AIFeb 25, 2012
The Causal Topography of Cognition
arXiv:1206.0259v24 citations
Originality Synthesis-oriented
AI Analysis
This is a foundational philosophical argument about the nature of cognition and computation, with no direct practical application.
The paper argues that cognition's causal structure can be simulated but not computationally implemented, similar to a comet, with the key difference being that cognition is invisible except to the cognizer.
The causal structure of cognition can be simulated but not implemented computationally, just as the causal structure of a comet can be simulated but not implemented computationally. The only thing that allows us even to imagine otherwise is that cognition, unlike a comet, is invisible (to all but the cognizer).