Marvin Minsky "The Emotion Machine": Chapter 1 "Adult 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.
')
A certain baby could not bear the frustration, and reacted to every failure instantly rushing into hysterics. He held his breath and squeezed the muscles on his back to such an extent that he fell the back of his head to the floor.
A simple theory that describes how such a mechanism can work is that there are some separate “instincts” that compete until one of them takes control of the others. However, this model cannot explain how, after a while, the child finds new ways to fight frustration:
A few weeks later, this baby’s behavior changed; he was no longer controlled solely by rage, but he also acquired new defensive abilities, so when he sensed that something bad could happen, he ran to hide in some kind of soft, secluded place.
From this situation, it can be assumed that only one Selector can work in a baby’s brain at a specific time interval; This allows you to dramatically change the system, and because of this avoid most conflicts. However, such infant systems cannot solve the complex problems that children face as they grow up. This forced our human brains to develop some higher-level systems in which previously non-overlapping instincts could mix a lot. But since these systems had more opportunities, they also received new ways of making mistakes, so they also had to develop new ways to control themselves, which led to a huge cascade of new types of mental activities.
We tend to characterize the problem as “difficult” when we tried to solve it in several ways known to us, but did not achieve success. But it is not enough just to know that we are stuck in solving the problem: it would be much better if we could recognize the different types of barriers, dead ends and obstacles we face. For if you can determine the type of problem you are facing, it can help you determine the more appropriate “way of thinking” associated with this situation. Thus, in the subsequent chapters of this book, we assume that in order to cope with such tasks, our brain has replaced some “Reaction Machines Based on the Knowledge of Rules” by “Machines Based on Critical Choice”.
The simplest version of this machine would be almost the same as the “If -> Then” machine, described in § 1-4. There, each “If” reveals a certain problem of the real world, which causes the system to respond with some predetermined, actions in the real world. Thus, the behavior of the simplest "If -> That" machines is extremely limited and inflexible.
However, in machines based on a critical choice, these “If” and “That” are more common, because critical resources can recognize not only problems in the outside world, but also problems and obstacles within the mind. Then, these “Selectors” are also not limited to responding to things in the world around them, but they can also respond to mental barriers by turning them off and including certain resources. This means that machines based on critical choices must not only respond to events from the outside, but also guide us to a different way of thinking. For example, they may consider several reactions to a situation before deciding which reaction to use.
Of course, we need more specific ideas about how each of these ways of thinking can work and how we develop them. We know that during our childhood, our brain went through several stages of growth, and in Chapter 5 it will be suggested that this growth leads to at least six levels of mental procedures.
Thus, an adult who faces a threat must act not so much instinctively as he must reason what should be done in this situation: run or fight. - for this you need to use high-level systems to choose a strategy that is worth adhering to. Thus, you can make a thoughtful choice between anger and fear - and if it seems more appropriate to intimidate the enemy, you can force yourself to get angry angry (although, perhaps, this will happen unconsciously)
We know that such intellectual abilities grow over several years of child life. Then why can't we remember anything from that period of life? One of the reasons may be that in these years we are only developing ways to create memories, and when we move on to using these methods, this can make it difficult to extract and interpret the memories that we had before this process. Perhaps these old memories still exist, but in a form that we can no longer understand, and that is why we cannot remember how we grew and changed, applying new, adult thinking abilities. We rebuilt our mind too much time to remember how we felt as a child!
Some habits are much harder to cure or change than others. Consequently, the struggle between different instincts, or between instinct and certain habits, can often be observed in an animal; for example, when a dog rushes after a hare, it may reproach, stop, hesitate, chase the hare again, or return to its owner ashamed; or, for example, the love of a dog for its puppies and for the owner, which can be observed when the dog leaves the puppies, because of the shame that it is not next to its owner. - Charles Darwin in "The Descent of Man".
This chapter discusses some questions about how people can greatly change their internal state. When someone whom you know falls in love, there is a feeling that the person has worked the switch and he began to perform a completely different program than before.
The Image of the Resource Cloud suggests that such a change may be the result of the work of the "Selectors" that have begun to excite (or suppress) a certain large set of resources. Thus, Charles’s attraction to Cilia is intensified when all of his internal “Critics” looking for mistakes.
Psychologist: Indeed, sometimes a blind attraction begins unexpectedly. But other emotions can flow and fade much more slowly - and usually, in later years, our mood swings become less abrupt. Thus, an adult may slowly respond to an insult, but then he will ponder for several months even the slightest inflicted or even imagined insult.
Our twenty year old striped cat has few signs of human maturity. At one point he will be affectionate and look for a human company. But after a while, in the blink of an eye, he gets to his feet and leaves, without any hint of farewell, while our twelve-year-old dog rarely leaves us without looking back - as if he expresses some regret at his departure. It seems that the mood of a cat is described by a single switch, but the dog’s behavior is more mixed, and it seems that it is not controlled by a conventional switch.
In any case, any major change in the set of active resources causes a significant change in the mental state. One of the ways this state can be described is that one particular resource can directly invoke many others:
Thus, the selectors mentioned in chapter 1-5 can directly have significant effects on the brain. In addition, if the set of awakened resources includes one or more Selectors, they can include even more resources, which causes another big change. Then this change, in turn, can also include other resources that they need — and if each such change leads to several more changes, this distribution can turn into an effect that we call a “cascade.”
The more resources this cascade uses, the more your ability to think changes - and your behavior may change so much that your friends may get the impression that you have turned into another person.
Critic: Your words are clearly exaggerated - after all, Charles is still the same person. They will still speak the same language and use the same knowledge. He only changes the vision of the environment.
Of course, these cascades do not change the whole system. When Charles adopts a new Way to Think, in many ways he will remain the same, because not all of his resources will be replaced. He will also be able to see and hear - but now he will perceive things a little differently. And precisely because he now represents things differently, he will get completely different ideas about what these things and events mean.
Charles also knows how to talk - but maybe now he will use a different style of speech and will find other topics for discussion, because, although he has access to the same knowledge, skills and memories, now he will choose other information for of use. He will still have the same plans and goals, but now he will have other priorities. He will also dress and go to work, but in some cases he will not dress very well. And as for Charles himself - he, of course, will be equally individual.
In that case, to what degree will Charles know about the changes in his mental state? Sometimes he will not notice any changes at all, but in other cases he will notice what some other remarks about himself are doing, for example: "I am angry now." In order for him to do this, his brain must have ways to "reflect" some of his recent actions (for example, recognize the spread of some large-scale cascades). Chapter 4 will discuss what processes can lead to some aspects that we may call "consciousness."
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:
§1-6. Adults Emotions
Look at the child, according to the gracious law of nature,Often, when a child becomes angry, this mood change seems as fast as switching a switch.
He is satisfied with a rattle, and is having fun because of the straw:
And the lively game gives him a childish delight,
It is a bit loud, but empty inside;
Scarves, garters, gold, entertain him at a more mature age,
And beads and prayer books are toys of this age;
- Alexander Pope in "Essay about a man."
')
A certain baby could not bear the frustration, and reacted to every failure instantly rushing into hysterics. He held his breath and squeezed the muscles on his back to such an extent that he fell the back of his head to the floor.
A simple theory that describes how such a mechanism can work is that there are some separate “instincts” that compete until one of them takes control of the others. However, this model cannot explain how, after a while, the child finds new ways to fight frustration:
A few weeks later, this baby’s behavior changed; he was no longer controlled solely by rage, but he also acquired new defensive abilities, so when he sensed that something bad could happen, he ran to hide in some kind of soft, secluded place.
From this situation, it can be assumed that only one Selector can work in a baby’s brain at a specific time interval; This allows you to dramatically change the system, and because of this avoid most conflicts. However, such infant systems cannot solve the complex problems that children face as they grow up. This forced our human brains to develop some higher-level systems in which previously non-overlapping instincts could mix a lot. But since these systems had more opportunities, they also received new ways of making mistakes, so they also had to develop new ways to control themselves, which led to a huge cascade of new types of mental activities.
We tend to characterize the problem as “difficult” when we tried to solve it in several ways known to us, but did not achieve success. But it is not enough just to know that we are stuck in solving the problem: it would be much better if we could recognize the different types of barriers, dead ends and obstacles we face. For if you can determine the type of problem you are facing, it can help you determine the more appropriate “way of thinking” associated with this situation. Thus, in the subsequent chapters of this book, we assume that in order to cope with such tasks, our brain has replaced some “Reaction Machines Based on the Knowledge of Rules” by “Machines Based on Critical Choice”.
The simplest version of this machine would be almost the same as the “If -> Then” machine, described in § 1-4. There, each “If” reveals a certain problem of the real world, which causes the system to respond with some predetermined, actions in the real world. Thus, the behavior of the simplest "If -> That" machines is extremely limited and inflexible.
However, in machines based on a critical choice, these “If” and “That” are more common, because critical resources can recognize not only problems in the outside world, but also problems and obstacles within the mind. Then, these “Selectors” are also not limited to responding to things in the world around them, but they can also respond to mental barriers by turning them off and including certain resources. This means that machines based on critical choices must not only respond to events from the outside, but also guide us to a different way of thinking. For example, they may consider several reactions to a situation before deciding which reaction to use.
Of course, we need more specific ideas about how each of these ways of thinking can work and how we develop them. We know that during our childhood, our brain went through several stages of growth, and in Chapter 5 it will be suggested that this growth leads to at least six levels of mental procedures.
Thus, an adult who faces a threat must act not so much instinctively as he must reason what should be done in this situation: run or fight. - for this you need to use high-level systems to choose a strategy that is worth adhering to. Thus, you can make a thoughtful choice between anger and fear - and if it seems more appropriate to intimidate the enemy, you can force yourself to get angry angry (although, perhaps, this will happen unconsciously)
We know that such intellectual abilities grow over several years of child life. Then why can't we remember anything from that period of life? One of the reasons may be that in these years we are only developing ways to create memories, and when we move on to using these methods, this can make it difficult to extract and interpret the memories that we had before this process. Perhaps these old memories still exist, but in a form that we can no longer understand, and that is why we cannot remember how we grew and changed, applying new, adult thinking abilities. We rebuilt our mind too much time to remember how we felt as a child!
§1-7 Emotional Cascades
Some habits are much harder to cure or change than others. Consequently, the struggle between different instincts, or between instinct and certain habits, can often be observed in an animal; for example, when a dog rushes after a hare, it may reproach, stop, hesitate, chase the hare again, or return to its owner ashamed; or, for example, the love of a dog for its puppies and for the owner, which can be observed when the dog leaves the puppies, because of the shame that it is not next to its owner. - Charles Darwin in "The Descent of Man".
This chapter discusses some questions about how people can greatly change their internal state. When someone whom you know falls in love, there is a feeling that the person has worked the switch and he began to perform a completely different program than before.
The Image of the Resource Cloud suggests that such a change may be the result of the work of the "Selectors" that have begun to excite (or suppress) a certain large set of resources. Thus, Charles’s attraction to Cilia is intensified when all of his internal “Critics” looking for mistakes.
Psychologist: Indeed, sometimes a blind attraction begins unexpectedly. But other emotions can flow and fade much more slowly - and usually, in later years, our mood swings become less abrupt. Thus, an adult may slowly respond to an insult, but then he will ponder for several months even the slightest inflicted or even imagined insult.
Our twenty year old striped cat has few signs of human maturity. At one point he will be affectionate and look for a human company. But after a while, in the blink of an eye, he gets to his feet and leaves, without any hint of farewell, while our twelve-year-old dog rarely leaves us without looking back - as if he expresses some regret at his departure. It seems that the mood of a cat is described by a single switch, but the dog’s behavior is more mixed, and it seems that it is not controlled by a conventional switch.
In any case, any major change in the set of active resources causes a significant change in the mental state. One of the ways this state can be described is that one particular resource can directly invoke many others:
Thus, the selectors mentioned in chapter 1-5 can directly have significant effects on the brain. In addition, if the set of awakened resources includes one or more Selectors, they can include even more resources, which causes another big change. Then this change, in turn, can also include other resources that they need — and if each such change leads to several more changes, this distribution can turn into an effect that we call a “cascade.”
The more resources this cascade uses, the more your ability to think changes - and your behavior may change so much that your friends may get the impression that you have turned into another person.
Critic: Your words are clearly exaggerated - after all, Charles is still the same person. They will still speak the same language and use the same knowledge. He only changes the vision of the environment.
Of course, these cascades do not change the whole system. When Charles adopts a new Way to Think, in many ways he will remain the same, because not all of his resources will be replaced. He will also be able to see and hear - but now he will perceive things a little differently. And precisely because he now represents things differently, he will get completely different ideas about what these things and events mean.
Charles also knows how to talk - but maybe now he will use a different style of speech and will find other topics for discussion, because, although he has access to the same knowledge, skills and memories, now he will choose other information for of use. He will still have the same plans and goals, but now he will have other priorities. He will also dress and go to work, but in some cases he will not dress very well. And as for Charles himself - he, of course, will be equally individual.
In that case, to what degree will Charles know about the changes in his mental state? Sometimes he will not notice any changes at all, but in other cases he will notice what some other remarks about himself are doing, for example: "I am angry now." In order for him to do this, his brain must have ways to "reflect" some of his recent actions (for example, recognize the spread of some large-scale cascades). Chapter 4 will discuss what processes can lead to some aspects that we may call "consciousness."
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/354358/
All Articles