Related papers: The mind as a computational system
I present my recollections of Richard Feynman's mid-1980s interest in artificial intelligence and neural networks, set in the technical context of the physics-related approaches to neural networks of that time. I attempt to evaluate his…
Writing and argumentation are critical to both professional physics and physics education. However, the skill of making an extended argument in writing is often overlooked in physics classrooms, apart from certain practices like lab…
Emerging research frontiers and computational advances have gradually transformed cognitive science into a multidisciplinary and data-driven field. As a result, there is a proliferation of cognitive theories investigated and interpreted…
This invited memoir looks back on my scientific career that straddles the solar and stellar branches of astrophysics, with sprinklings of historical context and personal opinion. Except for a description of my life up to my Ph.D. phase, the…
This invited essay belongs to a series considering highly influential articles published by the International Journal of Theoretical Physics. In this paper, we highlight the physical content and the profound consequences of Richard…
This work seeks to study the beneficial properties that an autonomous agent can obtain by implementing a cognitive architecture similar to the one of conscious beings. Along this document, a conscious model of autonomous agent based in a…
We offer a view of mathematics as an experimental science where axioms play the role of foundational theories like general relativity and quantum mechanics in physics. Under this view, axioms are provisional and inferred from experience…
Simulation is widely used to make model-based predictions, but few approaches have attempted this technique in dynamic physical environments of medium to high complexity or in general contexts. After an introduction to the cognitive science…
The problem of replicating the flexibility of human common-sense reasoning has captured the imagination of computer scientists since the early days of Alan Turing's foundational work on computation and the philosophy of artificial…
The Computational Metaphor, comparing the brain to the computer and vice versa, is the most prominent metaphor in neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI). Its appropriateness is highly debated in both fields, particularly with regards…
In this project, I seek to present a summarization and unpacking of themes of fairness both in the field of computer science and philosophy. This is motivated by an increased dependence on notions of fairness in computer science and the…
Deep learning has enabled major advances across most areas of artificial intelligence research. This remarkable progress extends beyond mere engineering achievements and holds significant relevance for the philosophy of cognitive science.…
In his autobiographic essay written in 1999, ``From logic to computer science and back'', Martin David Davis (3/8/1928--1/1/2023) indicated that he viewed himself as a logician \emph{and} a computer scientist. He expanded the essay in 2016…
Turing's (1936) paper on computable numbers has played its role in underpinning different perspectives on the world of information. On the one hand, it encourages a digital ontology, with a perceived flatness of computational structure…
In this paper, I put forward that in many instances, thinking mechanisms are equivalent to artificial intelligence modules programmed into the human mind.
The declared goal of this paper is to fill this gap: "... cognitive systems research needs questions or challenges that define progress. The challenges are not (yet more) predictions of the future, but a guideline to what are the aims and…
What would you teach if you had only one course to help students grasp the essence of computation and perhaps inspire a few of them to make computing a subject of further study? Assume they have the standard college prep background. This…
I describe aspects of my life in physics: the name I publish under, great physicists I have known, how I got into quantum foundations, what role I've played in it. My form is autobiographical, but my personal experience may illustrate what…
Two transformative waves of computing have redefined the way we approach science. The first wave came with the birth of the digital computer, which enabled scientists to numerically simulate their models and analyze massive datasets. This…
While I was dealing with a brain injury and finding it difficult to work, two friends (Derek Westen, a friend of the KITP, and Steve Shenker, with whom I was recently collaborating), suggested that a new direction might be good. Steve in…