Artificial minds (an introduction to cognitive modelling)
Semester 1, 2007
Coordinator/lecturer Mikael Bodén (mikael@itee.uq.edu.au)
Tutor Lynne Davis (s4054771@student.uq.edu.au)
Rationale
Our understanding of human minds benefits from studies of artificial minds – models simulating or mimicking cognitive processes. Examples of such processes include reasoning, decision-making and learning. This course focuses on the predominant frameworks for cognitive modelling, including symbolic artificial intelligence, connectionism, and emergent and embodied intelligence. Theoretical issues, practical aspects and examples of each modelling framework and their ability to model behaviour in several domains, e.g. memory, language, robotics and learning, are discussed.
This course is aimed at students with a level 1 course in either cognitive science or computer science. The course aims to give students an understanding of computer models, which have proved useful for studying natural minds, and to enable appreciation of their prospects in cognitive science and their usefulness in designing and implementing intelligent software, artificial intelligence.
Material
Required textbook: Franklin, Stan (1997), Artificial Minds, MIT Press/Bradford books, 464 pages, ISBN 0262561093 (paperback).
Additional required material:
Chapter 2 Logic (UQ Library online access) in Thagard, Paul , Mind: Introduction to cognitive science, MIT Press, 1996, pp. 23-41.
Chapter 2 Why connectionism? (UQ Library online access) in Elman, J. et al, Rethinking innateness : A connectionist perspective on development, MIT Press, 1997, pp.47-106.
Teaching plan 2007
| Week Number | Monday's Date | Lecture Friday 2-4pm (78-224) |
Tutorial Monday 2-3pm (39A-203), Fri 4-5pm ( |
Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 February |
Origin of mind. Approaches for understanding minds. Natural minds |
No tutorial | |
| 2 | 5 March | Defining mind. | ||
| 3 | 12 March | Computation. Search. Expert systems | Logic. | |
| 4 | 19 March | Machines with minds? (The first AI debate) | Computation. | |
| 5 | 26 March | Connectionist mind models | Search. Expert systems. | Assignment 1 due (Friday) |
| 6 | 2 April | No lecture - Good Friday. | The first AI debate. (Fri tutorial scheduled for Wed 1-2pm, 78-224) | |
| 9 April |
Mid-semester break (one week) |
|||
| 7 | 16 April | Connectionist learning | Connectionist minds. | |
| 8 | 23 April | Connections or symbols? (The second AI debate) | Connectionist learning. | Assignment 2 due ( |
| 9 | 30 April | Evolving minds | The second AI debate. | |
| 10 | 7 May | Artificial life and emergent behaviour | Evolving minds. |
|
| 11 | 14 May | Bottom-up, embodied cognition and robots, Representation (The third AI debate) | Artificial life. | |
| 12 | 21 May | Special lecture Dr. Scott Bolland (Slides 2pp [5MB], 6pp [3MB]). |
Bottom-up minds.
|
|
| 13 | 28 May | Review. | The third AI debate. | Assignment 4 due (Friday) |
| 4 June | Revision Period | |||
| Exam Week 1 | 11 June | Final Exam | ||
| Exam Week 2 | 18 June | |||
Assessment
COMP2702 will be assessed by a final exam and assignments. Your final grade (on a 1 to 7 scale) will be determined by combining the marks from the assessment components below.
- Tutorials
- Assignments
- Final examination (COMP2702 and COMP7704)
Example exam questions (and hints to answers)
Results
Results are available online here.