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Humans often give coherent _rationalizations_ of their actions, which is slightly different than an explanation. From wikipedia[1]: "the inventing of a reason

by Aeolos 5y ago

Humans often give coherent _rationalizations_ of their actions, which is slightly different than an explanation. From wikipedia[1]: "the inventing of a reason for an attitude or action the motive of which is not recognized—an explanation which (though false) could seem plausible" This is very common in children but also in adults: people will do something and then find reasons to support why they did that. Much of our modern industry is indeed built around this very concept. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology)

foldr 5y ago
It certainly happens, but how common is it really? I think we tend to notice these cases much more than the boring everyday cases where people do things for straightforward reasons that they’re fully aware of. Vocalized rationalizations (e.g. “I didn’t want that job anyway” from the Wikipedia article) often don’t reflect actually delusional beliefs about motivation. A person who says such a thing typically is aware that they really did want the job when they applied for it. People will naturally try to find the best rational justification for their actions post hoc, but it doesn’t follow from this that they hold incorrect beliefs about their original motivations.
CRConrad 5y ago
> Humans often give coherent _rationalizations_ of their actions, which is slightly different than an explanation. At least those rationalizations are logically plausible as explanations; they very well could be (usually) the actual explanation. What's now called AI cannot, AIUI, convincingly come up with any "explanation" of its reasoning, simply because it hasn't done any actual reasoning. I don't know if most fans or current "AI" really can't see the difference, or are just pretending. (If they really can't, one can't help wonder if they are themselves current "AIs"...)

by Aeolos 5y ago

foldr 5y ago

It certainly happens, but how common is it really? I think we tend to notice these cases much more than the boring everyday cases where people do things for straightforward reasons that they’re fully aware of. Vocalized rationalizations (e.g. “I didn’t want that job anyway” from the Wikipedia article) often don’t reflect actually delusional beliefs about motivation. A person who says such a thing typically is aware that they really did want the job when they applied for it. People will naturally try to find the best rational justification for their actions post hoc, but it doesn’t follow from this that they hold incorrect beliefs about their original motivations.

CRConrad 5y ago

> Humans often give coherent _rationalizations_ of their actions, which is slightly different than an explanation. At least those rationalizations are logically plausible as explanations; they very well could be (usually) the actual explanation. What's now called AI cannot, AIUI, convincingly come up with any "explanation" of its reasoning, simply because it hasn't done any actual reasoning. I don't know if most fans or current "AI" really can't see the difference, or are just pretending. (If they really can't, one can't help wonder if they are themselves current "AIs"...)