Simulation

AI and Simulation

"The construction of computer programs that simulate aspects of social behaviour can contribute to the understanding of social processes. Most social science research either develops or uses some kind of theory or model, for instance, a theory of cognition or a model of the class system. Generally, such theories are stated in textual form, although sometimes the theory is represented as an equation (for example, in structural equation modelling). A third way is to express theories as computer programs." - Gilbert, Nigel

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Cognitive Science

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Good Starting Places

Publication

Agent-based social simulation: dealing with complexity

"The construction of computer programs that simulate aspects of social behaviour can contribute to the understanding of social processes. Most social science research either develops or uses some kind of theory or model, for instance, a theory of cognition or a model of the class system. Generally, such theories are stated in textual form, although sometimes the theory is represented as an equation (for example, in structural equation modelling). A third way is to express theories as computer programs. Social processes can then be simulated in the computer. In some circumstances, it is even possible to carry out experiments on artificial social systems that would be quite impossible or unethical to perform on human populations."

... Nigel Gilbert, Centre for Research on Social Simulation, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. 

Source

Dec 18 2004, By Gilbert, Nigel

General Readings

Publication

Brainy Robots Start Stepping Into Daily Life.

"Robot cars drive themselves across the desert, electronic eyes perform lifeguard duty in swimming pools and virtual enemies with humanlike behavior battle video game players. These are some fruits of the research field known as artificial intelligence, where reality is finally catching up to the science-fiction hype. A half-century after the term was coined, both scientists and engineers say they are making rapid progress in simulating the human brain, and their work is finding its way into a new wave of real-world products. The advances can also be seen in the emergence of bold new projects intended to create more ambitious machines that can improve safety and security, entertain and inform, or just handle everyday tasks. ... Today some scientists are beginning to use the term cognitive computing, to distinguish their research from an earlier generation of artificial intelligence work. What sets the new researchers apart is a wealth of new biological data on how the human brain functions. 'There's definitely been a palpable upswing in methods, competence and boldness,' said Eric Horvitz, a Microsoft researcher who is president-elect of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. ... 'There is a new synthesis of four fields, including mathematics, neuroscience, computer science and psychology,' said Dharmendra S. Modha, an I.B.M. computer scientist. 'The implication of this is amazing. What you are seeing is that cognitive computing is at a cusp where it's knocking on the door of potentially mainstream applications.'"

Source

Jul 18 2006, By Markoff, John
cognitive computing

Classic Articles & Books

Publication

The simulation of verbal learning behavior

The purpose of this report is to describe in detail an informationProcessing model of elementary human symbolic learning processes. Thismodel is realized by a computer program called the Elementary Perceiverand Memorizer (EPAM).The EPAM program is the precise statement of an information processingtheory of verbal learning that provides an alternative to other verballearning theories which have been proposed.1 It is the result of an attemptto state quite precisely a parsimonious and plausible mechanism sufficientto account for the rote learning of nonsense syllables. The criticalevaluation of EPAM must ultimately depend not upon the interest whichit may have as a learning machine, but upon its ability to explain andPredict the phenomena of verbal learning.

Source

By Feigenbaum, E.A. , 1961
EPAM, classic, discrimination net, memory, verbal learning

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