We explore the question of whether machines can infer information about our psychological traits or mental states by observing samples of our behaviour gathered from our online activities. Ongoing technical advances across a range of research communities indicate that machines are now able to access this information, but the extent to which this is possible and the consequent implications have not been well explored. We begin by highlighting the urgency of asking this question, and then explore its conceptual underpinnings, in order to help emphasise the relevant issues. To answer the question, we review a large number of empirical studies, in which samples of behaviour are used to automatically infer a range of psychological constructs, including affect and emotions, aptitudes and skills, attitudes and orientations (e.g. values and sexual orientation), personality, and disorders and conditions (e.g. depression and addiction). We also present a general perspective that can bring these disparate studies together and allow us to think clearly about their philosophical and ethical implications, such as issues related to consent, privacy, and the use of persuasive technologies for controlling human behaviour.

中文翻译：

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机器能读懂我们的思想吗？

我们通过观察从我们的在线活动中收集的行为样本，探索机器是否可以推断出有关我们心理特征或精神状态的信息。一系列研究社区的持续技术进步表明，机器现在能够访问这些信息，但这种可能性的程度以及随之而来的影响尚未得到很好的探讨。我们首先强调提出这个问题的紧迫性，然后探索其概念基础，以帮助强调相关问题。为了回答这个问题，我们回顾了大量的实证研究，其中使用行为样本来自动推断一系列心理结构，包括情感和情绪、能力和技能、态度和方向（例如 价值观和性取向）、个性、障碍和状况（例如抑郁症和成瘾）。我们还提出了一个总体观点，可以将这些不同的研究结合在一起，使我们能够清楚地思考它们的哲学和伦理含义，例如与同意、隐私和使用有说服力的技术来控制人类行为有关的问题。