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RE: https://mastodon.social/@thetransmitter/116595908468227450
A lot more interesting than I expect it to be, to the credit of the excellent @NicoleCRust
Exploring why Claude develops something like emotion could ultimately help us better understand the function that emotions serve in humans, writes @NicoleCRust.
@albertcardona
The parsing of emotions into "functional" components versus "feeling" components is at the heart of all this. We often think about memory like that: the function it serves (store info) as opposed to the "subjective experience of remembering" bit. In my mind, one big question is: Is that a productive way to think about emotions too? Or are they intertwined with feelings in a way that cannot be separated (unlike memory)?
Is there any non-introspective (non-linguistic) evidence for "feeling" components?
In the memory space, there are measurable functional and neurophysiological differences between the different kinds of memory, including episodic memory, semantic memory, motoric memory, transient priming memory, etc. For example, the autonoetic process of the "feeling of memory" is well-established both functionally and neurophysiologically. At this point, no one seriously (to my knowledge) argues for the "introspective" side of memory, even in the human data.
@adredish @albertcardona
Great question! As far as I understand, it’s all pretty tangled up. Disgust isn’t just a label, it’s the strong motivation to avoid. The assumption by many is that the feeling is central to the function (in a way it’s not for memory).
There are treatments that treat affect functionally - more often for mood as far as I’ve seen; eg increases risk seeking and such.
It’s a great Q: let’s assume emotions are functional; how far can we go with that? Do we see any evidence otherwise?
These feel like questions above my pay grade. I am satisfied with being able to address how individual neurons work, and how small circuits transform signals. Whole systems are so hard to tackle; I get lost every time I climb up the emergence ladder.
I agree the distinction between functional versus feeling seems useful; made the essay work because the comparisons with LLMs were apt.
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