—— these abilities enabled them to exhibit extremely strong adaptability in their respective unique ecological niches.
theory of mind
abilities.
granted each primate the opportunity to climb in the social hierarchy system. It allowed them to effectively manage their reputation, hide their mistakes; form alliances, flatter emerging powers, curry favor with the powerful; build coalitions, launch rebellions; ease tensions, and repair relationships after arguments. Unlike early intellectual abilities, theory of mind did not arise from survival pressures such as avoiding predators or obtaining scarce prey, but rather from the more subtle and lethal dangers in complex political games.
predicting the future
almost appeared simultaneously, complementing each other and jointly promoting the advantageous position of primates in evolution.
By predicting future needs, primates can plan ahead how to acquire resources and avoid potential risks, thus adapting better to their environment. This ability not only enhances their competitive survival edge but also provides intellectual support for their more complex social interactions and political games.
new skills Get ✅
When primates observe another animal performing an action or imagine themselves or others doing something, the corresponding neurons in their brain are activated. This mechanism not only helps them understand others' intentions but also enables them to actively manufacture tools because they can learn and acquire skills by observing others' behaviors. Unlike non-primates, who can only select known behaviors through observation, primates can learn
: The premise of teaching is understanding that others do not yet possess a certain skill. Teachers must be aware that what they know may be unfamiliar to others.
: Learners need to focus on learning for a long time, identify the intent behind complex skills, and repeatedly attempt until they master the skill. Students will also realize that others possess abilities they have not yet acquired.
: Learners need to be able to differentiate between the teacher's intentional and unintentional actions. For example, I once saw a video where a 3-year-old child (a 4-year-old child has a more complete theory of mind) could not yet distinguish between the coach's intentional and unintentional movements.
This evolution created new ways of transmitting knowledge. Intelligent individuals may discover some new skills, and even after they die, these skills can spread within the group and be passed down generation after generation, forming cultural inheritance.
brain structure evolution
. The second new region of the cerebral cortex is a combination of several unique sensory cortex areas found only in primates, collectively referred to as
by psychologists and philosophers, or the "thinking about thinking" ability. Studies show that the size of the gPFC is closely related to the scale of primates' social networks: the larger the gPFC, the higher the status of primates in the social hierarchy. A similar relationship exists in humans; the thicker the granular prefrontal area, the larger the social network, and the better the individual performs in theory of mind tasks.
plays an important role in interpreting the external world. When older mammalian regions are responsible for simulating the external world, PSC creates higher-level models of these simulations. These new primate regions not only explain why the sensory cortex thinks there is food somewhere, but also explain why the animal's inner simulation of the external world is like this.
robot imitation
is an artificial intelligence system capable of driving cars, and it was one of the earliest systems to learn by imitating human drivers. However, since ALVINN had never seen how human drivers recover from mistakes, small errors often led to catastrophic driving failures.
There are two solutions to this:
: Through active teaching by experts, AI errors can be corrected in a timely manner by experts. Immediate feedback from experts significantly improves the AI's learning effect, thereby avoiding serious problems caused by small errors.
: In this method, AI attempts to understand the underlying intent behind human drivers' decision-making. By judging the expert's intent, AI infers its own reward function, thereby better imitating and optimizing driving behavior.
Both methods help AI systems better handle complex driving scenarios, improving their stability and safety.