HOT theory and functionalism
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Gordon Swobe
Sep 2, 2025, 3:59:02 PMSep 2
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Jason, a few days ago, you mentioned my interest in Higher Order Thought (HOT) theories. I did not reply to your comment as I wanted to stay on topic for that thread, but I thought you would find it interesting that I recently learned that HOT is sometimes considered a functionalist account of consciousness. In fact, according to Professor of Philosophy Patrick Grim of the State University of New York, it is the most successful of the functionalist theories of mind.
This is a bit amusing, as you and I once agreed that HOT doesn't seem to address the hard problem of consciousness. However, I think that given its functionalist nature, HOT might provide researchers with hints about the right approach to take with AI.
Coincidentally, I recently came across hierarchical reasoning models (HRM), which roughly follow the higher/lower order thought model and appear to be far more efficient.
Hierarchical Reasoning Model
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21734
-gts
This is a bit amusing, as you and I once agreed that HOT doesn't seem to address the hard problem of consciousness. However, I think that given its functionalist nature, HOT might provide researchers with hints about the right approach to take with AI.
Coincidentally, I recently came across hierarchical reasoning models (HRM), which roughly follow the higher/lower order thought model and appear to be far more efficient.
Hierarchical Reasoning Model
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21734
-gts
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