Philip Husbands, Michael Wheeler, and Owen Holland
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262083775
- eISBN:
- 9780262256384
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262083775.003.0001
- Subject:
- Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
This introductory chapter puts the contributions to this book into the wider context of the history of mind as machine. This is not intended to be a comprehensive history, or anything like it, but is ...
More
This introductory chapter puts the contributions to this book into the wider context of the history of mind as machine. This is not intended to be a comprehensive history, or anything like it, but is merely a sketch that helps to show how the chapters relate to each other and to the central themes of the book. This volume offers a wide range of original material, with some emphasis on underexplored areas, such as British cybernetics, and the relationship between the mechanical mind and the arts. It is intended to complement more specific histories as well as more general surveys of the field.Less
This introductory chapter puts the contributions to this book into the wider context of the history of mind as machine. This is not intended to be a comprehensive history, or anything like it, but is merely a sketch that helps to show how the chapters relate to each other and to the central themes of the book. This volume offers a wide range of original material, with some emphasis on underexplored areas, such as British cybernetics, and the relationship between the mechanical mind and the arts. It is intended to complement more specific histories as well as more general surveys of the field.
Phil Husbands, Owen Holland, and Michael Wheeler (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262083775
- eISBN:
- 9780262256384
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262083775.001.0001
- Subject:
- Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
The idea of intelligent machines has become part of popular culture. But tracing the history of the actual science of machine intelligence reveals a rich network of cross-disciplinary ...
More
The idea of intelligent machines has become part of popular culture. But tracing the history of the actual science of machine intelligence reveals a rich network of cross-disciplinary contributions—the unrecognized origins of ideas now central to artificial intelligence, artificial life, cognitive science, and neuroscience. In this book, scientists, artists, historians, and philosophers discuss the multidisciplinary quest to formalize and understand the generation of intelligent behavior in natural and artificial systems as a wholly mechanical process. The chapters illustrate the diverse and interacting notions that chart the evolution of the idea of the mechanical mind. They describe the mechanized mind as, among other things, an analogue system, an organized suite of chemical interactions, a self-organizing electromechanical device, an automated general-purpose information processor, and an integrated collection of symbol-manipulating mechanisms. The chapters investigate the views of pivotal figures that range from Descartes and Heidegger to Alan Turing and Charles Babbage, and emphasize such frequently overlooked areas as British cybernetic and pre-cybernetic thinkers. The book concludes with the personal insights of five highly influential figures in the field: John Maynard Smith, John Holland, Oliver Selfridge, Horace Barlow, and Jack Cowan.Less
The idea of intelligent machines has become part of popular culture. But tracing the history of the actual science of machine intelligence reveals a rich network of cross-disciplinary contributions—the unrecognized origins of ideas now central to artificial intelligence, artificial life, cognitive science, and neuroscience. In this book, scientists, artists, historians, and philosophers discuss the multidisciplinary quest to formalize and understand the generation of intelligent behavior in natural and artificial systems as a wholly mechanical process. The chapters illustrate the diverse and interacting notions that chart the evolution of the idea of the mechanical mind. They describe the mechanized mind as, among other things, an analogue system, an organized suite of chemical interactions, a self-organizing electromechanical device, an automated general-purpose information processor, and an integrated collection of symbol-manipulating mechanisms. The chapters investigate the views of pivotal figures that range from Descartes and Heidegger to Alan Turing and Charles Babbage, and emphasize such frequently overlooked areas as British cybernetic and pre-cybernetic thinkers. The book concludes with the personal insights of five highly influential figures in the field: John Maynard Smith, John Holland, Oliver Selfridge, Horace Barlow, and Jack Cowan.
