Credition, uncertainty, consciousness, and communication

This chapter discusses several aspects of the communication process inherent in communication among/between humans and between humans and computationally-based processes, especially as reflected in AI systems, i.e., so-called “bidirectional” communication between such entities. A major topic is the notion of belief and how it is that, through communications, two agents come to believe each other. Common belief among agents is clearly needed to enable action-taking and decision-making. To understand such ideas, participating agents need to have a common comprehension of the concept of belief. Further, such communicating agents also need to appreciate that there is an overarching issue regarding the uncertainty in such beliefs and how that uncertainty needs to be accounted for. In interhuman communication, there are the subtle aspects of empathy and consciousness that have significant effects on the communication process and its effectiveness in the agents coming to a common understanding and belief. The chapter also briefly addresses this topic of consciousness and empathy in AI systems, and the current state-of-the-art in this area. A major section reviews a number of factors affecting human-AI communication and process models, and the aspects of team structures, humanness, and complexity in the design of such bidirectional processes. A final segment introduces the importance of appreciating whether and how AI-based constructions of natural language, to the level of how language is used in interhuman communication, is even feasible as a basis for potential bidirectional communication.