CONNECTIONISM AND ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE Brandon Herndon, Wes Wynmor,

and Tyler Tuminski

What is Connectionism?

Connectionism is a theory that seeks to explain the human thought process.

It states that the mind is a system of “neural nets” composed of unsophisticated units that play simple roles in how information is gathered and processed.

What is Connectionism? (contd.)

Input units – Units responsible for gathering sensory information.

Hidden units – Units that process sensory information sent from input units.

Output Units – Units that act on the conclusions drawn from processed information.

Connectionism vs. Classicism

Classical cognitive theory states that the mind functions by decoding symbols based upon “strings” of pre-decoded symbols.

Connectionists propose that the mind functions as connections are drawn between trillions of simple units.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The term “artificial intelligence” refers to a field of computer science that seeks to create computers capable of independent thought.

Connectionism and AI

The “brains” of “intelligent” computers function based on connectionist systems.

Watson, the IBM super-computer that beat two of Jeopardy’s finest, has a brain that operates based on a system of algorithm-based connections and analysis.

How Watson’s “Brain” Works

Connectionism and Language

When one has a conversation numerous connectionist principles are in place.

When one communicates his or her brain subconsciously considers millions of combinations of words, inflections, and expressions.

Bibliography

"Connectionism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connectionism/>.

"Connectionism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connectionism/>.