A Novel Metric for Machine Decision-Making Ability (MDMA)

This paper proposes Machine Decision-Making Ability (MDMA) as a physically grounded unit for quantifying the autonomous decision capacity of machines. Rather than starting from symbolic computation (e.g., abaci), we locate the conceptual origin of computers in devices capable of autonomous state change. We argue that the reusable, momentary mechanical on–off button embodies the first symmetric decision mechanism (two distinct state transitions), while earlier devices such as ancient water clocks and Zhang Heng’s seismoscope execute a single irreversible decision event. We formalize MDMA as a count of autonomous state transitions per unit time, present a concrete mechanical formulation, and illustrate historical measurements across early machines. The intent is to provide a universal baselining metric that (i) is substrate-neutral, (ii) scales from mechanical to electronic and future quantum systems, and (iii) supports systematic comparison of autonomy, framed as intelligence, without relying on traditional human-centric measures such as IQ scores or the Turing test.