Small steps for mankind: Modeling the emergence of cumulative culture from joint active inference communication

Frontiers in Neurorobotics

Neuroscience

K. Richard Ridderinkhof¹  Natalie Kastel²  Casper Hesp³  Karl J. Friston⁴ 

[1]Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[2]Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[3]Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[4]Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[5]Precision Psychiatry and Social Physiology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

[6]Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[7]Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[8]Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom

[9]Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[10]Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom

关键词: active inference;    generalized synchrony;    communication;    social dynamics;    cumulative culture;    complex systems;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnbot.2022.944986

 received in 2022-05-16, accepted in 2022-11-30,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Although the increase in the use of dynamical modeling in the literature on cultural evolution makes current models more mathematically sophisticated, these models have yet to be tested or validated. This paper provides a testable deep active inference formulation of social behavior and accompanying simulations of cumulative culture in two steps: First, we cast cultural transmission as a bi-directional process of communication that induces a generalized synchrony (operationalized as a particular convergence) between the belief states of interlocutors. Second, we cast social or cultural exchange as a process of active inference by equipping agents with the choice of who to engage in communication with. This induces trade-offs between confirmation of current beliefs and exploration of the social environment. We find that cumulative culture emerges from belief updating (i.e., active inference and learning) in the form of a joint minimization of uncertainty. The emergent cultural equilibria are characterized by a segregation into groups, whose belief systems are actively sustained by selective, uncertainty minimizing, dyadic exchanges. The nature of these equilibria depends sensitively on the precision afforded by various probabilistic mappings in each individual's generative model of their encultured niche.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Kastel, Hesp, Ridderinkhof and Friston.