desiresknowledge

Desiresknowledge is a term used to describe the relationship between an agent's desires or goals and its pursuit of knowledge. The word is a portmanteau of desire and knowledge, intended to highlight that information-seeking behavior is often shaped by motivational states and objectives rather than being purely epistemic.

It appears in discussions across philosophy, cognitive science, education, and artificial intelligence. In philosophy and epistemology, it is used to analyze how preferences, values, and desires influence the formation of beliefs and the questions asked. In AI, the concept is used to critique or guide the design of agents whose information gathering is guided by a specified utility function, raising questions about epistemic autonomy, bias, and alignment with human values. In education, it can describe how learners' goals and interests influence what they seek to learn and how lasting knowledge is built.

Applications include developing epistemic safeguards in AI to ensure knowledge is comprehensive and reliable; designing curricula that channel natural desires toward valuable knowledge; and researching intrinsic motivation and its effects on learning outcomes.

Critics note that the term can be ill-defined and conflates motivational psychology with epistemology. Measuring the influence of desires on knowledge is challenging, and there is a risk of normative judgments about which desires are appropriate.

See also: epistemic motivation, intrinsic motivation, epistemology, AI alignment, information-seeking behavior.