2025/02/28 by Jennifer Hu, Felix Sosa, Hu, Jennifer +3 · 3 voices · 12 citations
Neuroscience · Social Sciences · #CLARITY #Cognition #Computational theory of mind #Embodied and Extended Cognition #Language and cultural evolution #Mental state #Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism #Philosophy of mind #State (computer science) #Theory of mind
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.21098
published in arXiv (Cornell University) (Cornell University)
openalex publication_date 2025/02/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The question of whether large language models (LLMs) possess Theory of Mind (ToM) -- often defined as the ability to reason about others' mental states -- has sparked significant scientific and public interest. However, the evidence as to whether LLMs possess ToM is mixed, and the recent growth in evaluations has not resulted in a convergence. Here, we take inspiration from cognitive science to re-evaluate the state of ToM evaluation in LLMs. We argue that a major reason for the disagreement on whether LLMs have ToM is a lack of clarity on whether models should be expected to match human behaviors, or the computations underlying those behaviors. We also highlight ways in which current evaluations may be deviating from "pure" measurements of ToM abilities, which also contributes to the confusion. We conclude by discussing several directions for future research, including the relationship between ToM and pragmatic communication, which could advance our understanding of artificial systems as well as human cognition.