The “SP” system beats AI alternatives
(PRWEB) November 26, 2016 -- The SP system, expressed in the SP computer model, is different from other AI systems because it is designed for the seamless integration of diverse kinds of knowledge and diverse aspects of intelligence. This kind of integration across a broad canvass appears to be essential for the development of human-like intelligence. It has the potential to supercharge AI.
The key to simplification and integration is the powerful concept of "multiple alignment", borrowed and adapted from research in biochemistry. This provides a framework for several different aspects of intelligence, including learning, pattern recognition, several kinds of reasoning, problem solving, and more.
“Multiple alignment could be the ‘double helix’ of intelligence” says Dr Wolff. “It could prove to be as significant for an understanding of intelligence as is DNA in biological sciences.”
Benefits of the SP system can be seen when it is compared with “deep learning”, an idea which is popular at present. There are several problems with deep learning which include the fact that deep learning systems can make bad mistakes in recognizing things, it is often difficult or impossible to know how they reach their conclusions, they fail to account for how people can learn from a single experience, deep learning systems require unnaturally large amounts of data and processing power, and there are problems with generalization of their learning. The SP system provides solutions to these and other problems with deep learning.
“Although deep learning has been making the headlines” says Dr Wolff, “it is likely that the SP system will provide a firmer foundation for the long-term development of AI. At the same time, it has the potential to deliver useful applications on relatively short timescales”.
The SP system has advantages over several other AI systems, as described in the paper.
“We aim to develop the current SP computer model into a powerful 'SP machine' ” says Dr Wolff. “This would be driven by an existing supercomputer but would provide a versatile intelligence that is missing from any ordinary computer.”
NOTES
1 The new paper may be downloaded via “The SP theory of intelligence: distinctive features and advantages” (PDF, J G Wolff, IEEE Access, 4, 216-246, 2016, bit.ly/21gv2jT).
2 Related papers are detailed, many with download links, on http://www.cognitionresearch.org/sp.htm .
3 Dr Gerry Wolff, the author of the new paper, may be contacted via jgw AT cognitionresearch DOT org or +44 1248 712962 (landline) or +44 7746 290775 (mobile). CognitionResearch.org, Menai Bridge, UK.
4 Since people often ask what the name “SP” stands for, it is short for “Simplicity” and “Power” in accordance with “Occam’s Razor”. That principle says that a scientific theory should be as simple as possible without sacrificing its descriptive or explanatory power. Simplicity and power are also equivalent to compression of information -- simplifying a body of information by reducing its complexity whilst retaining as much as possible of its descriptive power -- which is at the heart of how the SP system works.
Dr Gerry Wolff, CognitionResearch.org, http://www.cognitionresearch.org/sp.htm, +44 1248 712962, [email protected]
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