Fox Stephen
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
Entropy (Basel). 2021 Nov 15;23(11):1521. doi: 10.3390/e23111521.
Active inference theory (AIT) is a corollary of the free-energy principle, which formalizes cognition of living system's autopoietic organization. AIT comprises specialist terminology and mathematics used in theoretical neurobiology. Yet, active inference is common practice in human organizations, such as private companies, public institutions, and not-for-profits. Active inference encompasses three interrelated types of actions, which are carried out to minimize uncertainty about how organizations will survive. The three types of action are updating work beliefs, shifting work attention, and/or changing how work is performed. Accordingly, an alternative starting point for grasping active inference, rather than trying to understand AIT specialist terminology and mathematics, is to reflect upon lived experience. In other words, grasping active inference through autoethnographic research. In this short communication paper, accessing AIT through autoethnography is explained in terms of active inference in existing organizational practice (implicit active inference), new organizational methodologies that are informed by AIT (deliberative active inference), and combining implicit and deliberative active inference. In addition, these autoethnographic options for grasping AIT are related to generative learning.
主动推理理论（AIT）是自由能原理的一个推论，该原理将生命系统的自创生组织的认知形式化。AIT包含理论神经生物学中使用的专业术语和数学。然而，主动推理在人类组织中是常见的做法，如私人公司、公共机构和非营利组织。主动推理包括三种相互关联的行动类型，这些行动是为了将组织如何生存的不确定性降至最低而进行的。这三种行动类型是更新工作信念、转移工作注意力和/或改变工作执行方式。因此，理解主动推理的一个替代起点，不是试图理解AIT的专业术语和数学，而是反思生活经验。换句话说，通过自我民族志研究来理解主动推理。在这篇简短的交流论文中，通过自我民族志来理解AIT是从现有组织实践中的主动推理（隐性主动推理）、受AIT启发的新组织方法（审慎主动推理）以及将隐性和审慎主动推理相结合的角度来解释的。此外，这些通过自我民族志理解AIT的选项与生成性学习相关。
