From Society to Landscape: Alternative Metaphors for Artificial Intelligence

Previous examination of the computational metaphor exposed behavior inconsistent with that expected of metaphors in general. Specifically, despite demonstrated dissimilarity in the referents of brains (minds) and computers, the metaphor persists, not dissolves. Seeking an explanation of this behavior led to the conclusion that the computational metaphor is not truly a metaphor at all. Instead, it is a kind of shorthand expression, a label, for a set of philosophical presuppositions. Although such an examination might seem to be a straightforward and uncomplicated endeavor, it is not--primarily because of the situation aptly captured and summarized by Johnson (1990): The idea of the brain as an information processor--a machine made from matter manipulating blips of energy according to fathomable rules--has come to dominate neuroscience….