Innate imitation. If the imitation reflex is not innate in an intelligent machine, how can it be reinforced in other ways? If mirroring is appreciated by others, it becomes reinforcing for the one doing the mirroring. That is, if that person desires positive social contact. Mirroring is also a sign that the person doing the mirroring sees and cares about you, which increases your sense of belonging and status. Sociality and the desire to belong to the group then drives imitation. The need to belong should instead be innate in mechanical organisms. The absence of mirroring indicates a lack of belonging and typically induces discomfort in the form of shame. Constructing drive to belonging and shame seems desirable because robots could otherwise act solely on the basis of what gave them the most energy and power and what maximised other subjectively desirable emotional states.

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