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From: jbn@GLACIER.STANFORD.EDU (John B. Nagle)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest
Subject: Approaches to AI
Message-ID: <8803020957.AA14596@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 29 Feb 88 00:27:09 GMT
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     McCarthy has recently described two paths to artificial intelligence.
But his two, while the most active, are not the only ones in which substantial
work is underway.  A more general taxonomy might be outlined as follows.

     1.  "Good, old fashioned AI".  This is the line of development that
	 includes LISP, GPS, the Blocks World, automatic theorem proving,
	 and expert systems.  The major thrust of this line of work is
	 to model the world using formalisms related to mathematical logic.

     2.  Neural networks.  This line begins with perceptrons and continues
	 through neural networks to connectionism.  The major thrust of
	 this line is the development of massively parallel self-organizing
	 systems.

     3.  Engineered artificial life.  This bottom-up approach begins with
	 such efforts as the Hopkins Beast, continues through the early
	 MIT eye-hand coordination work, and continues today with Brooks' 
	 artificial insects and much of Moravec's robotics work.  The
	 major thrust here is the construction of robots that
	 function in the real world, using whatever technology seems
	 appropriate.

     4.  Study and replication of the detailed structure of biological
	 intelligence, without necessarily understanding how it works.
         Drexler proposes this approach, which is primarily in the discussion
	 phase at this point.

It is important not to confuse #2 and #4.  

					John Nagle