[ExI] Taxonomy of Minds (was: Re: Uploads as a group of AI agents)

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 28/03/2026 07:36, Jason Resch wrote:
> A proposed taxonomy for various levels of minds:
>
>   1  Reactive: can respond to stimuli
>   2  Stateful: keeps distinct internal states
>   3  Adaptive: can store memories and learn
>   4  Attentive: maintains a model of the environment
>   5  Reflective: models the self in relation to the environment
>    6 Empathic: models others as entities with their own minds
>   7  Contemplative: thinks about abstract objects and the future
>   8  Introspective: can have second-order thoughts about thoughts
>    9 Metacognitive: has third-order thoughts about nature of thought
>   10  Superfluid: can arbitrarily reorganize itself to experience any qualia


I would reverse the order of 5 & 6. Modelling others comes before modelling self. Young humans start to form theory of mind involving what others think, very early on. It's usually only around puberty or later that self-awareness seems to emerge. It makes sense that 5 is dependent on 6 (following the normal pattern of duplication and re-purposing of mental modules).

I'm not sure that 7 necessarily comes after 5 & 6. Some of these stages may be simultaneous.

8 is probably linked to 5.

9 seems to be the same as 8, or near enough that one implies the other.

Not sure about 10. Seems highly speculative. That might be better put as "can re-organise its own structure"

But anything beyond what we are currently capable of, is of course speculative. We won't know until we know, what lies beyond our current capabililties.

---
Ben