On September 11, 2001, during the terrorist attacks in New York, the commander of one of the firefighting teams had an idea that he had to get his team out of the skyscraper they were in. He could not explain why he suddenly ordered everyone out.
In the book Thinking, Fast and Slow, psychologist and researcher Daniel Kahneman used the episode as an example of an intuitive decision: decisions we make quickly, based on a unique mixture of knowledge, experiences, and emotions.
Only later did the firefighter realize that he had reacted to the quietness in the room. In addition, his ears were unusually cold. It turned out that the core of the fire had been on the floor below. Just after the fire team escaped, the floor collapsed. The firefighter’s intuition saved the lives of everyone on the team.
– Most human decisions are intuitive. For now, robots are not able to do anything similar, Marieke van Otterdijk says. She is a researcher at the RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Rhythm, Time and Movement at the University of Oslo.
Photo: UiO
The magic of human intuition
She does not know if a robot will ever be able to do what the firefighter in New York did.
Today, robots can use artificial intelligence (AI) to make autonomous decisions; however, this decision-making is quite rigid and based on algorithms developed to find logical solutions.
Human intuitive decision-making is faster, more fluid, and based on emotions and associative thinking. For example, if we see a new person smiling and getting a gift, we might associate it with a birthday.
– This is not necessarily correct, which makes intuition tricky. However, intuition gives humans an adaptive ability. We can adapt to the changing world around us and even to robots. If robots get some intuition, this can also make them more adaptable. I do belie