Fractally-organized connectionist networks: Conjectures and preliminary results

Abstract

A strict interpretation of connectionism mandates complex networks of simple components. The question here is, is this simplicity to be interpreted in absolute terms? I conjecture that absolute simplicity might not be an essential attribute of connectionism, and that it may be effectively exchanged with a requirement for relative simplicity, namely simplicity with respect to the current organizational level. In this paper I provide some elements to the analysis of the above question. In particular conjecture that fractally organized connectionist networks may provide a convenient means to achieve what Leibniz calls an “art of complication”, namely an effective way to encapsulate complexity and practically extend the applicability of connectionism to domains such as sociotech- nical system modeling and design. Preliminary evidence to my claim is brought by considering the design of the software architecture designed for the telemonitoring service of Flemish project “Little Sister”.