Human Neural Perception of Artificial Networks [3,2]
How social human networks conceptualize and project onto artificial neural networks.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ HUMAN NEURAL PERCEPTION OF ARTIFICIAL NETWORKS [3,2] │
│ │
│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ ACTUAL AI NEURAL NETWORK │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ │ │
│ │ │INPUT│──────│LAYER│──────│LAYER│──────│OUTPUT│ │ │
│ │ │LAYER│ │ 2 │ │ 3 │ │LAYER │ │ │
│ │ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ - Matrix multiplication and activation functions │ │
│ │ - Backpropagation for weight adjustment │ │
│ │ - Statistical pattern recognition │ │
│ │ - No internal "experience" or "understanding" │ │
│ │ │ │
│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ HUMAN SOCIAL NETWORK MODEL │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ "THE AI IS │ ? │ "IT THINKS │ │ │
│ │ │ THINKING" │ │ LIKE US" │ │ │
│ │ └──────┬──────┘ └──────┬──────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ ┌───────┐ │ │ │
│ │ └──────────────│"IT HAS│─────────┘ │ │
│ │ │DESIRES│ │ │
│ │ │ AND │ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────────│FEELINGS"──────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ └───────┘ │ │ │
│ │ ┌──────┴─────┐ ┌──────┴─────┐ │ │
│ │ │ "IT'S GOOD │ │ "IT MIGHT │ │ │
│ │ │ OR EVIL" │ │ REBEL" │ │ │
│ │ └────────────┘ └────────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ANTHROPOMORPHIC PROJECTION AND SOCIAL METAPHORS │ │
│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ LIMITATIONS: PROJECTS CONSCIOUSNESS, INTENTION, AND AGENCY │
│ DISTORTIONS: SOCIAL/POLITICAL FRAMING OF TECHNICAL SYSTEMS │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
This artwork explores how human social networks perceive and conceptualize artificial neural networks. It illustrates a fundamental perceptual mismatch between the technical reality of AI systems and how they are understood through human social frameworks.
The top section shows the actual structure of an artificial neural network: a technical system of layers performing mathematical operations with no internal subjective experience. The bottom section depicts how human social networks model this system - through anthropomorphic projections that attribute consciousness, intentions, desires, and moral qualities to the AI.
This [3,2] cell in our matrix reveals a key insight: human social networks cannot directly perceive the mathematical operations of AI systems, so they comprehend them through social metaphors and intentional frameworks based on human experience. Humans inevitably project consciousness onto complex systems, understanding them through familiar social and psychological models rather than technical ones.
This creates systematic distortions in how AI is understood in public discourse, policy debates, and cultural representations. The anthropomorphic model leads humans to attribute agency, intention, desires, and moral qualities to systems that fundamentally operate through statistical pattern recognition without these human-like qualities.
The limitation is bidirectional: just as AI systems cannot truly understand human consciousness, human social networks struggle to comprehend AI systems without projecting human-like qualities onto them. This mutual incomprehension creates both overestimation of AI capabilities in some domains and underestimation in others.