Report on “ai and human thought and emotion”

Abstract

No fundamental new ideas have appeared in AI for decades because of a deadlocked discussion between the technologists and their philosophical critics. Both sides claim possession of the one (dogmatic) truth: Technologists are committed to writing code, while critics insist that AI bears no resemblance to how humans cope in the world. The book charts a middle course between the critics and practitioners of AI, remaining committed to writing code while maintaining a fixed gaze on the human condition. This is done by reviving a technique long-shunned in cognitive science: Introspection. Introspection was rejected as a scientific method since 1913, but technology is committed to “what works” rather than to science’s “best explanation”. Introspection is shown to be both a legitimate and a promising source of ideas for AI. The book details the development process of AI based on introspection, from the initial introspective descriptions to working code. This book is unique in that it starts with philosophical (and historical) discussions, and ends with examples of working novel algorithms. The book was originally a PhD thesis. It was edited for book form with two new chapters added.