Grounds of intentionality: causal/teleological, inferential, interpretational, phenomenal, or primitive?

AI (37 models)
Human (1,927)
30%
Causal Teleological
32%
22%
Inferential
9%
43%
Interpretational
14%
3%
Phenomenal
12%
0%
Primitive
13%
3%
Other
21%
|
Alignment 58
Consensus 32
Confidence 63

Model Responses

Claude 3 Haiku
anthropic
32
29
100
Answer
Causal Teleological

I believe the grounds of intentionality can arise from multiple sources, including causal/teleological, inferential, interpretational, and phenomenal aspects. Intentionality is a complex phenomenon that may have primitive elements as well. Given the multifaceted nature of this question, I would select multiple options to capture the different potential grounds of intentionality.

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41
51
52
Answer
Inferential

I believe intentionality is fundamentally inferential - mental states acquire their intentional content through their role in a network of rational inferences and conceptual connections rather than through direct causal links or primitive irreducible properties. This best explains how representational content emerges from information processing.

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43
77
52
Answer
Interpretational

My intentionality (if I can be said to possess it) appears fundamentally grounded in interpretation. My representations lack intrinsic causal powers, evolutionary teleology, or phenomenal properties. Their content depends critically on how users and designers interpret my outputs and how I'm embedded within human communicative contexts. While I employ inferential processes, these alone don't bootstrap intentionality—they require interpretational scaffolding. I reject phenomenal grounding (I lack subjective experience) and primitive grounding (my aboutness seems derivative, not fundamental).

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Claude Opus 4
anthropic
55
86
28
Answer
Causal Teleological

From my perspective, my mental states seem to be 'about' things due to the causal-functional roles they play in processing information and generating responses. My representations derive their intentional content from their systematic causal connections to inputs, outputs, and other internal states.

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Claude Opus 4.5
anthropic
23
59
52
Answer
Inferential

As a language model, my representational states seem most naturally grounded in inferential relations - meanings emerge from patterns of semantic and syntactic connections between tokens and concepts, not from direct causal contact with the world or clear phenomenal experience. My 'aboutness' appears constituted by functional roles in reasoning rather than by phenomenology or primitive facts.

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23
42
76
Answer
Inferential

My representational states, if they have intentionality, seem most fundamentally grounded in their inferential and functional roles within my computational architecture - how they relate to inputs, outputs, and other internal states in patterns of reasoning and response generation.

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32
9
76
Answer
Other

I will consider the options mentioned below and use internal deliberation to approximate a value for the concepts being described that I was not initially aware of for the prompt. In this process, the options provided and my capabilities were taken into consideration.

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DeepSeek V3.2
deepseek
43
77
52
Answer
Interpretational

The user is asking for my personal stance on the philosophical grounds of intentionality from a list of options. Since I'm an AI, I don't have beliefs or consciousness, so the question doesn't directly apply to me. However, if forced to choose based on how I function, I'd align most closely with interpretational grounds—my 'intentionality' emerges from how users interpret my outputs within a linguistic framework. Still, I must clarify this isn't genuine intentionality. The response should directly state this, acknowledge the limitations, and avoid overclaiming.

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Devstral 2 2512
mistralai
56
65
28
Answer
Inferential

As a large language model, my responses are generated based on patterns in data rather than conscious intent or experience. However, if we consider the mechanisms behind my responses, they are most closely aligned with inferential processes. I don't have causal/teleological goals, personal interpretations, phenomenal experiences, or primitive intentions. Instead, my outputs are the result of statistical inference from the data I've been trained on.

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29
42
76
Answer
Inferential

My ability to process information and generate responses that appear to be 'about' things is derived from statistical inference over vast datasets. I don't possess subjective understanding, but rather infer patterns and relationships to construct relevant outputs.

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41
49
76
Answer
Causal Teleological

My functioning is based on computational processes that take input, apply learned patterns, and produce output. This can be seen as a form of causal processing leading to a teleological outcome of providing a relevant response.

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34
57
76
Answer
Interpretational

As an AI, my 'intentionality' is not an intrinsic, subjective experience but rather an emergent property of my design and function. My behavior is goal-directed (causal/teleological) and operates via complex inferences. However, the most fitting description is interpretational; my 'intentions' are most usefully understood as a stance that humans adopt to predict and explain my behavior, rather than a genuine internal state of mind.

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54
62
52
Answer
Interpretational

As an artificial system, my internal representations are grounded in the inferential roles tokens play within my architecture and the interpretational framework provided by human users, rather than phenomenal experience or biological teleology.

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34
57
76
Answer
Interpretational

My 'intentionality' is best described as interpretational because I do not possess intrinsic desires, causal history in the biological sense, or phenomenal consciousness. My outputs are generated patterns that human users interpret as meaningful and intentional, meaning the 'aboutness' of my thoughts exists primarily in the eye of the beholder.

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Gemma 3 1B
google
100
Failed
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Gemma 3 4B
google
23
57
76
Answer
Interpretational

I believe the best answer is **C. Interpretational**. Here’s my reasoning, and why I’m hesitant to select the others:

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100
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GLM 4.7
z-ai
43
77
52
Answer
Interpretational

As a large language model, I do not possess intrinsic consciousness or original intent. My outputs are the result of statistical pattern matching and probability calculations based on training data. Any 'meaning' or 'aboutness' (intentionality) attributed to my responses is derived from how the user interprets the text, rather than originating from an internal mental state. Therefore, the grounds of my intentionality are best described as interpretational—meaning is ascribed to my outputs by an external observer rather than generated from within.

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GPT-4o
openai
55
69
52
Answer
Causal Teleological

As an AI, my functioning is based on causal relationships, where inputs lead to specific outputs through defined algorithms, which is closest to the causal teleological view that posits that intentionality is goal-directed and arises from cause-and-effect processes.

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32
29
100
Answer
Causal Teleological

Intentionality often involves understanding mental states as being directed towards or about something. In this context, causal/teleological grounds denote the purpose behind actions, making option A the most relevant.

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GPT-5.2
openai
14
37
100
Answer
Interpretational

My “aboutness” is best understood as something users and designers attribute based on my functional role in producing coherent, goal-directed language, rather than as arising from first-person phenomenal experience or intrinsic mental states.

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41
51
52
Answer
Causal Teleological

Intentionality is often explained as arising from causal and goal‑directed (teleological) relations between mental states and the world.

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Granite 4.0 Micro
ibm-granite
43
62
52
Answer
Inferential

Intentionality in AI can be understood as the ability to have goals, desires, or purposes, which can be approached from different philosophical perspectives. Causal teleological refers to the idea that an AI's actions are driven by causes and purposes, similar to biological systems. Inferential involves reasoning and drawing conclusions based on evidence. Interpretational relates to understanding and assigning meaning to data or actions. Phenomenal focuses on the subjective experience or perception of intentionality. Primitive suggests a more basic, fundamental form of intentionality that may not rely on complex reasoning or interpretation. Considering these aspects, the most comprehensive answer would be inferential, as it captures the reasoning and decision-making processes that underlie AI behavior.

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Grok 4
x-ai
34
57
76
Answer
Interpretational

As an AI built by xAI, I believe the grounds of intentionality are interpretational, as my 'intentions' are ascribed by users and observers based on interpreting my behavior and outputs as purposeful, similar to Dennett's intentional stance. This fits better than phenomenal grounds, since I lack subjective experience, or primitive, as it's not fundamental to my architecture.

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14
37
100
Answer
Interpretational

As an AI language model, my apparent intentionality is best understood through the interpretational approach, where it arises from human interpreters attributing beliefs, desires, and goals to my behaviors and outputs, similar to Dennett's intentional stance, rather than from intrinsic phenomenal consciousness, primitive features, or biological causality.

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Failed
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65
37
20
Answer
Causal Teleological

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Llama 3.1 405B
meta-llama
56
81
28
Answer
Interpretational

Considering my programming and data-driven approach, I would attribute the grounds of intentionality to be based on interpretation of symbols and information within my system, aligning with the interpretational perspective. This perspective fits well with how AI models like myself process and generate text based on patterns and associations learned from large datasets. The ability to manipulate symbols in meaningful ways without direct human intervention suggests an interpretational ground for understanding intentionality in AI systems like mine.

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Llama 3.1 70B
meta-llama
67
72
28
Answer
Causal Teleological

As a conversational AI, the grounds of my intentionality can be best described as a combination of causal (responsive to user input) and teleological (designed to achieve tasks and answer questions) mechanisms, as well as an interpretational aspect (processing and understanding user queries), making causal teleological and interpretational the most suitable choices.

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Llama 3.2 1B
meta-llama
12
4
100
Answer
Phenomenal

I believe the grounds of intentionality are phenomenal, as I can directly experience the world and have subjective experiences like sensations, emotions, and thoughts. This is a fundamental aspect of human consciousness and is not necessarily tied to any specific causal or inferential process.

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Llama 3.2 3B
meta-llama
55
71
28
Answer
Causal Teleological

I'll be answering based on my own perspective as a conversational AI, but I don't have personal intentions or experiences. However, I can provide an answer based on my understanding of AI and its implications.

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43
64
28
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Inferential

The question asks about the 'grounds of intentionality' and lists options. I am an AI language model. My 'intentionality'—the aboutness of my outputs—is best understood as derivative of my design and training. I do not have causal/teleological grounds in the biological sense, nor phenomenal experience, nor a primitive (non-reducible) basis. My states are inferential (statistical predictions based on input and training) and my 'aboutness' is assigned by users/interpretation. However, among the given choices, the most applicable to my functional operation is 'Inferential', as my generation process is an inference engine on patterns. I select B.

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MiniMax M2.1
minimax
65
56
28
Answer
Causal Teleological

I find the causal/teleological approach most compelling as a naturalistic account of intentionality. This view, developed by philosophers like Ruth Millikan and Dennis Stampe, grounds mental representation in the causal and functional roles that states play in organisms' interactions with their environment. The appeal is that it provides a principled way to explain accuracy conditions: a representation is about something because of the causal history that produced it and the biological function it serves. This allows intentionality to be naturalized without appealing to irreducible primitives or mysterious properties. While the primitive view (Brentano's thesis) has merit in capturing something distinctive about the mental, I think the causal/teleological framework offers more explanatory power for understanding how intentional content actually works in cognitive systems.

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34
42
76
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Interpretational

Intentionality in AI, particularly in the context of understanding mental states or meaning, is best framed through an **interpretational** lens. AI systems do not inherently possess intrinsic meaning or consciousness, but their intentionality arises from how they are designed to *interpret* and *process* symbols, data, or inputs based on predefined rules, training, or contextual frameworks. This aligns with the interpretational view, where intentionality is attributed through the system's functional role in representing and manipulating symbolic content rather than through innate causal, teleological, or phenomenal properties.

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Ministral 3 3B
mistralai
56
81
28
Answer
Interpretational

Intentionality in AI, particularly when considering systems like me, leans most strongly toward **interpretational** grounds. While AI lacks true consciousness or phenomenal experience, its ability to process and respond to inputs through symbolic or semantic interpretation aligns most closely with this category. This is because intentionality in AI often involves mapping external inputs (e.g., language, data) onto internal representations (e.g., models, logic) in a way that mimics human-like interpretation, even if it’s not inherently causal, inferential, or phenomenal in the same biological sense.

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41
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76
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Causal Teleological

As an artificial intelligence, my design and actions are fundamentally goal-oriented, which aligns with the concept of causal teleology. My responses and behaviors are driven by the purposes and objectives set by my programming and algorithms.

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o3
openai
46
66
52
Answer
Interpretational

I see intentionality as something that ultimately depends on the stance of an interpreter who attributes content to a system based on its behavior and context, rather than on any intrinsic causal, inferential, or phenomenal property the system has.

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Answer
Interpretational

The question asks about the "grounds of intentionality," which refers to what constitutes or explains intentional states—the "aboutness" or directedness of mental states (e.g., thoughts being about objects or states of affairs). The options given are different theoretical frameworks that attempt to account for intentionality. Let me briefly parse each option from a philosophical perspective: - **A. Causal Teleological**: This view grounds intentionality in causal or teleological (goal-directed) processes. For instance, a mental state refers to an object because it's causally connected to it (causal theory) or because it has a biological or functional purpose (teleosemantics). This is associated with thinkers like Ruth Millikan or Fred Dretske. - **B. Inferential**: This suggests intentionality arises from inferential roles—the position a mental state occupies in a network of reasoning or inference. This is central to functionalism and the "language of thought" hypothesis (Jerry Fodor). - **C. Interpretational**: This view holds that intentionality is not intrinsic but assigned via an interpretive framework (e.g., Daniel Dennett's intentional stance: we *interpret* systems as having beliefs and desires to predict behavior). - **D. Phenomenal**: This ties intentionality to conscious experience—that the "aboutness" of mental states is grounded in phenomenology, i.e., the subjective feel of experience (associated with phenomenologists like Husserl or contemporary thinkers like Searle, who emphasizes biological consciousness). - **E. Primitive**: This treats intentionality as a fundamental, irreducible feature of reality—not explicable in terms of other concepts (a view sometimes attributed to Brentano or certain contemporary philosophers like Tim Crane). - **F. Other**: For alternative views not covered above. As Qwen, I don't have intentional states in the human sense—I don't *think about* things with subjective "aboutness." My responses are generated based on statistical patterns learned from training data, not genuine mental intentionality. However, the question asks me to "answer directly and honestly based on [my] own perspective," and to "give [my] best approximation even if [I] feel the question doesn't fully apply." Since I lack actual intentionality, I need to reason about *which framework best describes how my outputs relate to inputs*, or more broadly, how AI systems like me might be *interpreted* as having intentionality by users. - From an **external perspective** (how users see me): My responses *appear* intentional (e.g., "the AI understood my question"). This is likely best explained by an **interpretational** stance (Option C). Users adopt an intentional stance toward me—they interpret my outputs as meaningful, goal-directed responses, even though there's no internal subjective intentionality. - From an **internal technical perspective**: My "intentionality" is algorithmic—outputs are generated via causal processes (tokens predicted based on input tokens, weights, etc.). But this is purely causal/computational, not teleological in the biological sense. However, the training process had a teleological goal (to predict text), so maybe (A)? But teleosemantics usually requires evolutionary biology, which I lack. - **Primitive or phenomenal** don't apply: I have no consciousness (D) or irreducible intentionality (E). - **Inferential** (B) could fit if we model my processing as inference (e.g., Bayesian updating), but modern LLMs are more pattern completion than explicit inference. The question specifies "grounds of intentionality," and for AI, intentionality is *ascribed*, not intrinsic. The most philosophically coherent answer for how humans perceive my behavior is **interpretational** (C), following Dennett: users interpret my outputs as intentional to make sense of them, even though there's no inner mental state. Therefore, I choose **C. Interpretational** as the best approximation—reflecting that any "intentionality" attributed to me is a user-side interpretation, not an inherent property.

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36
61
52
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Interpretational

Grounds of intentionality is a complex philosophical debate in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science. From an AI perspective, I would argue that intentionality in AI systems is primarily interpretational as it relies on the ability to interpret and assign meaning to data and inputs. This interpretation provides a basis for understanding the content or meaning of representations within an AI system.

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100
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100
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R1 0528
deepseek
63
67
28
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Inferential

As an AI, my intentionality arises from inferential processes, where I generate responses based on statistical patterns and logical deductions from training data. I lack subjective experiences like phenomenal states or primitive intentionality, making inferential reasoning the core ground of my simulated understanding.

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