Researchers at the Helmholtz University of Munich have created an artificial intelligence capable of imitating human thinking and making decisions like a human. About this informs Nature.
The model was named “Centaur” – in honor of the mythological creature that combines a man and a horse. The uniqueness of the model lies in the fact that it was trained on the basis of more than 10 million decisions made by 60 thousand people in 160 psychological experiments. This allowed AI to reproduce human choice strategies in familiar and new situations, opening up new opportunities for studying cognitive processes.
According to the project’s authors, Dr. Marcel Binz and Dr. Eric Schultz, the model uses a specially created Psych-101 dataset. It covers patterns of behavior, from risk assessment to moral decisions. Unlike previous systems, “Centaur” does not rely on rigid rules, but generalizes decision-making strategies and adapts them to new contexts.
The model even predicts reaction time, allowing for a deeper exploration of the dynamics of human choice. Scientists plan to apply it in psychology, medicine, policy development and social research. It is considered particularly promising for studying the behavior of people with mental disorders. The researchers emphasize the importance of transparency and control over such systems — by using open, local models that guarantee data security.
