Marvin Minsky "The Emotion Machine": Chapter 1 "Moods and Emotions"
The father of artificial intelligence is thinking about how to make a machine that would be proud of us . Marvin Minsky was a rather tough scientist and the fact that he explored the theme of feelings and emotions with his “scalpel of knowledge”, which makes us human, is quite interesting and useful. The book is an excellent example of how to use the “ITish approach” to try to comprehend the “human”: values, ideals, love, pain, common sense.
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If you still do not know what emotions are, you definitely will not know any of these definitions. What is meant by the subjective? How are emotions connected with feelings? Does every emotion have to be associated with irritation? And what could be behind the definition of conscious attraction?
Why do so many such questions arise when we try to determine what “emotion” means? This is because “emotion” is one of the ordinary words that covers a very wide range of things. Here are just a few of the hundreds of terms we use to discuss our mental states:
Delight, affection, aggression, agony, anxiety, ambition, entertainment, anger, suffering, anxiety, apathy, confidence, attraction, disgust, awe, bliss, courage, boredom, confidence, confusion, craving, trustfulness, curiosity, despondency, delight, depression, derivation, desire, hatred, disgust, discouragement, distrust, doubt, etc.
Whenever your mental state changes, you use these emotional words to describe your new state, but the usual each word or phrase refers to a too large range of states. Thus, many researchers have spent their entire lives trying to classify the states of our mind in such classes as humor, emotions, temperaments and moods. But should we call angst emotion or mood? Is sadness one of the types of arousal? It is impossible to allow the use of these terms, because, as William James noted above, different traditions make different distinctions between such states, and they cannot describe the same states of mind, because different people have different ideas about these states. How many readers can confidently state that they know exactly how each of these feelings is felt?
Although it is difficult to define such words as feelings and anxieties, in everyday life it is rarely a problem to identify them, because your friends usually know what they mean. Nevertheless, the attempts of psychologists to give a clear definition of these words more prevented than helped them to create theories about how our brain works. Thus, this chapter will use a different approach, which will reflect on the mind as a collection of small parts and processes. This will lead to some new and useful ways to imagine what feelings and thinking are.
Of course, I do not assume that babies do not have a "personality." You can usually feel that shortly after birth, that a particular child reacts more quickly, or seems more irritable, or patient, or even more inquisitive. Some of these symptoms may change over time, but some remain throughout the person’s life. However, we still need to ask the question: how can babies change their behavior so quickly and strongly? The One-I model cannot explain how a child can so quickly switch from satisfaction or peace of mind, to anger or rage.
To make this model more believable, imagine that someone asked you to create an artificial animal. You can start by making a list of goals that your robot animal should achieve. He may need to find sources of food and water. He may need to defend himself against attacks, and against extreme temperatures. He may need to have ways to attract good friends. Then, when you compiled this list, you can tell your engineers to create this “machine driven by instincts,” so that it matches each of the items on the compiled list.
In that case, how can we build such a “machine driven by instincts”? Each such machine needs to have three types of resources: some way to identify the current situation, some information about how to respond to them, as well as some muscles or engines to perform various actions.
And what can act as the core of this set of knowledge? Let's start with the simplest case: Suppose that we already know in advance all the situations that our robot will face. In this case, all we need is a catalog of simple, two-step “If -> That” reactions - where each “If” describes the chosen situation, and “That” describes what action needs to be done. Let's call this the “Rule-Based Reaction Machine” (Rule-BasedReaction-Machine).
Many rules of "If -> That", similar to those described above, exist in every animal. For example, each child is born with the function of maintaining body temperature: when it becomes hot, he can begin to breathe deeply, sweat, move more; when it gets too cold, it can hide its limbs, or shrink, or generate heat in some other way. [Cm. §6-1.2.] In the course of life, we learn to use actions that change the world around us.
The idea of ​​having a set of rules "If -> That" shows that our mind is nothing more than a set of machines that react to different reactions. Although this concept may seem too simplistic, in the main book of Nicholas Tinbergen “The Study of Instinct” (The Study of Instinct), it is shown that such a presentation can be incredibly useful for describing some of the actions of animals. He also expressed some important ideas about what actions can turn these machines on and off, how they perform various tasks, and what happens when some of these machines fail.
However, this structure will not be able to support the complex feelings of adults and children. The rest of the book will attempt to describe systems that are more like the human mind than the system described above.
For the translation, thanks to Stanislav Sukhanitsky, who responded to my call in the “previous chapter.” Who wants to help with the translation - write in a personal or mail magisterludi2016@yandex.ru
By the way, we launched the translation of another cool book - “The Dream Machine: The History of Computer Revolution” .
Marvin Lee Minsky (Eng. Marvin Lee Minsky; August 9, 1927 - January 24, 2016) - American scientist in the field of artificial intelligence, co-founder of the Laboratory of artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [ Wikipedia ]
Interesting Facts:
§1-3 Moods and Emotions
"If someone tries to find the name of each of them (emotions), for which the human heart is the location, each race of people has found names for certain shades of feelings, while other races have ignored some shades ... all kinds of groupings possible because of the choice of the basic feeling on which all others are based. The question is, is the effect of finding shades of emotions a result of random grouping, or was this process best suited to specific goals? „Sometimes you are in a state where the world around you seems fun and bright. At another time (of course, provided that nothing has changed) everything seems dull and gloomy, and your friends say that you are depressed. Why do we have such states of mind - speaking differently moods, feelings, or dispositions - and what causes this strange effect? Here are some phrases that dictionaries provide for the definition of the word "emotion":
- William James in Principles of Psychology (text available only in original work on page 485)
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- Subjective experience of strong experience.
- State of mental excitement or anxiety.
- Mental reaction associated with the state of the body.
- More subjective than conscious attraction.
- The part of consciousness that includes feelings.
- The irrational aspect of reasoning.
If you still do not know what emotions are, you definitely will not know any of these definitions. What is meant by the subjective? How are emotions connected with feelings? Does every emotion have to be associated with irritation? And what could be behind the definition of conscious attraction?
Why do so many such questions arise when we try to determine what “emotion” means? This is because “emotion” is one of the ordinary words that covers a very wide range of things. Here are just a few of the hundreds of terms we use to discuss our mental states:
Delight, affection, aggression, agony, anxiety, ambition, entertainment, anger, suffering, anxiety, apathy, confidence, attraction, disgust, awe, bliss, courage, boredom, confidence, confusion, craving, trustfulness, curiosity, despondency, delight, depression, derivation, desire, hatred, disgust, discouragement, distrust, doubt, etc.
Whenever your mental state changes, you use these emotional words to describe your new state, but the usual each word or phrase refers to a too large range of states. Thus, many researchers have spent their entire lives trying to classify the states of our mind in such classes as humor, emotions, temperaments and moods. But should we call angst emotion or mood? Is sadness one of the types of arousal? It is impossible to allow the use of these terms, because, as William James noted above, different traditions make different distinctions between such states, and they cannot describe the same states of mind, because different people have different ideas about these states. How many readers can confidently state that they know exactly how each of these feelings is felt?
- Grieving for a lost child,
- Fearing that nations will never live in peace,
- Celebrating election wins,
- Excited while waiting for the arrival of a loved one
- Horrified when your car loses control at high speed,
- Rejoicing when watching a child play,
- Experiencing panic, being in a confined space.
Although it is difficult to define such words as feelings and anxieties, in everyday life it is rarely a problem to identify them, because your friends usually know what they mean. Nevertheless, the attempts of psychologists to give a clear definition of these words more prevented than helped them to create theories about how our brain works. Thus, this chapter will use a different approach, which will reflect on the mind as a collection of small parts and processes. This will lead to some new and useful ways to imagine what feelings and thinking are.
§1-4 Nascent Emotions
“Babies who suffer from even mild pain, moderate hunger or discomfort express their condition with a loud and prolonged cry. Interestingly, during the screaming, their eyes close tightly, so that the skin around them becomes wrinkled, and the skin of the forehead is very tight. His mouth opens wide, with his lips bent in a peculiar way that causes him to take a square shape; the gums and teeth become more or less visible. „In an instant, a child who looked great might begin to move his limbs restlessly. Then you see a few deep breaths - and the air is filled with cries. Has the child become hungry, sleepy or wet? Anyway, these screams make you look for some action that can help him. It will take you some time to understand what the trouble is, but as soon as you find a way to fix the situation, things quickly return to normal. However, if you are not used to dealing with babies, this instantaneous change in mood can upset you. When your friends cry, you ask them what happened - but talking to babies is pointless, because he “has no one at home” with whom you can communicate.
- Charles Darwin, in The Emotions Of Animals
Of course, I do not assume that babies do not have a "personality." You can usually feel that shortly after birth, that a particular child reacts more quickly, or seems more irritable, or patient, or even more inquisitive. Some of these symptoms may change over time, but some remain throughout the person’s life. However, we still need to ask the question: how can babies change their behavior so quickly and strongly? The One-I model cannot explain how a child can so quickly switch from satisfaction or peace of mind, to anger or rage.
To make this model more believable, imagine that someone asked you to create an artificial animal. You can start by making a list of goals that your robot animal should achieve. He may need to find sources of food and water. He may need to defend himself against attacks, and against extreme temperatures. He may need to have ways to attract good friends. Then, when you compiled this list, you can tell your engineers to create this “machine driven by instincts,” so that it matches each of the items on the compiled list.
In that case, how can we build such a “machine driven by instincts”? Each such machine needs to have three types of resources: some way to identify the current situation, some information about how to respond to them, as well as some muscles or engines to perform various actions.
And what can act as the core of this set of knowledge? Let's start with the simplest case: Suppose that we already know in advance all the situations that our robot will face. In this case, all we need is a catalog of simple, two-step “If -> That” reactions - where each “If” describes the chosen situation, and “That” describes what action needs to be done. Let's call this the “Rule-Based Reaction Machine” (Rule-BasedReaction-Machine).
- If the temperature is wrong, make it normal.
- Eat if you need food.
- If you are in danger, choose how you will defend.
- If you are experiencing sexual desire - look for a pair.
Many rules of "If -> That", similar to those described above, exist in every animal. For example, each child is born with the function of maintaining body temperature: when it becomes hot, he can begin to breathe deeply, sweat, move more; when it gets too cold, it can hide its limbs, or shrink, or generate heat in some other way. [Cm. §6-1.2.] In the course of life, we learn to use actions that change the world around us.
- If your room is too hot - open the window.
- If it is too sunny, drop the shadow.
- If it is too cold - turn on the heater.
- If it gets too cold, put on more things.
The idea of ​​having a set of rules "If -> That" shows that our mind is nothing more than a set of machines that react to different reactions. Although this concept may seem too simplistic, in the main book of Nicholas Tinbergen “The Study of Instinct” (The Study of Instinct), it is shown that such a presentation can be incredibly useful for describing some of the actions of animals. He also expressed some important ideas about what actions can turn these machines on and off, how they perform various tasks, and what happens when some of these machines fail.
However, this structure will not be able to support the complex feelings of adults and children. The rest of the book will attempt to describe systems that are more like the human mind than the system described above.
For the translation, thanks to Stanislav Sukhanitsky, who responded to my call in the “previous chapter.” Who wants to help with the translation - write in a personal or mail magisterludi2016@yandex.ru
By the way, we launched the translation of another cool book - “The Dream Machine: The History of Computer Revolution” .
Table of Contents of The Emotion Machine
Introduction
Chapter 4. CONSCIOUSNESS
Chapter 5. LEVELS OF MENTAL ACTIVITIES
Chapter 6. COMMON SENSE
Chapter 7. Thinking.
Chapter 8. Resourcefulness.
Chapter 9. The Self.
Chapter 1. Falling in Love
Love
The Sea Of Mental Mysteries
Moods and Emotions
Infant emotions
Seeing a Mind as a Cloud of Resources
Adult Emotions
Emotion cascades
Questions
The Sea Of Mental Mysteries
Moods and Emotions
Infant emotions
Seeing a Mind as a Cloud of Resources
Adult Emotions
Emotion cascades
Questions
Chapter 2. ATTACHMENTS AND GOALS
Chapter 3. FROM PAIN TO SUFFERINGChapter 4. CONSCIOUSNESS
Chapter 5. LEVELS OF MENTAL ACTIVITIES
Chapter 6. COMMON SENSE
Chapter 7. Thinking.
Chapter 8. Resourcefulness.
Chapter 9. The Self.
about the author
Marvin Lee Minsky (Eng. Marvin Lee Minsky; August 9, 1927 - January 24, 2016) - American scientist in the field of artificial intelligence, co-founder of the Laboratory of artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [ Wikipedia ]
Interesting Facts:
- Minsky was a friend of critic Harold Bloom from Yale University (Yale University), who spoke of him as “sinister Marvin Minsky”.
- Isaac Asimov described Minsky as one of two people who are smarter than himself; the second, in his opinion, was Karl Sagan.
- Marvin is a robot with artificial intelligence from the cycle of Douglas Adams novels Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film).
- Minsky has a contract to freeze his brain after death in order to be “resurrected” in the future.
- In honor of Minsk named the dog of the protagonist in the movie Tron: Legacy. [ Wikipedia ]
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/353816/
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