Sep 20, 2022
What constitutes a mind? Researcher challenges perceptions of sentience with the smallest of creatures
Posted by Dan Breeden in category: robotics/AI
At the beginning of my research career around 15 years ago, any suggestion that a bee, or any invertebrate, had a mind of its own or that it could experience the world in an intricate and multifaceted way would be met with ridicule. As Lars Chittka points out in the opening chapters of “The Mind of a Bee,” the attribution of human emotions and experiences was seen as naivety and ignorance; anthropomorphism was a dirty word.
Pet owners eagerly ascribe emotions to their animals, but the simple brain of a bee surely could not experience the rich tapestry that is our existence. They are far too simplistic and robotic, right?