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Existence of a simple ToM-inducing cost function in biological systems

Determine whether a simple, explicit cost function or reward structure exists in biological organisms such that optimizing it would necessarily lead to the emergence of Theory of Mind capabilities.

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Background

The authors argue that unlike task-optimized skills in reinforcement learning, Theory of Mind may not arise from training on a specific objective. They suggest that in biological systems, the objective guiding the acquisition of Theory of Mind may be complex and not reducible to a straightforward reward function, creating uncertainty about its existence and form.

References

It is not clear whether there exists a simple and explicit cost function or set of rewards for biological systems that would necessarily lead to the emergence of ToM.

Mind the gap: Challenges of deep learning approaches to Theory of Mind (2203.16540 - Aru et al., 2022) in Section 4 (Towards Theory of Mind: Beyond a task)