PHIL 340 Midterm

Cortex

The outer gray matter neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in mammals, is organized into a series of layers, divided into four parts and named after the skull bones they are attached to

Cortical

Referring to the cortex

Subcortex

Below the cortex

Subcortical

Refers to structures within the subcortex

Hypothalamus

Important for a large array of functions such as autonomic responses (heart rate, blood pressure), as well as the "stress response" through the HPA-Circuit

Amygdala

Subcortical structure extensively studied in the context of aversive conditioning but involved in a very large array of functions, so called "Fear" center of the brain, named for its "almond" shape.

Thalamus

Within the "inner chamber" of the brain, signals related to vision, audition (sound/hearing), somatosensation (touch, pain, feeling temperature), and taste go through here before going to their respective areas

Periaqueductal Gray (PAG)

Adjacent to the superior colliculus, surrounds a channel which has cerebrospinal fluid, processes outputs from the Superior Colliculus to create defensive behaviors "fight or flight"

Striatum

Part of the subcortex (in the forebrain) consisting of the caudate and the putamen

Forebrain

Consists of the cortex and subcortex

Midbrain

Portion of the brain stem that is closest to the forebrain, among the regions discussed in the text that are here are the superior colliculus and areas that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine (ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra)

Superior Colliculus

Part of the midbrain, lies on top of the midbrain next to the PAG.

Hindbrain

Portion of the central nervous system in vertebrates that includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum

Spinal Cord

Connects your brain to your lower back, the nerves in your body connects to this

Neuron

Main cell type in brain, key processing element of nervous system

Axon

The extension of the neuron that comes into close contact with other neurons and typically affects the dendrite of a postsynaptic cell via the synapse

Soma

Neuron cell's body/nucleus

Dendrite

The extension of the neuron that typically receives stimulation (from axons)

Synapse

The space between two neurons that permits the presynaptic neuron to pass a chemical signal to the postsynaptic cell

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter or a chemical essential for neuronal communication, typically released from the axon terminal on the presynaptic cell and which bind to the postsynaptic cell, plays a significant role in the function of the striatum and is related to reward processing and motivated behaviors

Projection

Anatomical pathway comprised of bundles of axons that connect two areas

Matter

Brain tissue, separated into two types

Grey Matter

The part of the brain’s tissue consisting mainly of neurons

White Matter

The part of the brain’s tissue consisting of mostly neuron fibers, (myelinated axons), serves as a way for regions to communicate with each other

Necessary Condition

Condition necessary for event to occur but may not guarantee event will occur

Sufficient Condition

Condition sufficient on its own to guarantee event occurs

GOFAI/Symbolic AI

Relies on representations of problems, logic and search, popular from 1956 to 1974, not very good at complex or nuanced situational like objectives

Expert System/Knowledge-Based AI

Uses human knowledge to solve specific, narrowly defined problems similar to the human decision making process, MYCIN is an example of one, even though writing all knowledge ever in a computer takes time

Neural Networks/Deep Learing

Machine learning that uses structures similar to neurons and synapses to model and solve complex problems, each neuron contains mathematical functions that each take several inputs, process them, and produce an output that can go to multiple places throughout the system

Behavioral AI

Focuses on individual components necessary to accomplish a goal, are grounded in the real world and are transparent due to this broken down approach

Turing Machines

Machines that can be built out of anything and manipulate symbols one at a time

Computability (Church-Turing) Thesis

Function on natural numbers can be calculated if and only if it’s Turing computable

Brain

Physical properties and processes

Mind

Mental properties and processes

Ambiguity

A word has two or more distinct meanings

Vagueness

A word has borderline instances, use of terms that are unclear

Equivocation

Different interpretations are plausible for different uses of a word

Turing Test

Tests a machine to see if it can convince a human evaluator that it is human, people’s biases can get in the way of this

Winograd Sentences

Statements that can have multiple meanings depending on the context in which they exist

Categorical Rules

Rules that are always true and apply in all circumstances

Deductive Argument

An argument in which the proof of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion

Inductive Argument/Reasonable Inferences

Argument where the premises make the conclusion likely, but do not guarantee it

Deductively Sound Argument

An argument that is valid and the premises are true

Hypothetical/Conditional Rules

Rules that are phrased in “If-Then” statements, only apply after a certain set of conditions have been met

Physical Symbol Systems Hypothesis (PSSH)

Theory by Newell and Simon that states that symbols physically instantiated (static and immutable), manipulated by strict rules, arbitrarily associated with referents, is the necessary and sufficient means for general intelligent action

Exception Permitting Rules

Rules that can be bent in certain circumstances in order to capture common sense knowledge, a sign that says "No Vehicles Permitted in Park" is an example of this

What are the 4E approaches to cognition?

Embodied, Embedded, Extended, Enactive

Embodied

Body can constrain concepts, is part of cognitive system

Embedded

Cognitive tasks can be made easier by environment

Extended

Environmental and social resources can be a part of the cognitive system

Enactive

Cognition and perception involve sensorimotor activity

Rationalism

Nature provides a base set of concepts we build on and discern all other information

Behaviorists

Believe that all actions, including language, are entirely learned (ex. Skinner)

Chomskyans

Believe that language is at least in part innate (aka provided by our nature)

Opaque

Something that is relatively difficult for someone to understand, usually refers to deep learning

Performance with Language

Concerned with the behavior of sequences of words people produce, whether or not they are grammatically correct

Competence with Language

Ability to evaluate whether or not a sentence is grammatically correct

Transparent

Something that is relatively easy for someone to understand, usually refers to deep learning

Serial Processing

Performing a task one step at a time (ex. how Turing machines work or how to follow a simple recipe)

Parallel Processing

Performing a task by doing several different things at once (ex. how neural nets work)

“I think, therefore I am”

René Descartes

“The world is its own best model”

Rodney Brooks

“Intelligence is determined by the dynamics of interaction with the world”

Rodney Brooks

“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or person of any other, never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end”

Immanual Kant

“The expert is simply not following any rules”

Hubert Dreyfus & Stuart Dreyfus

"We want AI agents that can discover like we can, not which contain what we have discovered. Building in our discoveries only makes it harder to see how the discovering process can be done."

Rich Sutton

“What we call ‘measuring’ is partly determined by a certain constancy in results of measurement."

Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Evolution does not produce novelties from scratch. It works on what already exists, either transforming a system to give it new functions or combining several systems to produce a more elaborate one."

François Jacob

"If language is to be a means of communication there must be agreement not only in definitions but also. . . in judgments . . ."

Ludwig Wittgenstein

"What are the failures we still don’t have the hardware to see as a success?"

Sara Hooker

“We ask: ‘What does ‘I am frightened’’ really mean, what am I referring to when I say it? And of course we find no answer, or one that is inadequate. The question is: ‘In what sort of context does it occur?’”

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Biology’s Axiom

Different structure implies different function

Functionalism

Mental states are identified by functional role, not by physical implementation

Classical Theory of Concept

Concepts as necessary and sufficient conditions, used more with GOFAI and Symbolic AI

Prototype Theory of Concepts

Statistically common properties most commonly found in an object, can differ from person to person

Theory Theory of Concepts

Concepts get content from roles they play in theories, think how object is used in multiple different contexts

Reductionism

Taking a large organized system and breaks into smaller pieces to better understand the system as a whole

What is the difference between functionalism and reductionism?

Functionalism looks at one mental process/state instead of an infinite amount of them, while reductionism looks at a mental state in detail, assuming the work will be used with other people’s work to create a larger picture

Expertise

Intuitive understanding of a skill, aware of the rules but does not consciously follow them, rather uses intuition to make choices and can even violate the rules

Jill Lepore

Author who wrote about the way Simulmatics used data to predict voting behavior

Many-to-One Mapping

Multiple areas may be able to carry out the same function

Hypothetical "Minimal Brain"

Refers to the uncoupling of sensory and motor components which frees animals from acting simply based on sensory stimulation

Cognitive Control

Taking over a usually subconscious action when necessary

Modularity

Degree of interdependence of the many parts that comprise a system of interest

Selective Information Processing

Occurs when salient emotional stimuli causes you to pay attention to things that are important and automaticity drains away

Reward Prediction Error

Dopamine signals this mismatch between actual and expected rewards

Action Flexibility

Multitude of factors that encompass emotional and motivational variables are integrated with perception and action to allow successful navigation of the environment

First Way of Articulating Modularity

Two parts A and B of a system are modules if and only if they are separately modifiable (can’t affect the same area)

Second Way of Articulating Modularity

The process carried out in a subsystem, so modifiable, computes particular type of input-output mapping

Third Way of Articulating Modularity

There exists a decomposition of the system such that the computational interactions within subsystems are much more complex than those between subsystems

Fourth Way of Articulating Modularity

Subsystems form into complex networks with other subsystems so that each is carrying out only a particular subfunction of a much more complex overall function

Fifth Way of Articulating Modularity

The subsystem needs to be relatively spatially located in the brain

Decomposability

Each subsystem of a larger system operates according to its own intrinsic principles, independently of the others

One-to-One Mapping

One area of the brain carries out one function, the simplest formulation of brain areas and their relationship to mental processes

Many-to-Many Mapping

Multiple areas of the brain subserving multiple functions (ex. vision)

One-to-Many Mapping

One area of the brain participates in multiple functions

Automaticity

Involuntary actions (ex. heart rate)

Synaptic Rewiring

Changes in what neurons are connect to what neurons

Appraisal

Analyzing internal or external stimuli to determine a reaction

Extinction Learning

The process by which a conditioned stimulus is learned to be safe and allows the stimulus to be treated as safe by the animal