Download Connectionism and Artificial Intelligence

Brandon Herndon, Wes Wynmor, and
Tyler Tuminski


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.



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.


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.

The term “artificial intelligence” refers to a
field of computer science that seeks to create
computers capable of independent thought.


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.


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.


"Connectionism (Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Web. 07 Apr. 2011.
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connection
ism/>.
"Connectionism (Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Web. 07 Apr. 2011.
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connection
ism/>.