Computation and Sci Ed

Philosophy of Science 200

 OUTLINE

• Computational Models
• Cognitive Modeling
• Engineering Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Theory of Computation

• Contribution of Computation to the

Philosophy of Science
 COMPUTATION

• Any type of calculation both

arithmetical and non-arithmetical
steps and follows a well-defined
model/process or set of rules, such
as in the case of algorithms

• The use of computers, especially

as a subject of research or study
 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

• Philosophy of science is primarily concerned

on producing and evaluating theories like
theories of knowledge (epistemology)

• Primary function of a theory of knowledge is

to explain how knowledge grows, which
requires both describing the:
• Structure of knowledge
• Inferential procedures/development of scientific
knowledge
 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

• Most impressive knowledge gained

by human beings comes through
the operation of science

• Hence, core of epistemology is the

need to understand the growth of
scientific knowledge – to which
computational models can be very
useful
 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

• Traditionally, philosophers of science

employed logical analysis and
historical case studies

• Computational modeling provides an

additional method to understand
structure and development of
scientific knowledge
 AIM OF
COGNITIVE MODELING

• To stimulate aspects of human thinking;

for philosophy of science, this becomes
the aim to simulate the thinking that
scientists use in the construction and
evaluation of hypotheses
 AIM OF
ENGINEERING AI

• Not concerned with modeling human thinking,

but with constructing algorithms that perform
well on difficult tasks independently of
whether the algorithms correspond to human
thinking

• Similarly, the engineering AI approach to

philosophy of science seeks to develop
computational programs that can make
discoveries and evaluation that have avoided
humans
 STREAMS IN AI RESEARCH

1. One concerned with modeling human

performance (Cognitive Thinking)

2. One concerned with modeling machine

intelligence (Engineering AI)

3. One that uses abstract mathematical analysis

to problems in the philosophy of science
(Theory of Computation)
Cognitive Thinking
COGNITIVE MODELING
• It is the interdisciplinary study of mind,
embracing philosophy, psychology, AI,
neuroscience, linguistics and anthropology

• “We can understand human thinking by

postulating mental representations similar to
computational data structures and mental
procedures like to algorithms” (Thaggard, 1996)
 COGNITIVE MODELING
• It deals with simulating human problem
solving and mental task processes in a
computerized model

• It is used to improve products in

manufacturing segments such as
ergonomics, computer games and user
interface (UI) design

• An advanced application of this model is

the creation of cognitive machines
Engineering AI
 ENGINEERING AI
• Also known as “Android Epistemology” – the
epistemology of machines that may or may not
be built like humans

• It is an approach that is useful when it exploits

differences between digital computers and
humans such as the computer’s capacity for
very fast searches to perform tasks that human
scientists cannot do very well
 EXAMPLES OF AI
• DENRAL (Dendritic Algorithm)
• It performs chemical analysis
• Given the spectroscopic data from an unknown
organic chemical sample, the program determines
the molecular structure of the sample
 EXAMPLES OF AI
• DENRAL (Dendritic
Algorithm)
• It performs chemical
analysis
• Given the spectroscopic
data from an unknown
organic chemical sample,
the program determines
the molecular structure
of the sample
 EXAMPLES OF AI
• MECHEM
• It automates the task of finding mechanism for
chemical reactions
• Given experimental evidence about a reaction,
the program searches for the simplest mechanism
consistent with theory and experiment
 DATA MINING
• One of the fastest growing areas of
artificial intelligence
• Machine learning techniques are used to
discover regularities in large computer data
bases such as terabytes of image data
collected by astronomical surveys as well as
those from the human genome project
• Data mining has been met with commercial
success by various companies today
 Theory of
Computation
Theory of Computation
• Both the cognitive modeling and engineering
AI approaches to philosophy of science
involve writing and experimenting with
running computer programs.

• But, it is also possible to take a more

theoretical approach to computational issues
in the philosophy of science, exploiting
results in the theory of computation to reach
conclusions about processes of discovery and
evaluation.
Theory of Computation

• It uses abstract mathematical analysis

in addressing problems in the
philosophy of science

• The theory of computational complexity

has provided some interesting results
concerning hypothesis evaluation
Theory of Computation
• “If you have n hypotheses and want to
evaluate all the ways in which combinations
of them can be accepted and rejected, you
have to consider 2n possibilities, an
impossibly large number for large n.”

• Examples are:
• Bayesian probabilities
• Heuristic assembly of hypotheses
• Explanatory coherence
 Contributions of
Computation to
Philosophy of Science
 Contributions
• It has great contribution to philosophy of
mind, but little contribution to philosophy of
science
• Because philosophers have little preparation for
actually doing computational work
• It is more useful to perform computations than
just talk about them
 Contributions
• Some notable contributions of bringing AI to
philosophy of science:
• Prototypical concepts
• Concept hierarchies
• Production rules
• Causal networks
• Mental images
• Philosophers can consider algorithms to:
• Generate numerical laws
• Discovering causal networks
• Forming concepts and hypotheses
• Evaluating competing explanatory theories
 Contributions
• With AI, it brings new methodology that has
numerous advantages over pencil-and-paper
constructions in science
• It requires considerable precision
• Producing a program that mimics aspects of
scientific cognition is often challenging
• The program can be assessed how well it models
human thinking
THANK YOU!