Roger’s Takeaway

這篇探討智慧是計算性的，而且具有目的，讓我想到阿德勒在其心理學著作《自卑與勇氣》裡提到，人類是有目的性的，這也是人們行動背後的動機。而道金斯在《自私的基因》裡面也有類似的概念，雖然基因本身無意識，但是隨著適者生存，有生存與繁衍目的，且符合當下環境的基因與生物會更容易留在世界上，因此看起來生物有其目的。

AI看起來也是，即使到今天也適用。

摘要

本文由 Rich Sutton 撰寫，探討心智的本質。作者主張心智的核心在於做出選擇，而選擇的基礎是資訊處理。文章分為兩大論點：心智是計算性的而非物質性的，以及心智是具有目的性的，其運作方式是透過變換方法以達成固定目標。

Highlight

1.

心智是計算性的，而非物質性的

心智活動最好被視為資訊處理（即計算）的觀點，在過去40年已成為我們科學界的主流。當然，人們不懷疑心智具有物理的、物質的形式，無論是大腦還是電腦硬體。

2.

我喜歡將這個想法回歸到我們最基本的直覺。

哪些事物比較像心智，哪些比較不像？

恆溫器就稍微有點像心智。它將一個宏觀的物理量，也就是您家中的氣溫，轉換為一小片金屬的微小偏斜，這片金屬會使一小團水銀傾斜，進而點燃您家暖爐的火。龐大的物理事件被簡化並作為微小事件處理，物理現象被簡化為純粹的區別，並作為資訊來處理。

我們大腦的感測器和效應器在本質上是相似的。

3.

在選擇的概念中，特別是作為心智活動的精髓，隱含著做出選擇的某種理由或目的。事實上，若不提及某種目的，甚至很難談論選擇。

4.

目的性是心智活動的核心，而目的性的核心在於為了達成固定的目標而變換方法。William James 在1890年將此視為「心智的標誌與標準」。他討論了一個在水中上升的氣泡，直到被一個倒置的罐子困住，並將其與青蛙對比，青蛙可能會暫時被困住，但它會不斷嘗試，直到找到繞過罐子的方法。變換方法與固定目標。在人工智慧領域，我們稱之為「生成與測試」，或是「試誤法」，或是「變異與選擇性存活」。

逐字稿

心智是什麼？當然，「心智」只是一個詞，我們可以賦予它任何我們想要的意義。但如果我們檢視使用這個詞的方式，並思考我們認為哪些事物比其他事物更具心智性，我會主張選擇的概念至關重要。我們根據事物在多大程度上看似在做出選擇，來判斷它們的心智程度。做出選擇意味著進行區分，並創造差異。從這個基本意義上說，心智關乎資訊。其基本功能是將一些位元處理成另一些位元。這個立場包含兩個要素：

• 心智是計算性的，而非物質性的

• 心智具有目的性

心智是計算性的，而非物質性的

心智活動最好被視為資訊處理（即計算）的觀點，在過去40年已成為我們科學界的主流。當然，人們不懷疑心智具有物理的、物質的形式，無論是大腦還是電腦硬體。但是，正如在後者情況中特別明顯的，硬體本身通常不重要，關鍵在於資訊如何流動。

我喜歡將這個想法回歸到我們最基本的直覺。

哪些事物比較像心智，哪些比較不像？

恆溫器就稍微有點像心智。它將一個宏觀的物理量，也就是您家中的氣溫，轉換為一小片金屬的微小偏斜，這片金屬會使一小團水銀傾斜，進而點燃您家暖爐的火。龐大的物理事件被簡化並作為微小事件處理，物理現象被簡化為純粹的區別，並作為資訊來處理。

我們大腦的感測器和效應器在本質上是相似的。

相對強大的物理力量衝擊著我們，我們的感測器將其轉換為神經放電的微小差異。這些信號經過過濾和進一步處理，直到信號被發送到我們的肌肉，在那裡被放大為我們四肢及其他大型物體的宏觀變化。在所有階段，一切都是物理的，但在我們的頭腦內部，只有微小的物理量，它們在相互作用時很容易被改變和轉移。

這就是我們所說的資訊處理。

資訊並非非物質的。它是一種思考事件的方式，這種方式有時比其物理屬性更具啟發性且更有用。

這是一種觀點，一種將物質的物理現實視為首要的觀點。心智的資訊觀點同樣與其他哲學取向相容。我最欣賞的一種觀點是，將個體心智與世界交換資訊的過程視為最主要、最基礎的活動。這就是所謂的「按鈕與燈號」模型，在該模型中，心智被隔離在一個由輸出位元（按鈕）和輸入位元（燈號）組成的介面之後。在此觀點中，物理世界的概念是由心智創造的，用以解釋輸入位元的模式以及它們如何回應輸出位元。這當然是一個簡化的看法，但卻是一個非常清晰的模型。這裡沒有心靈與身體、物質與觀念的混淆。存在的只有資訊、被觀察到的區別，以及被創造出的差異。

心智具有目的性

在選擇的概念中，特別是作為心智活動的精髓，隱含著做出選擇的某種理由或目的。事實上，若不提及某種目的，甚至很難談論選擇。我們可以說一塊石頭「選擇」什麼都不做，但這只是在暗示它的目的是保持靜止。如果一個設備隨機生成決策，人們會猶豫是否該說它在「選擇」。不，選擇的整個概念都意味著目的，一個做出選擇的理由。

目的性是心智活動的核心，而目的性的核心在於為了達成固定的目標而變換方法。William James 在1890年將此視為「心智的標誌與標準」。他討論了一個在水中上升的氣泡，直到被一個倒置的罐子困住，並將其與青蛙對比，青蛙可能會暫時被困住，但它會不斷嘗試，直到找到繞過罐子的方法。變換方法與固定目標。在人工智慧領域，我們稱之為「生成與測試」，或是「試誤法」，或是「變異與選擇性存活」。名稱和變體很多，但這個概念正是目的、選擇與心智的精髓。

Mind is About Information

Rich Sutton

11/19/2001

What is the mind? Of course, "mind" is just a word, and we can mean anything we want by it. But if we examine the way we use the word, and think about the kinds of things we consider more mindful than others, I would argue that the idea of choice is the most important. We consider things to be more or less mindful to the extent that they appear to be making choices. To make a choice means to distinguish, and to create a difference. In this basic sense the mind is about information. Its essential function is to process bits into other bits. This position has two elements:

• Mind is Computational, not Material

• Mind is Purposive

Mind is Computational, not Material

The idea that the mind's activities are best viewed as information processing, as computation, has become predominant in our sciences over the last 40 years. People do not doubt that minds have physical, material form, of course, either as brains or perhaps as computer hardware. But, as is particularly obvious in the latter case, the hardware is often unimportant. Is is how the information flows which matters.

I like to bring this idea down to our basest intuition. What things are more mindlike and less mindlike? A thermostat is slightly mindlike. It converts a gross physical quantity, the air temperature of your home, to a small deviation in a piece of metal, which tips a small lump of mercury which in turn triggers a fire in your furnace. Large physical events are reduced and processed as small ones, the physical is reduced to mere distinctions and processed as information. The sensors and effectors of our brains are essentially similar. Relatively powerful physical forces impinge on us, and our sensors convert them to tiny differences in nerve firings. These filter and are further processed until signals are sent to our muscles and there amplified into gross changes in our limbs and other large physical things. At all stages it is all physical, but inside our heads there are only small physical quantities that are easily altered and diverted as they interact with each other. This is what we mean by information processing. Information is not non-physical. It is a way of thinking about what is happening that is sometime much more revealing and useful than its physical properties.

Or so is one view, the view that takes a material physical reality as primary. The informational view of mind is just as compatible with alternative philosophical orientations. The one I most appreciate is that which takes the individual mind and its exchanging of information with the world as the primary and base activity. This is the so-called "buttons and lights" model, in which the mind is isolated behind an interface of output bits (buttons) and input bits (lights). In this view, the idea of the physical world is created by the mind so as to explain the pattern of input bits and how they respond to the output bits. This is a cartoon view, certainly, but a very clear one. There is no confusion about mind and body, material and ideal. There is just information, distinctions observed and differences made.

Mind is Purposive

Implicit in the idea of choice, particularly as the essence of mindfulness, is some reason or purpose for making the choices. In fact it is difficult even to talk about choice without alluding to some purpose. One could say a rock "chooses" to do nothing, but only by suggesting that its purpose is to sit still. If a device generated decisions at random one would hesitate to say that it was "choosing." No, the whole idea of choice implies purpose, a reason for making the choice.

Purposiveness is at heart of mindfulness, and the heart of purposiveness is the varying of means to achieve fixed ends. William James in 1890 identified this as "the mark and criterion of mentality". He discussed an air bubble rising rising in water until trapped in an inverted jar, contrasting it with a frog, which may get trapped temporarily but keeps trying things until it finds a way around the jar. Varying means and fixed ends. In AI we call it generate and test. Or trial and error. Variation and selective survival. There are many names and many variations, but this idea is the essence of purpose, choice, and Mind.