Comment by rfv6723

The "world model" is a convenient fiction. Whether we’re talking about a carbon-based brain or a silicon-based transformer, there is no miniature, objective map of reality tucked away inside. What we mistake for a "model" is actually just the layered residue of experience.

From the perspective of enactivism and radical empiricism, intelligence doesn't "represent" the world; it simply navigates it. A biological organism doesn't need a 3D CAD file of a tree to survive; it only needs a history of sensory-motor contingencies—the "if I move this way, I see that" patterns. It’s a synthesis of interactions, not a library of blueprints.

AI operates on the same logic, albeit through a different medium. It isn't simulating the physical laws of the universe or "understanding" gravity. Instead, it navigates the high-dimensional geometry of human data. It’s a sophisticated engine of association, performing a high-speed synthesis of the patterns we've left behind.

In this view, "knowing" isn't about matching an internal image to an external truth. It is the seamless flow of past inputs into future predictions. There is no world model—only the habit of being.