Seeking a Computational Brain

Ninth Midwest Artificial intelligence and Cognitive Science Conference

Volume

Ninth Midwest Artificial intelligence and Cognitive Science Conference

Contents

This paper compares the various theories of mental processing, and suggests that some form ofcomputationalism drives our thought processes. Since we know little of the actual neurophysiology behind the workings of the mind, we have to hypothesize the likely structures based on higherlevel functions. Propositional representation, word concept localization, the abstraction of general concepts, and the reification of parts into a unified whole are posited as high-level functions that might help reveal some of the details of brain organization. The INFANT System is based on such representational techniques. It is shown in this paper how these techniques can be used to simulate the learning environment of a small child, and perhaps to stimulate thinking about the lower levels of mental processing.