Machine Intelligence

Beginning with a seminal paper by Alan Turing, the first section presents both the leading ideas behind the vision of mentality as computation and some major critiques of that vision. Section two clarifies the nature of the initial research, paying special attention to such questions as: why should we suppose that the computational level of description provides the most appropriate means of understanding psychological facts? If we do use computational descriptions, what kind of computational model is indicated? What are the alternatives to the use of computational models and how do we judge the success or failure of the models themselves? The volume ends with a discussion of the key concepts of computation, symbol, information, and representation.