http://www.scn.org/~mentifex/aisource.html Mind.Forth Robot PD AI
as described in the ACM Sigplan Notices 33(12):25-31 of December,
1998, by Paul Frenger, M.D., is thoroughly based in neuroscience.
Mind.Forth uses structures in software known as "arrays" to mimic
the memory engrams of the human brain. The arrays "psi{ }" (deep
concepts); "uk{ }" (English lexical area); and "ear{ }" (auditory
memory channel) are areas of mental memory superimposed over com-
puter memory -- the underlying hardware.
In place of neuronal fibers, Mind.Forth uses elements of software
arrays to hold engrams and to pass information as if from a fiber
in the brain to an associated fiber.
In place of synapses, Mind.Forth uses associative "flags" on sim-
ulated nerve fibers to enable the emerging Forthmind to route ex-
citatory and inhibitory signals from one quasi-fiber to another.
Excitation and inhibition--fundamental building blocks for neuro-
science--are accomplished in Mind.Forth by means of routines that
use the "activation" variable "a" to simulate excitation, and use
subroutines such as IDEADAMP and FIBERDAMP to simulate inhibition.
Mind.Forth relies on "spreading activation"--a favorite theory of
psychology if not neuroscience--to generate instances of thinking
in accordance with rules and structures of Chomskyan linguistics.
Finally, a very important idea in both neuroscience and in Mind.-
Forth is that of "reentry." The Nobel laureate Gerald M. Edelman
is especially well known for espousing the notion of reentry in a
Theory of Neuronal Group Selection (TNGS). Mind.Forth implements
reentry simply but effectively by channeling its own outputs back
into its input sensorium, somewhat as shown in the diagram below:
Hearing Vision Concepts Volition Emotion Motor Output
/iiiiiii\ /!i!i!i!\ /YYYYYYYYYYYY\
| ||||||| || ||||||| | T | |||||||||||| |
| ||||||| || | ___ | | + | |||||||||||| |
| ||||||| || /old\ | + | |S|||||||||| |
| ||||||| || (image)-|---+_ | |H|||||||||| |
| ||||||| || \___/ | / \ | |A|||||||||| |
| ||||||| || | (idea) __ | |K|||||||||| |
| | ||||| || | \__/---------------/ \ | |E|||R|||||| |
| |d------||---------|---+ ____ (fear)-|--*|||U|||||| |
| ||||o|| || _____ | +-------/ \----\__/ | |||||N|||P|| |
| ||g|||| || / re- \-|---+ / de- \---------|------*|||E|| |
| || |||| ||/entrant\| + ( ci- ) | |||||||||T|| |
| ||||||| ||\ image /| + \ sion /---------|----------*|| |
| ||||||| || \_____/ | + \____/ | |||||||||||| |
