Intention Attribution in Communication

Alex Bäcker

1 min read

Abstract

This article highlights that much human conflict stems from the misattribution of intentions during communication. It emphasizes the importance of verifying an interlocutor's true intent to avoid misunderstandings and argues that developing this capability is essential for both human interaction and future intelligent machine communication.

Much of human toil comes from miscommunication. Most miscommunication comes from improper attribution of the other's intention. Sometimes, people attribute a negative intention where there was none, and it's that misattributed negative intention that's usually the cause of trouble, not what was said per se. Other times, people don't realize the intent of something said and they answer the words without addressing the meaning, or intent. Checking your interlocutor's intention is critical to avoid misunderstandings. It should be a routine part of error correction in communication, and become a key attribute in future intelligent machine communication.

Cite This Work

Bäcker, Alex: Intention Attribution in Communication. alexbacker.com/w/intention-attribution-in-communication. Originally published at http://alexbacker.pbworks.com/Intention-Attribution-in-Communication.