6 relevant dimensions of human cognition will be used to discuss how well humans fare and what it means compared to AI.
After some decades of life, a hard divorce, much reading, coaching, discussing and experiencing psychology in my surrounding I came to an interesting understanding how people think, perceive, and act. In this article, we will discuss how well average people fare in six important dimensions, including consistency, reasoning, logic, self-illusion, bias, and learning through imitating others.
The discussion
Consistency
Consistency refers to the extent to which people behave in a consistent manner over time and across different situations. Research has shown that people are not always consistent in their behavior and thoughts. For example, a person may claim to be environmentally conscious but continue to use single-use plastics. However, people generally show more consistency in their core values and beliefs, which are relatively stable over time.
Reasoning and logic
Reasoning and logic are closely related cognitive abilities that enable people to solve problems and make decisions. People are often influenced by their emotions and biases when reasoning, which can lead to errors in judgment. On the other hand, effective reasoning requires the ability to think critically, weigh evidence, and consider alternative perspectives. Research has shown that average people vary widely in their reasoning abilities, with some being able to make well-reasoned decisions, while others struggle with even simple problems.
Self-illusion
Self-illusion refers to the extent to which people hold views of their self and their abilities. This can manifest in various ways, such wrongly overestimating one's intelligence or athletic ability, or underestimating the impact of one's own biases. Self-illusions can have negative effects on individuals, leading to decreased motivation and decreased ability to effectively assess their own skills and limitations. Huberman and Harris [1] even consider the self to be an illusion in the first place. Research has shown that most people have some degree of self-illusion, although the extent varies from person to person.
Bias
Bias refers to systematic errors in judgment that result from unconscious influences on our perception and interpretation of information. There are numerous types of biases, including confirmation bias, where people seek out information that supports their existing beliefs and ignore information that contradicts it. People are also susceptible to cognitive biases, such as the availability heuristic, which leads them to overestimate the likelihood of events they can easily recall. Examples are bias about skin color, gender or the freedoms in the west and east. Research has shown that people are often unaware of their biases, and that they can have significant effects on decision making and perception.
Learning through imitation
Learning through imitation others is an important aspect of human cognition and development. People learn by observing and imitating others, and this process plays a crucial role in the development of skills and values. However, people also tend to copy others' biases and prejudices, which can result in the reinforcement and spread of harmful attitudes and beliefs. Research has shown that people are highly influenced by those around them, and that learning through imitation can have both positive and negative effects.
What you can do
How do the fellow people around you do in those dimensions?
Check how well chatGPT and other Large Language Models fare in comparison.
Add some further self-awareness and be open and critical about your own behaviour. It actually is fun, if you can take it lightly as a learning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, people fare very differently in each of these dimensions, and the extent to which they exhibit those varies widely from person to person. Understanding these dimensions and the ways in which they affect our thinking and behavior is crucial in improving our ability to make informed decisions and to better understand the perspectives of others. By being aware of our own limitations and biases, we can strive to make more accurate and effective judgments and decisions in our daily lives.
Those dimensions are some where artificial intelligent (AI) systems are often judged as not up for the job. Comparing to our heterogenic population it becomes obvious that they merely take a (slowly improving) spot in between best and worst.
Ressources
[1] https://youtu.be/-wIt_WsJGfw
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