The Theory of Mind Utility: Formal Specification of a Mentalizing Mechanism

The article presents the Theory of Mind Utility (ToM-U), a formal framework for inferring others' beliefs through Local Epistemic World Models (LEWMs), which are directed typed graphs representing agents and their epistemic relationships. ToM-U includes five formal definitions detailing the structure of LEWMs, properties of agent nodes, and inference procedures, distinguishing itself from Bayesian approaches by deriving belief states rather than presupposing them. This framework is significant for AI practitioners as it offers a structured method for modeling social cognition and mentalizing processes, potentially enhancing the design of AI systems that require understanding of human-like reasoning and belief inference.