# A World unto Itself: Human Communication as Active Inference

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.10538 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.10538/

## Key facts

- Cited by 11 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 25 Jun 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [Designing Ecosystems of Intelligence from First Principles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.01354/) (2022)
- [Generative Emergent Communication: Large Language Model is a Collective World Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.00226/) (2024)
- [Natural Language Syntax Complies with the Free-Energy Principle](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.15098/) (2022)
- [An active inference model of collective intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.01066/) (2021)
- [Algorithmic Prompt Generation for Diverse Human-like Teaming and Communication with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.03991/) (2025)
- [On the Variational Costs of Changing Our Minds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.17957/) (2025)
- [Resolving space-sharing conflicts in road user interactions through uncertainty reduction: An active inference-based computational model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.19838/) (2026)
- [On Computational Mechanisms for Shared Intentionality, and Speculation on Rationality and Consciousness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13657/) (2023)
- [CogNarr Ecosystem: Facilitating Group Cognition at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.18945/) (2024)
- [Coordination Requires Simplification: Thermodynamic Bounds on Multi-Objective Compromise in Natural and Artificial Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.23144/) (2025)
- [Active Inference: A method for Phenotyping Agency in AI systems?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.23278/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Work in developmental psychology suggests that humans are predisposed to align their mental states with other individuals. This manifests principally in cooperative communication, that is, intentional communication geared towards aligning mental states. This viewpoint has received ample empirical support. However, this view lacks a formal grounding, and provides no precise neuroscientific hypotheses. To remedy this, we suggest an active inference approach to cooperative communication. We suggest that humans appear to possess an evolved adaptive prior belief that their mental states are aligned with those of conspecifics. Cooperative communication emerges as the principal means to gather evidence for this belief. Our approach has implications for the study of the usage, ontogeny, and cultural evolution of human communication.