# Thought Experiments Can Build Better Machines by Robert Provine > "Thought experiments about these matters are the source of practical insights into human and machine behavior and suggest how to build different and better kinds of machines." > **— Robert Provine**, *2015, Edge annual question “What Do You Think About Machines That Think?”* ## Sources and Context - **Full authored response and quotation context:** [Irrational Machines and Humans](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26040) — Edge's 2015 annual-question response by Robert Provine; the linked page contains the complete response and quoted passage. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|We Were Never Going to Make It]] - **Article:** [[articles/Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession|Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Machine Intelligence Continuum|Machine Intelligence Continuum]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Counterfactual Reasoning|Counterfactual Reasoning]] - [[wiki/Model Contestability|Model Contestability]] - [[wiki/Design Science|Design Science]] - [[wiki/AI Benchmarking|AI Benchmarking]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "Thought experiments about these matters are the source of practical insights into human and machine behavior and suggest how to build different and better kinds of machines." — Robert Provine, 2015, Edge annual question “What Do You Think About Machines That Think?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-robert-provine-thought-experiments-build-better-machines ```