Laws of Thought: The Search for a Mathematical Theory of Mind

From the co-author of Algorithms for Life comes an exploration of how mathematics is used to describe our ways of thinking, from its origins three hundred years ago to the ideas behind modern artificial intelligence systems, and how these systems still differ from human brains. Every person has a basic understanding of how the physical world works. We learn physics and chemistry at school, which allows us to explain the world around us through concepts such as force, acceleration and gravity - the laws of nature. But we do not have the same familiarity with the concepts necessary to understand the world within us - the laws of thought. While the story of using mathematics to uncover the secrets of the universe is familiar, the story of using it to study the mind is not. There is no one better to tell this story than Tom Griffiths, head of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Princeton University and a respected expert in the field of cognitive science. In this groundbreaking book, the author explains the three main approaches to codifying thought—rules and symbols, neural networks, and probability and statistics—presenting each idea through the stories of the people behind them. As informed conversations about thought, language, and learning become increasingly important in the age of artificial intelligence, Laws of Thought is an essential reference for anyone interested in the future of technology.