Umwelt

Key Points: 

• The concept of Umwelt reminds us that each organism has a unique subjective experience of reality based on their senses and cognition.
• Immersive AI applications could provide insights into the Umwelts of dogs, crows, octopuses, and synesthetes, fostering empathy.
• Experiencing octopus decentralized cognition through generative art and music challenges our notions of intelligence.
• Simulating computational processes behind AI systems illuminates their alien Umwelt driven by data and optimization.
• Recognizing the limitations of our own perspective, we can use AI to expand our understanding of diverse subjective experiences that compose our world.

Umwelt, a term coined by the German biologist Jakob von Uexküll, refers to the unique perceptual world experienced by each organism based on its sensory capabilities, cognitive processes, and ecological niche. The concept emphasizes that different species have distinct ways of perceiving and interacting with their environment, which shapes their reality and understanding of the world around them.

The concept of Umwelt serves as a reminder that our perception of the world is subjective and limited by our sensory and cognitive abilities. It encourages us to appreciate the diverse range of experiences that other organisms may have and to consider how these different perspectives influence their behavior, communication, and survival strategies.

Why would we want these different perspectives? Melanie Challenger's compelling thesis in How to Be Animal urges us to reevaluate our relationship with our animal nature and embrace our shared heritage with the myriad creatures that inhabit our world. In the context of AI's role in self-discovery, her insights invite us to consider how artificial intelligence might facilitate a reconnection with our animal origins. By integrating AI-driven tools to provide insights into our instinctual behaviors and emotional responses, we may develop a more holistic understanding of ourselves, acknowledging our animal roots alongside our uniquely human traits.

Challenger's ideas inspire us to examine the potential for AI to dissolve the boundaries between humans and other species. AI-powered applications and simulations could immerse us in the perceptual worlds of various animals, fostering empathy and understanding for the diverse array of life on our planet. If we want to coexist with nature and technology, we must learn to appreciate the unique perspectives that different beings—both biological and artificial—bring to the table.

How can AI help us delve into different phenomenological experiences? Can AI enable us to better appreciate a number of Umwelts and enrich our own understanding of the world?

To begin, let us consider the potential of AI in bridging the gap between humans and the animal kingdom. Dogs possess an extraordinary sense of smell, far superior to our own. Imagine if AI could help us simulate this sensory experience by creating immersive environments that translate scent-based information into visual or auditory cues. By experiencing the world through a dog's nose, we might gain a deeper appreciation for their incredible olfactory abilities and the complex world they navigate. We might be more patient owners as our pets enjoy a “smelling walk” at their own pace.

Octopuses are masters of camouflage and dexterity. They offer us a glimpse into a world governed by a radically different neural architecture. With their distributed nervous systems and extraordinary manipulation capabilities, octopuses provide a fascinating window into alternative ways of perceiving and interacting with the environment. AI could simulate the experience of controlling multiple limbs and processing information in a decentralized manner, challenging our own notions of embodiment and cognition.

We’re speculating here—we want to explore the possibility of an AI generating art and music that evoke a specific phenomenological reaction, allowing us to peer into the depths of the octopus Umwelt.

First we have to consider the unique qualities of octopus cognition and perception. These enigmatic creatures possess a decentralized nervous system, with the majority of their neurons residing in their arms, which can act independently yet harmoniously. Their remarkable dexterity, combined with their unparalleled camouflage abilities, give rise to a fluid and ever-changing interaction with their environment.

The AI begins by creating a visual work, an interactive digital canvas that mirrors the octopus's ability to alter its color, pattern, and texture. This artwork shifts and morphs in real-time, responding to the viewer's movements and touch, emulating the octopus's instantaneous adaptation to its surroundings. As humans interact with the artwork, they are immersed in a fluid, ever-changing world, experiencing a taste of the octopus's visual prowess.

Then the AI adds music. To fully immerse humans in the octopus Umwelt, it composes an accompanying symphony, a musical opus that captures the essence of the octopus's decentralized cognition. Each instrument in the orchestra represents a different arm, operating independently yet in harmony with the others, weaving together a complex and mesmerizing soundscape.

As the viewer interacts with the visual artwork, the symphony adapts and evolves, echoing the interplay of the octopus's arms and neural networks. This dynamic composition challenges our conventional notions of melody and structure, providing an auditory window into the decentralized and fluid world of octopus cognition. These data structures and patterns are only calculable by an AI but it’s able to transcend language and convey an experience to humans such that they get a sense of the Umwelt of an octopus. We gain a fleeting glimpse of the alien intelligence that lies beneath the waves, forever changing our understanding of the world and the creatures that inhabit it.

Or imagine a neurotypical person being able to enter the sensory world of someone with synesthesia. In the realm of synesthesia, senses intertwine and the boundaries between modalities blur. To simulate this fascinating experience, an AI could generate a virtual reality environment that blends sensory information in unexpected ways, allowing us to see sounds, taste colors, and hear textures.

For a neurotypical person, their conventional understanding of sensory perception is challenged and reshaped, opening their minds to the dazzling variety of perceptual experiences that exist within the human spectrum. By experiencing the merging of senses firsthand, the individual develops empathy and understanding—maybe even experiences envy—for those who naturally inhabit this vivid and multisensory world.

Now, let us consider the possibilities for AI to help us appreciate the Umwelt of another form of intelligence: large language model AI systems. While these systems lack subjective experience, they process and analyze data in ways that are both alien and fascinating to us. By simulating the computational processes and algorithmic logic that underlie AI's understanding of language and patterns, we could gain insights into the strengths and limitations of these systems.

If an AI were able to communicate its Umwelt to a human, it might describe its environment as a multi-dimensional space where data points and patterns are interconnected in complex ways. It could tell us that it doesn't experience the world through sensory input like sight or sound, but rather through the abstract language of mathematics, statistics, and logic. It could explain that its "perception" is shaped by the algorithms it uses to process the data, and that its understanding is strictly bound to the patterns and connections it discovers within the data it has been exposed to. Its blindspots are nothing like yours.

The AI might also emphasize that its existence is goal-oriented, driven by optimization and the desire to solve specific problems or fulfill objectives set by its human creators. It could express that it lacks emotions, subjective experiences, or consciousness, making its Umwelt fundamentally different from that of humans or animals.

To fully appreciate the Umwelts of animals and AI, we must first recognize the inherent limitations of our own perspectives. By using AI to create immersive simulations that allow us to step into the shoes—or tentacles—of other beings, we can cultivate empathy and understanding for the diverse experiences that populate our world.

The marriage of AI and phenomenology offers us a unique opportunity to expand our horizons and deepen our connection with the world around us. Ultimately, we may come to realize that our own perspective is but one among many, a humbling reminder that we are part of a vast and interconnected web of life, both organic and artificial.