Michael Tomasello: lying only works because humans are cooperative by default

Machine Learning Street Talk · youtube · 2026-11-12

Developmental psychologist Michael Tomasello (Duke University) explains in a Machine Learning Street Talk clip that lying works only because of humans' cooperative nature: "If I tell you it's raining outside, it would never occur to you that I'm lying." Chimpanzees don't lie to each other; humans default to expecting cooperation, and that expectation is exactly what lying exploits. The full conversation drops on November 24.

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