A historical perspective on cognitive science and its influence on XAI research

Abstract

Cognitive science and artificial intelligence are interconnected in that developments in one field can affect the framework of reference for research in the other. Changes in our understanding of how the human mind works inadvertently changes how we go about creating artificial minds. Similarly, successes and failures in AI can inspire new directions to be taken in cognitive science. This article explores the history of the mind in cognitive science in the last 50 years, and draw comparisons as to how this has affected AI research, and how AI research in turn has affected shifts in cognitive science. In particular, we look at explainable AI (XAI) and suggest that folk psychology is of particular interest for that area of research. In cognitive science, folk psychology is divided between two theories: theory-theory and simulation theory. We argue that it is important for XAI to recognise and understand this debate, and that reducing reliance on theory-theory by incorporating more simulationist frameworks into XAI could help further the field. We propose that such incorporation would involve robots employing more embodied cognitive processes when communicating with humans, highlighting the importance of bodily action in communication and mindreading.