A new algorithm capable of inferring goals and plans could help machines better adapt to the imperfect nature of human planning.

In a classic experiment on human social intelligence by psychologists Felix Warneken and Michael Tomasello (see video below), an 18-month old toddler watches a man carry a stack of books towards an unopened cabinet. When the man reaches the cabinet, he clumsily bangs the books against the door of the cabinet several times, then makes a puzzled noise.