Week 7 Flashcards
What can chatbots do similar to humans?
They manipulate symbolic representations of words but with different algorithms and implementations than humans
What is thinking/intelligence?
Manipulating representations -> 1)Perception 2)Cognition 3)Action
Can machines also compute the processes involved in “thinking”?
Yes
What is the Physical Symbols System Hypothesis (PSSH)?
A physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for general intelligent action.
What is a physical symbol system?
A system that manipulates symbols (things in the world) according to rules
(ex: human cognition, computers, math expression)
What does “necessary” entail in the PSSH definition?
Intelligent actions can only be executed by physical symbol system (they have all the functions necessary to carry out intelligent action)
What does “sufficient” entail in the PSSH definition?
Only physical systems and computations are all you need to preform intelligent action
Summarise PSSH
Intelligence is the manipulation of symbols, and only physical symbolic systems have the full means to carry these manipulations out
What are the two problems with the PSSH theory?
1) Symbolic systems may struggle to preform across different domains (like humans do)
2) Symbols alone don’t always carry meaning without a deeper understanding (Searle’s Russian room)
What is the Chinese/Russian room theory?
A person locked in a room can be given instructions for how to manipulate and formulate Chinese letters and do it correctly, but that doesn’t mean the Chinese characters were actually understood and interpreted
What is syntax?
Set of rules for manipulating symbols (like letters)
What is semantics?
What the symbols mean
What does Searle argue through the Chinese/Russian room theory?
Intelligence requires both syntax (ability to manipulate) and semantics (understanding)
What is an amodal representation?
A symbol that is separated in form from the thing that it represents
Ex: thinking of the letters in the word dog
What is modal representation?
A symbol that involves a representation of a sensory feature such as its look, feel, sound, etc
What is the constitution hypothesis?
The body and environment are a part of the cognitive process
Ex: moving puzzles around are a part of the thinking process, not a result of thinking
What is influence hypothesis?
The state of your body influences cognition
Ex: Being hungry makes you slower at solving math problems
What is the conceptualization hypothesis?
Our cognition depends on sensorimotor experiences to form concepts
Ex: thinking of musical sounds activates motor areas in musicians’ brains
What is the replacement hypothesis?
The brain replaces cognitive processes with real world sensorimotor experiences
Ex: writing down a phone number so you don’t have to remember it
What is the Wason selection task?
Two cards are given with numbers 22 and 20, two other cards are given labeled L and A. When asked how to check if the rule “any card with 20 will have L on the other side,” people often choose to check cards 20 and L, even though the right answer is to check 20 and A.
How does the Wason selection task challenge a purely amodal view of cognition?
When given the same situation, but where A represents alcohol, L represents lemonade, and people are checking to see if alcohol drinkers are below 21, people know to check 20 and alcohol at much higher rates, signifying that people are not only apply purely abstract concepts to cognitive processes
