Can machines learn via analogies?

Originally posted on The Horizons Tracker. I recently took the'Learning How To Learn' course from the University of California, San Diego on Coursera, and they highlight the crucial role analogies play in the way humans learn. It's something that researchers from Northwestern University are trying to rectify. They have developed a model1, called the structure-mapping engine (SME), that allows machines to reason in a way that's reminiscent of how humans do. The model uses analogical problem solving in the same way that we use analogies to solve the various moral dilemmas we may face in our daily lives. "In terms of thinking like humans, analogies are where it's at," the authors say.