Clearly the meaning changed somewhat over the years, but wandering in unfamiliar places exposes our senses, and thus our brains, to new experiences. Our senses are hit with novel sights, sounds, and scents. We are getting something “extra” out of life when we venture beyond the familiar. I remember the first time I travelled to a tropical destination. The aroma, as I stepped out of the airport, was overwhelming; it was almost a physical wall of fragrance. There was no doubt that I was entering some place new.

Novel sensual experiences impact how we think and remember, putting on a new track our normal train of thoughts. Wandering the world creates wonder. Changing our perspective in this way is a main reason to seek out new experiences.

When we think, we don’t do so in isolation. Our minds are not soaring and thinking up ideas in an empty space. We think with our bodies and senses as much or more than we do with our minds. The sensory inputs we get as we move, work, and problem solve, feed us information and clues as to what to do next. Our actions are never in isolation from our environment. We exist and think as part of this world. We all possess embodied cognition — our thoughts are not separate from our bodies.

I read an interesting study that concluded that beyond paralyzing the muscles in one’s face that allow smiling and frowning, BOTOX can dampen one’s ability to actually experience those emotions. It’s called the “facial feedback hypothesis” and has led some to use BOTOX to treat depression on the idea that if you can’t look sad, you can’t feel sad. The emotion and the facial expression that expressed it are linked — embodied cognition in action.

AIs have been known to hallucinate. They can make up information that seemingly fits the pattern of their narrative. To date, that narrative is just a complex language processing system. It’s not the product of consciousness — yet. Perhaps it never will be. But it seems that we are on the verge of creating an artificial intelligence. What does embodied cognition imply for the artificial minds we are trying to create? Can a mind “think” without a body? Without sensing its presence in the world and relating to the universe as both one with it and as a distinct part? Are informational inputs without sensory inputs enough to generate rich cognition? Can an AI recognize itself in a mirror? Can AIs get extravagant ideas?

I’ve included Good Girl into this month’s ebook promotion. It is a horror story of an artificial intelligence gone amuck … in unexpected ways. Because when AIs do go crazy, they will do it in their own sweet, unpredictable, and inhuman ways. Enjoy this cool collection of stories and happy reading!