  The ability to use symbols is the pinnacle of human intelligence, but has yet
to be fully replicated in machines. Here we argue that the path towards
symbolically fluent artificial intelligence (AI) begins with a reinterpretation
of what symbols are, how they come to exist, and how a system behaves when it
uses them. We begin by offering an interpretation of symbols as entities whose
meaning is established by convention. But crucially, something is a symbol only
for those who demonstrably and actively participate in this convention. We then
outline how this interpretation thematically unifies the behavioural traits
humans exhibit when they use symbols. This motivates our proposal that the
field place a greater emphasis on symbolic behaviour rather than particular
computational mechanisms inspired by more restrictive interpretations of
symbols. Finally, we suggest that AI research explore social and cultural
engagement as a tool to develop the cognitive machinery necessary for symbolic
behaviour to emerge. This approach will allow for AI to interpret something as
symbolic on its own rather than simply manipulate things that are only symbols
to human onlookers, and thus will ultimately lead to AI with more human-like
symbolic fluency.
