AS/autism insight from Artificial Intelligence research?

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JCJC777
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05 Aug 2008, 2:40 am

My understanding is that attempts to create artificial intelligence have gone in 2 directions:

1. Expert systems; set up systems of rules and try to operate by referring to and applying them - consistently run into 'framing' issues, due to the massive (impossible) scale of computing power needed to be intelligent that way.

2. Strong AI; neural networks, learning as human brains learn at base level, through neurone networks being strengthened along right answer paths and weakened along false ones.

Maybe at some point or level Asperger/autism brains switch from neural learning, and instead try to operate in the expert systems way - rules based - leading to framing difficulties, jam-ups, meltdowns. This which would also fit with autism/Asperger attempts to simplify lives (reduce complexity for operating their rules based systems).

Just wondered if anyone had any views or superior understanding and knowledge on this?
All the best, JC
http://unlearningasperger.blogspot.com/



PilotPirx
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05 Aug 2008, 3:53 am

I don't think, that AI systems as we have them now can give any insight in human thought processes at all.
The neuronal network variants are limited to very small problemspaces and have not much to do with the way a brain works. Not even a small part of a brain.
Expert systems even less, since those rules are more or less hardcoded, more like a highy structured database. They can't find new problem solutions, only provide existing knowledge of human experts in a form that makes it easy to access for non experts.

Maybe in far future, when AI systems become really human like, we may encounter problems that are related to humans. I often wondered, if there is a mathematical limit for complexity, so that becoming a savant in one area makes it necessary, to have limited abilities in another. Maybe the human brain is already near this limit.


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donkey
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05 Aug 2008, 6:25 am

This is an interesting field and very complex. but there is some familiarity in what you have said:

my description of As is based on Bayes theory of probability.
put simply. Bayes probability ( look it up on wiki for the long explanation) will calculate the probability of an outcome given a fixed condition.
People with AS can , given the same conditions, calculate the probability of many events occuring, and their subsequebt outcome, we rote learn things, we systemise. it is, in my opinion an advantage we have over non AS.
However, change the conditions....AS people tend to fold and meltdown where non As people can adapt better giving changing conditions.
it is a brief and simpel explanation for allowing a basic understanding of AS behaviour.



UnusualSuspect
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05 Aug 2008, 9:45 am

AI systems are so limited in how they operate that there's no comparison at all with human brains, even autists and aspies. The autistic brain may get stuck in a particular way of processing information for a period of time, or it may vary in its processing capacities and ability to handle input, particularly if too much information is coming in at one time. But from my observations, I'd say that we have the same wide range of processing abilities that NTs have. Some of us have more and some have fewer, but there's always far more flexibility than any AI system has.



ouinon
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05 Aug 2008, 1:59 pm

I read that AS people will actually often cope better in crisis situations than NTs because they are used to having to process data all the time rather than functioning on auto-pilot. And will be less emotionally threatened by the need to do it whereas NT's are often simply freaked out by the need to think. The AS will often be the one calm and cool and proposing solutions.

I don't know if this is relevant but the OP's analogy reminded me of this.

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