Mastodawn

K.J. Elphinstone Mar 18

Is empathy political?
A thread on autistic empathy.

A still-quite-popular belief about autistic people is that we lack empathy.

I think this is faulty logic.
Here's why:

A thread 🧵

1/10

#ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent
#DoubleEmpathy #TheoryOfMind

Ed Bull Mar 14

Most people assume everyone else thinks like them. They don’t. And your brain knows this - but only from around age 4. #Psychology #CognitiveScience #TheoryOfMind #Neuroscience #MentalHealth

Douglas Edwards

Mar 13

When I praised Peter #Vermeulen's critical insights on the concept of #TheoryOfMind in #autism science, quoted in translation in the English Wikipedia, I lamented that they were from a #French book that hadn't been translated into English. Someone (I forget who) challenged me to read it in French, learning the language on the fly. Encouraged by having an easier time than I expected reading Vermeulen's bio article in the French Wikipedia with the aid of word lookup — and by my belief that English is functionally not a Germanic language at all, but a Romance language in Germanic disguise — I decided actually to go for it.

But now that a copy of the 3rd edition of "Autisme et émotions" is actually on my desk, I've discovered that there is an unexpected new angle. This book is itself a translation, INTO French, of Vermeulen's #Flemish original, "Autisme en emoties"!

This will be an even more interesting experience than I expected.

@autistics

Aaron Mar 5

https://theconversation.com/no-autistic-people-are-not-mind-blind-heres-why-272848

#ActuallyAutistic
#autism
#TheoryOfMind
#empathy

No, autistic people are not ‘mind blind’ – here’s why

The idea that autistic people lack a ‘theory of mind’ has shaped ASD research for 40 years. The evidence never supported it – and it’s time to move on.

The Conversation

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Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈Feb 25

@ngate It's like the AI, not being alive and having no Free Will, won't behave like a human being should.....

#GenAI #AI #FreeWill #TheoryOfMind

Adrian Segar Feb 19

Are online meetings reducing our collective intelligence? New research says maybe. A close look at the experiment tells a different story.

https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/event-design/2021/05/are-online-meetings-reducing-our-collective-intelligence

#online #meetings #CollectiveIntelligence #TeamWork #TheoryOfMind #eventprofs

Show thread

Douglas Edwards

Feb 14

@KatyElphinstone The whole "lack of #empathy" idea builds on the #TheoryOfMind idea, which is rotten to the core. The basic paper applying it to #autistics (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, and Frith 1985) got the idea from an irredeemably flawed paper that had applied it to CHIMPANZEES[!] (Premack and Woodruff 1978). Both papers are hopelessly confused about what it even MEANS to say that a person — or an animal — has, or does not have, a "theory of mind". Both of these groups of researchers should have gotten clear on their concepts BEFORE conducting any experiments — and since they didn’t, both papers should have been refused publication.

@autistics

K.J. Elphinstone Feb 14

Have you wondered where the claim that autistic people lack empathy came from?

The “jellyfish” study (2011) was influential in this, as it concluded that autistic people lacked Theory of Mind & capacity for moral reasoning.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-01-autistic-mind.html

In one of the fictional scenarios given to participants, Janet tells a friend it’s safe to swim with jellyfish. She believes they’re harmless. The friend is stung and dies.

⬇️

#Autism #Empathy #Neurodiversity #TheoryofMind #ActuallyAutistic

Neuroscientists find evidence that autistic patients have trouble understanding others' intentions

(PhysOrg.com) -- A study from MIT neuroscientists reveals that high-functioning autistic adults appear to have trouble using theory of mind to make moral judgments in certain situations.

Medical Xpress

Front Page Jan 31

Child neurologist explains the reason children lie, and it's surprisingly wholesome

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/child-lying-is-developmental-milestone

sayzard Jan 17

vitrupo (@vitrupo)

옥스퍼드 철학자 Timothy Williamson은 신념과 욕구로 행동을 가장 잘 설명할 때 정신 상태를 귀속한다고 설명하며, AI 시스템이 자율성과 실세계 상호작용을 갖추게 되면 동일한 기준으로 인간과 유사하게 정신 상태를 인정하지 않는 것이 더 이상 타당하지 않을 수 있다고 주장합니다. 이는 AI 윤리·정책 논의에 함의를 줍니다.

https://x.com/vitrupo/status/2012534517983281536

#ai #aiethics #autonomy #philosophy #theoryofmind

vitrupo (@vitrupo) on X

Oxford philosopher Timothy Williamson says we attribute mental states when belief and desire best explain behavior. Once AI systems gain autonomy and real-world interaction, denying them the same standard may no longer make sense.

X (formerly Twitter)