings? Now look inward. How do you feel right now? And how do you know you feel that way? The ability to do what you’re doing right now—to recognize that you yourself have thoughts and feelings, and that others do too, and theirs may well be totally different from yours—has a name: theory of mind. Whether only humans have theory of mind is a bit of a mystery. A new study [suggests that in the animal world, great apes seem to](. A potentially even bigger question is whether machines can think and feel, be aware of those thoughts and feelings, and recognize them in other machines and in humans. If machines can develop those abilities, it will have major implications for humanity. Let’s think on it. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Obsession] Theory of mind December 10, 2019 Do you have a mind of your own? --------------------------------------------------------------- Look around. (No, really. Do it.) Take note of people nearby. Do you recognize that they are thinking their own thoughts and feeling their own feelings? Now look inward. How do you feel right now? And how do you know you feel that way? The ability to do what you’re doing right now—to recognize that you yourself have thoughts and feelings, and that others do too, and theirs may well be totally different from yours—has a name: theory of mind. Whether only humans have theory of mind is a bit of a mystery. A new study [suggests that in the animal world, great apes seem to](. A potentially even bigger question is whether machines can think and feel, be aware of those thoughts and feelings, and recognize them in other machines and in humans. If machines can develop those abilities, it will have major implications for humanity. Let’s think on it. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( brief history [1637:]( René Descartes publishes his Discourse on the Method, which includes the phrase, “I think, therefore I am.” [1950:]( Alan Turing poses the question “Can machines think?” and creates a method to gauge the quality of thought in machines that comes to be known as the Turing test. [1966:]( A computer program called ELIZA seems to pass the Turing test for the first time. [1974:]( Philosopher Thomas Nagel argues for the centrality of the subjective character of experience and point of view in understanding consciousness in his essay “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” [1978:]( The term “theory of mind” is coined by psychologist David Premack based on experiments on a chimpanzee. [1987:]( Philosopher Daniel Dennett lays out his theory of intentionality, an approach to understanding the behavior of others, in The Intentional Stance. [2012:]( The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows adds an entry for sonder, defined as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.” [2014:]( Programmers claim that their bot, Eugene, has passed the Turing test, but skeptics remain unconvinced. [2018:]( Google’s AI, Duplex, comes much closer to credibly passing the Turing test. Giphy Explain it like I’m 5! Sounds simple, but it’s sophisticated --------------------------------------------------------------- Despite its name, theory of mind is far from merely theoretical. It [governs social interactions]( and the more perceptive among us can use that skill to advantage in [personal]( and professional [relationships](. This meta-cognitive exercise is pretty complex. For one thing, what others’ (and sometimes even our own) mental states and experiences actually are is often unclear. If you’ve ever pondered your true thoughts or feelings about something, you’re familiar with that kind of uncertainty. And what others may be thinking and feeling can be opaque and confounding. Psychologists, philosophers, and physicians alike concern themselves with theory of mind. Philosophers probe its essential nature, consequences, and limits, sometimes with creative thought experiments or esoteric arguments, while psychologists and medical doctors are concerned with things like development and conditions that impair the ability to have theory of mind, often caused by disorders like [schizophrenia]( or diseases like [alcoholism]( and [cocaine addiction](. Sponsored by Slack How many unread emails do you have? --------------------------------------------------------------- The average office worker spends nearly a third of their day managing their inbox. Email is broken, and Slack has a solution.[Read on qz.com to learn about a better way to work.]( quotable “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” –[Benjamin Franklin]( This one weird trick! The Sally-Anne test --------------------------------------------------------------- If you know that others have a different mental state from yours—key to theory of mind—then you can recognize that others can be mistaken. On average, humans start to grasp others’ mental states [around age four](. In 1983, psychologists developed the so-called Sally-Anne test to [measure whether a child is capable of attributing false beliefs to others](. In the test, the subject is shown two puppets, dolls, or actors, named Sally and Anne. They perform a skit in which Sally puts a marble in her basket. While she briefly leaves the room, Anne takes the marble from the basket and puts it into her box. When Sally returns, the child is asked where Sally will look for her marble. Children with theory of mind can distinguish between their own knowledge (they know the marble is in the box because they saw Anne put it there) and Sally’s perspective (last she checked, it was in her basket, so she must think it’s still there). The task is often used to help diagnose autism spectrum disorder, which [affects 1 in 160 children globally]( and a common symptom of which is a lack of theory of mind. A recent study took this research further, finding that high-functioning autistic adults, who would have no problem with the Sally-Anne test, had trouble with a [much more complex theory-of-mind puzzle]( pointing toward a [better understanding of both autism and theory of mind](. fun fact! “Know thyself” is an ancient Greek aphorism believed to have been [inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi]( and attributed to the Seven Sages. Though the maxim is commonly associated with Socrates, it predates him, and its exact origin is unclear. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Theory of mind? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – REUTERS/Dado Ruvic million-dollar question Can robots have theory of mind? --------------------------------------------------------------- [Computational theory of mind]( holds that the mind is a computer, doing things like processing information and solving problems. If that’s true, then it’s not a huge stretch to arrive at the reverse: that [computers are, or have, minds](. Some disagree with computational theory of mind, which underpins the possibility of sentient AI. In the 18th century, philosopher Gottfried Leibniz [argued that consciousness doesn’t arise from material parts alone]( mechanisms can process information, but that’s not the same thing as having consciousness or a mind. John R. Searle argued in 1980 against the idea that “the appropriately programmed computer really is a mind, in the sense that … [it] can be literally said to understand and have other cognitive states.” To illustrate, he developed [a thought experiment known as the Chinese room]( Imagine that Searle has been locked in a room and given three sets of writing in Chinese, a language he doesn’t know, as well as instructions, in English, for correlating the characters and directions that enable him to “respond” with some Chinese symbols. With his answers, Searle may seem to “understand” Chinese, but he hasn’t actually learned anything meaningful. This, he says, is basically all even sophisticated AI is capable of—[a far cry from true understanding or consciousness](. Giphy pop quiz How many emotional states do humans have? 27It’s complicated1006 Correct. In 2017, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley challenged the long-held belief that happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust are the 6 human emotions, showing evidence of at least 27 distinct emotional states, and leaving the door open for even more. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. watch list Mind-bending media --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are some films that make theory of mind fun to think about. Warning: spoilers! 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) An astronaut discovers the ship’s computer, HAL, has sentience–and intentions of its own Blade Runner (1982) An officer charged with hunting and terminating humanoid androids also falls in love with one Short Circuit (1986) A bolt of lightning hits a robot, giving it consciousness “Measure of a Man” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989) A Starfleet court rules on whether a sentient android officer has intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness, and thus the right to self-determination Total Recall (1990) A construction worker has false memories implanted, then discovers what he thought was his real life was actually a false memory to begin with Open Your Eyes and remake Vanilla Sky (1997 and 2001) An imprisoned executive realizes that what he believed was reality is actually a lucid dream state The Matrix (1999) A computer hacker finds that what we seem to be experiencing isn’t real, but instead is a simulation created by a race of AI to control humans AI (2001) A childlike android that can not only think, but also feel and express love, experiences the pain of loss and longing Wall-E (2008) A robot develops a personality and becomes lonely and desirous of companionship over the course of several hundred years Inception (2010) A high-tech thief attempts to use shared dreams to implant an idea in a person’s subconscious, but may himself be in an infinite dream state Her (2013) A lonely man falls in love with a sophisticated AI program in the course of using, well, her as a virtual assistant Ex Machina (2014) A programmer falls in love with a sophisticated AI humanoid android in the course of testing whether “she” has theory of mind watch this! The most human human takes the Turing test --------------------------------------------------------------- Since 1991, the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour has held a contest in which the computer program that comes closest to passing the Turing test is awarded the Loebner Prize. As a control, an actual human also participates, and wins “The Most Human Human” award if they succeed. [Brian Christian explains how he prepared to prove himself human]( and why he wanted to take the test. Giphy poll Which emotion do you find most challenging to perceive in others? [Click here to vote]( FearAngerSadnessHappiness 💬 let's talk! In yesterday’s poll about [prediction]( 44% of you said you don’t think you have a particular gift for predicting the future, 40% said you realize you probably just think you’re better than average at prediction, and 16% are convinced you’re really good at sensing what’s coming next. 📧 Alex wrote in with a correction about how we characterized the concept of the 100-year flood, which we said “is not expected to occur more than once every hundred years.” More accurately it is “a flood with a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. As any dice roller should be able to tell you, the fact that you rolled a 6 or a 1 or whatever on roll A says nothing about the chance of rolling the same number on roll B. The occurrence of a hundred-year flood event in any given year says nothing about the chance of it happening again the very next year. Mathematically, there is a greater than 60% chance that any given 100 year period will see more than one 100 year flood.” 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20theory%20of%20mind&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Holly Ojalvo]( edited by [Annaliese Griffin]( and produced by [Tori Smith](. The correct answer to the quiz is It’s complicated. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States [Share this email](