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From: bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry W. Kort)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Elementary AI Philosophy
Summary: Thinking, Worrying, and Other Mental Pastimes
Keywords: Deduction, Induction, Inference, Analogy, Intuition, Cognition
Message-ID: <43721@linus.UUCP>
Date: 20 Jan 89 03:20:54 GMT
References: <18464@santra.UUCP> <1241@arctic.nprdc.arpa> <904@ubu.warwick.UUCP>
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Reply-To: bwk@mbunix (Barry Kort)
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In article <904@ubu.warwick.UUCP> mirk@emerald.UUCP (Mike Taylor) writes:

 > It would still be interesting and useful to see what can be
 > learned about human cognition by *simulating* cognitive processes,
 > even if it turns out that this is all we can achieve.

I *simulate* cognitive processes by programming computers to engage
in deductive, inductive, inferential, and model-based reasoning.
What I learn about human cognition is that the average carbon-based
neural network is not very skilled at these forms of cognition.

But all is not lost.  By watching the silicon thinker, ordinary
humans can find out how these mental processes work, and they
can download them from the machine to their own brains.  (That's AI.)

I'm still trying to teach the computer to emulate such classical
human cognitive processes as worrying, mystical insight, intuition,
imagination, and fantasy.  So far, I'm not making much progress.

--Barry Kort