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Where humans outshine AI: “There's something hopeful in these findings”

Humans are remarkably well equipped to face unknown situations – and not just because of our brains, new research suggests.

“We usually think we cope with new situations by thinking and planning. That, however, is not the whole truth,” says Martin Peter Pleiss.
Silje Pileberg Freelance JOURNALIST
Presented by: Presented by: Presented by: University of Oslo
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Imagine entering a world where everything is unknown. 

You are surrounded by floating formations in many colours. There is no floor, no help, and no familiar tasks to perform.

What do you do?

“We usually think we cope with new situations by thinking and planning. That, however, is not the whole truth,” says Martin Peter Pleiss, a researcher at the University of Oslo's RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion.

The brain does not operate on its own

While science has historically given the brain almost all the credit for human cognition, this view is now changing. 

Since the early 2000s, awareness of the role of the human body has grown.

For instance, researchers have found that motor areas of the brain are activated during language comprehension, and that our body posture can affect memory.

“What was fascinating was that even in this completely alien situation, people weren’t paralysed,” says researcher Martin Peter Pleiss.

In cognitive science and philosophy, the concept of 4E cognition, introduced in 2007, has taken hold. 

It refers to a group of theories that argue that the body and environment are just as important for thoughts and feelings as the brain is. 

“This framework takes seriously the fact that we are bodies moving through environments, not just brains processing inputs,” Pleiss says.

What happens when everything is unknown?

These ideas are not entirely new. Theories of so-called embodied cognition have existed for a long time, but they have gained increased support in recent years. 

4E cognition is a scientific framework that offers a less individualistic and more holistic view of cognition than what has traditionally dominated. It acknowledges that we are strongly influenced by the world outside us.

Still, most research focuses on tasks closely related to everyday life or reactions to simplified stimuli in a lab, Pleiss notes.

“I wanted to find out what happens when all the usual orientation supports are stripped away – for example, if you arrive at a playground built for aliens or enter an undiscovered landscape with totally different laws of nature,” he says.

Participants explored a virtual reality

In his research, Pleiss exposed people to the ultra-unknown. He did this using virtual reality (VR). 

Participants wore VR headsets and took a five-minute journey into the interactive art installation Mutator VR Vortex.

In that world, everything floats and nothing is familiar – just as described at the start of this article.

“What was fascinating was that even in this completely alien situation, people weren’t paralysed,” Pleiss says.

He expected participants to search for meaning, to ask: “What is this?” or “What does it remind me of?”

In the interviews afterwards, however, they described feeling drawn in, with an urge to explore, even before they could say what they were curious about.

Used their bodies to get oriented

“They tried to figure out the situation by doing things. They reached out, moved closer, and tested what they could do. They used their bodies,” Pleiss says.

Their descriptions reminded him of babies and small children who actively use their senses and bodies in a new world.

“It seems adults retain a primal awareness of what the body can do. That these patterns appear so clearly suggests we don’t outgrow this capacity – it remains foundational throughout life,” he says.

Even in an abstract, non-social environment, there was something interpersonal about people's actions, Pleiss adds.

“Participants treated objects as if they might respond like beings. It seems we are always orienting toward potential others,” he says.

Make room for bodily exploration

Phenomenologists and proponents of 4E cognition have long argued that humans do not receive sensory input passively, but that we are constantly active. 

We don’t just see the world – we make our way through it.

“My study shows this happening in real time,” Pleiss says.

He believes that both his and others' studies have clear implications for designers of educational tools, museum exhibits, therapeutic environments, and workplace training.

“When we face novelty, we need opportunities for bodily exploration, not just information. We need to actively explore how the new thing relates to us,” he says.

Believes humans are well equipped

Pleiss thinks the findings also have implications for how we think about artificial intelligence (AI).

“If understanding novelty requires the capacity to act in ways that matter to oneself – to test possibilities, feel consequences, and build a sense of self through doing – then we must ask: Can an artificial mind that lacks this bodily stake in the world truly understand the new?” he asks.

Pleiss finds something quietly hopeful in the results.

“We tend to fear the unknown. But this research suggests we’re remarkably well equipped for it,” he says.

References:

Dutriaux, L. & Gyselinck, V. Learning Is Better with the Hands Free: The Role of Posture in the Memory of Manipulable Objects, PLoS One, 2016. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159108

Guan et al. The Motor System Contributes to Comprehension of Abstract Language, PLoS One, 2013. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075183

Shapiro, L. & Spaulding, S. Embodied Cognition, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2025.

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