際際滷

際際滷Share a Scribd company logo

Sentient companions predicted and modeled into existence: explaining the tulpa phenomenon

K
Kaj Sotala

Talk held at the Towards a Science of Consciousness 2015 conference. Discusses "tulpas", a claimed phenomenon of sentient autonomous imaginary friend. My talk briefly reviewed some of their properties, reasons for assuming why this might be something worth taking seriously, and possible mechanisms explaining how they come into existence. Associated abstract: http://kajsotala.fi/Papers/Tulpa.pdf

1 of 43
Download to read offline
Sentient companions predicted and modeled into existence: explaining the tulpa phenomenon Kaj Sotala
Structure of talk What's the tulpa phenomenon? Do we have reason to believe they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends Illusion of Independent Agency Explaining the phenomenon
What's the tulpa phenomenon? A tulpa is an entity created in the mind, acting independently of, and parallel to your own consciousness. They are able to think, and have their own free will, emotions, and memories. In short, a tulpa is like a sentient person living in your head, separate from you. (tulpa.info)
Sentient companions predicted and modeled into existence: explaining the tulpa phenomenon
(Veissi辿re, 2015)
Reported properties: Sentience
Reported properties: Sentience Appearance as mental speech, hallucinations, tangible entities
Reported properties: mental speech
Reported properties: mental speech
Reported properties: Sentience Appearance as mental speech, hallucinations, tangible entities Possession
Reported properties: Sentience Appearance as mental speech, hallucinations, tangible entities Possession Switching
Do they actually exist?
Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends First known study in 1893 Comprehensive psychological literature Common in the West (claimed 65% of children), less so in more traditional cultures
Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends Nobby is an invisible 160- year-old business man who talks to the child in between trips to Portland and Seattle. (Taylor 2003)
Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends "Dipper" is an invisible flying dolphin who lives on a star, never sleeps and is "very very very very fast." He is "about the size of a regular dolphin, but covered with stars and all kinds of shiny stuff." (Taylor 2003)
Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends "Pepper, Crayon, and Golliwod" are three invisible "sheas," a type of invisible flea. Pepper is pink with pink hair, Crayon is plaid, and Golliwod is black with black hair. The child carried them around and protected them from the evil planet aliens who were looking for them. (Taylor 2003)
Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends
Are these evidence for tulpas? Many a time I have interviewed a child about an IC - the child observes as I listen carefully and write down whatever is said. Then at some point in the interview, the child is very likely to pause, look me in the eyes and say "You know, it's just pretend." (Taylor, 2003)
On the other hand... Sometimes partially autonomous E.g. Hood and Bing, Bing would often go missing Children sometimes complain of their behavior
Illusion of Independent Agency The illusion of independent agency (IIA) occurs when a fictional character is experienced by the person who created it as having independent thoughts, words, and/or actions. (Taylor, Hodges & Koh叩nyi 2003)
IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say."
IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say." Characters having their own identity
IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say." Characters having their own identity Having to argue with the characters
IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say." Characters having their own identity Having to argue with the characters In one study of self-identified writers (n = 50), 92% reported at least some level of IIA
IIA in fiction authors I live with all of them every day. Dealing with different events during the day, different ones kind of speak. They say, "Hmm, this is my opinion. Are you going to listen to me?"
IIA in fiction authors I was out for a walk and on my way to the grocery store. I wasn't really thinking all that deliberately about the novel, but suddenly, I felt the presence of two of the novel's more unusual characters behind me. I had the sense that if I turned around they would actually be there on the sidewalk behind me.
Explaining the phenomenon
It's probably not schizophrenia Taylor, Hodges & Koh叩nyi (2003): writer mean score on Dissociative Experience Scale 19, general population sample has mean of 8 (significant at p < .001)
It's probably not schizophrenia Taylor, Hodges & Koh叩nyi (2003): writer mean score on Dissociative Experience Scale 19, general population sample has mean of 8 (significant at p < .001) Schizophrenic mean 18; however, writers had low scores on the amnestic experiences and derealization and depersonalization subscales, high on absorbation and changeability
It's probably not schizophrenia Only about 24 of 141 (17%) tulpamancers self- reported being diagnosed with mental illness (Veissi辿re 2015), including: Asperger's syndrome 25% (4% of total) Attention Deficit Disorders 21% (4% of total) General anxiety 18% (3% of total) Depression 14% (2% of total) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 11% (2% of total)
A possible hypothesis Imagining something is similar to perceiving it We have evolved to model and predict other people Action and inference deeply linked
Simulation hypothesis Simulation hypothesis: imagining perceiving something is essentially the same as actually perceiving it, only the perceptual activity is generated by the brain itself rather than external stimuli. (Hesslow, 2002)
Simulation hypothesis
Simulation hypothesis
We are people-modelers
Simulation people requires models of them
(Kilner, Friston & Smith 2007)
Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model
Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model Action gets broadcast into global workspace (Baars 2002, 2005) and fed back into model, updating it
Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model Action gets broadcast into global workspace (Baars 2002, 2005) and fed back into model, updating it Host personality responds to action
Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model Action gets broadcast into global workspace (Baars 2002, 2005) and fed back into model, updating it Host personality responds to action Model of tulpa infers most likely reply given host's response
Sentient companions predicted and modeled into existence: explaining the tulpa phenomenon
References Baars, B.J. (2002) The Conscious Access Hypothesis: Origins and Recent Evidence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 6 (1): 4752. Baars, B.J. (2005) Global Workspace Theory of Consciousness: Toward a Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Experience. In The Boundaries of Consciousness: Neurobiology and Neuropathology, edited by Steven Laureys, 4553. Progress in Brain Research 150. Boston: Elsevier Hesslow, G. (2002) Conscious thought as simulation of behaviour and perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(6). Kilner, J. M., Friston, K. J., & Frith, C. D. (2007). Predictive coding: an account of the mirror neuron system. Cognitive processing, 8(3), 159-166. Taylor, M. (2003) Children's imaginary companions. Televizion, 16/2003/1. Taylor, M., Hodges, S. D., & Koh叩nyi, A. (2003). The illusion of independent agency: Do adult fiction writers experience their characters as having minds of their own?. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 22(4), 361-380. Veissi辿re, S. (2015) Varieties of Tulpa Experiences: Sentient Imaginary Friends, Embodied Joint Attention, and Hypnotic Sociality in a Wired World. Somatosphere.

More Related Content

Sentient companions predicted and modeled into existence: explaining the tulpa phenomenon

  • 1. Sentient companions predicted and modeled into existence: explaining the tulpa phenomenon Kaj Sotala
  • 2. Structure of talk What's the tulpa phenomenon? Do we have reason to believe they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends Illusion of Independent Agency Explaining the phenomenon
  • 3. What's the tulpa phenomenon? A tulpa is an entity created in the mind, acting independently of, and parallel to your own consciousness. They are able to think, and have their own free will, emotions, and memories. In short, a tulpa is like a sentient person living in your head, separate from you. (tulpa.info)
  • 7. Reported properties: Sentience Appearance as mental speech, hallucinations, tangible entities
  • 10. Reported properties: Sentience Appearance as mental speech, hallucinations, tangible entities Possession
  • 11. Reported properties: Sentience Appearance as mental speech, hallucinations, tangible entities Possession Switching
  • 13. Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends First known study in 1893 Comprehensive psychological literature Common in the West (claimed 65% of children), less so in more traditional cultures
  • 14. Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends Nobby is an invisible 160- year-old business man who talks to the child in between trips to Portland and Seattle. (Taylor 2003)
  • 15. Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends "Dipper" is an invisible flying dolphin who lives on a star, never sleeps and is "very very very very fast." He is "about the size of a regular dolphin, but covered with stars and all kinds of shiny stuff." (Taylor 2003)
  • 16. Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends "Pepper, Crayon, and Golliwod" are three invisible "sheas," a type of invisible flea. Pepper is pink with pink hair, Crayon is plaid, and Golliwod is black with black hair. The child carried them around and protected them from the evil planet aliens who were looking for them. (Taylor 2003)
  • 17. Do they actually exist? Children's imaginary friends
  • 18. Are these evidence for tulpas? Many a time I have interviewed a child about an IC - the child observes as I listen carefully and write down whatever is said. Then at some point in the interview, the child is very likely to pause, look me in the eyes and say "You know, it's just pretend." (Taylor, 2003)
  • 19. On the other hand... Sometimes partially autonomous E.g. Hood and Bing, Bing would often go missing Children sometimes complain of their behavior
  • 20. Illusion of Independent Agency The illusion of independent agency (IIA) occurs when a fictional character is experienced by the person who created it as having independent thoughts, words, and/or actions. (Taylor, Hodges & Koh叩nyi 2003)
  • 21. IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say."
  • 22. IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say." Characters having their own identity
  • 23. IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say." Characters having their own identity Having to argue with the characters
  • 24. IIA in fiction authors Observing events or having them described by the characters "I see my characters like actors in a movie. I just write down what they say." Characters having their own identity Having to argue with the characters In one study of self-identified writers (n = 50), 92% reported at least some level of IIA
  • 25. IIA in fiction authors I live with all of them every day. Dealing with different events during the day, different ones kind of speak. They say, "Hmm, this is my opinion. Are you going to listen to me?"
  • 26. IIA in fiction authors I was out for a walk and on my way to the grocery store. I wasn't really thinking all that deliberately about the novel, but suddenly, I felt the presence of two of the novel's more unusual characters behind me. I had the sense that if I turned around they would actually be there on the sidewalk behind me.
  • 28. It's probably not schizophrenia Taylor, Hodges & Koh叩nyi (2003): writer mean score on Dissociative Experience Scale 19, general population sample has mean of 8 (significant at p < .001)
  • 29. It's probably not schizophrenia Taylor, Hodges & Koh叩nyi (2003): writer mean score on Dissociative Experience Scale 19, general population sample has mean of 8 (significant at p < .001) Schizophrenic mean 18; however, writers had low scores on the amnestic experiences and derealization and depersonalization subscales, high on absorbation and changeability
  • 30. It's probably not schizophrenia Only about 24 of 141 (17%) tulpamancers self- reported being diagnosed with mental illness (Veissi辿re 2015), including: Asperger's syndrome 25% (4% of total) Attention Deficit Disorders 21% (4% of total) General anxiety 18% (3% of total) Depression 14% (2% of total) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 11% (2% of total)
  • 31. A possible hypothesis Imagining something is similar to perceiving it We have evolved to model and predict other people Action and inference deeply linked
  • 32. Simulation hypothesis Simulation hypothesis: imagining perceiving something is essentially the same as actually perceiving it, only the perceptual activity is generated by the brain itself rather than external stimuli. (Hesslow, 2002)
  • 36. Simulation people requires models of them
  • 37. (Kilner, Friston & Smith 2007)
  • 38. Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model
  • 39. Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model Action gets broadcast into global workspace (Baars 2002, 2005) and fed back into model, updating it
  • 40. Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model Action gets broadcast into global workspace (Baars 2002, 2005) and fed back into model, updating it Host personality responds to action
  • 41. Tulpa development loop Generative model of tulpa hypothesizes an action the tulpa might take given the model Action gets broadcast into global workspace (Baars 2002, 2005) and fed back into model, updating it Host personality responds to action Model of tulpa infers most likely reply given host's response
  • 43. References Baars, B.J. (2002) The Conscious Access Hypothesis: Origins and Recent Evidence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 6 (1): 4752. Baars, B.J. (2005) Global Workspace Theory of Consciousness: Toward a Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Experience. In The Boundaries of Consciousness: Neurobiology and Neuropathology, edited by Steven Laureys, 4553. Progress in Brain Research 150. Boston: Elsevier Hesslow, G. (2002) Conscious thought as simulation of behaviour and perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(6). Kilner, J. M., Friston, K. J., & Frith, C. D. (2007). Predictive coding: an account of the mirror neuron system. Cognitive processing, 8(3), 159-166. Taylor, M. (2003) Children's imaginary companions. Televizion, 16/2003/1. Taylor, M., Hodges, S. D., & Koh叩nyi, A. (2003). The illusion of independent agency: Do adult fiction writers experience their characters as having minds of their own?. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 22(4), 361-380. Veissi辿re, S. (2015) Varieties of Tulpa Experiences: Sentient Imaginary Friends, Embodied Joint Attention, and Hypnotic Sociality in a Wired World. Somatosphere.