Confabulation Theory: The Mechanism of Thought

Group-7

Mental World

What is Cognition?Cognition :

Understanding and trying to make sense of the world

Information processingDevelopment of concepts

The mental functions, mental processes and states of intelligent entities with focus on:comprehension, inference,decision-making,planning and learning etc.

CognitionCerebral Cortex

Seat for cognitionHow is Cerebral cortex able to do what it is

able to do?Fuzzy explanations No clear cut perspective in exact terms

Introducing Confabulation TheoryA discrete insight into possible mechanism of

thought

Confabulation TheoryProposed by Robert Hecht-NielsonAll human cognition and behavior based on

one simple, non-algorithmic procedure that has been named confabulation

All aspects of cognition carried out using: a single type of knowledge and a single information processing operation

called (confabulation)

RelevanceRadical novel approach

First-of-its-kind concrete modelIssuing deeper insights into process of

cognition Augmenting present

Artificial intelligence knowledge discovery knowledge management

RoadmapCognitive World Object RepresentationKnowledge LinksConfabulationThe Mathematics of Cogent ConfabulationThe Origin of BehaviourConclusion

Cognitive World Object RepresentationCerebral Cortex

4000 discrete, localized, disjoint patchesThalamocortical Module

cortical patch and first-order thalamic zone uniquely paired by reciprocal axonal interconnection

Moduleone attribute of an object of mental world

Cognitive World Object Representation

Cognitive World Object RepresentationHow are these modules used?Make groups of 60: symbolsModule may consist of thousands of neuronsSymbol: one possible descriptor of an

attributeOne neuron may belong to more than one

symbolsSymbols have to be permanent

Cognitive World Object Representation

What is Knowledge?Knowledge accumulates in discrete unitsKnowledge link or knowledge unit is an

axonal linkage between source symbol and target symbol

Source and target symbols belong to different modules

Knowledge Links

Formation of knowledge linksTwo symbols become co-active to send out

signalsSynapses are strengthened in the process of

learningPermanent strengthening during sleepBillions of knowledge linksHumans and animals are 'smart’

ConfabulationOne and only one information processing

operationLocalizedWinners-take-allSymbol with highest total knowledge link

input is conclusion of confabulation

Implications of Knowledge LinkSource symbol neurons send signals to

millions of transponder neuronsOnly few thousand transponder neurons

become highly excited10 % of the target neurons receive signals

from multiple transponder neurons

Implications of Knowledge Link

Confabulation – Neuron Level

Cogency

CogencyAristotelian model : An appealing model for

cognition : p(ε|αβγδ)Wrong modelAlternate model : Cogency : p(αβγδ|ε)α,β,γ,δ : Assumed factsε : Conclusion

Cogency TheoremsThm 1: If αβγδ => ε exclusively, then

maximization of cogency produces one and only one answer ε

Aristotelian logic information environment: maximizing cogency gives logical answers

Cogency Theorems• Cogency calculation : only in trivial situations• Confabulation Product : p(α|ε).p(β|ε).p(γ|

ε).p(δ|ε)• Thm 2: [p(αβγδ|ε)]4 =

[p(αβγδε)/p(αε)].[p(αβγδε)/p(βε)]. [p(αβγδε)/p(γε)].[p(αβγδε)/p(δε)]. [p(α|ε).p(β|ε).p(γ|ε).p(δ|ε)]

• In non-exceptional cases, [p(αβγδ|ε)]4≈C*[p(α|ε).p(β|ε).p(γ|ε).p(δ|ε)]

Confabulation ExamplesSome examples from test

She could determine (whether, exactly, if, why)If it was not (immediately, clear, enough, true)Earthquake activity was [centered]For lack of a (unified, blockbuster, comprehensive,

definitive) A lack of (urgency, oxygen, understanding)Regardless of expected [outcome, length]

Automatic emergence of semantics and grammar

Why Cogency and not Baye’s Law?p(λ)=0.01; p(ε)=0.0001; p(αβγδ|λ)=0.01;

p(αβγδ|ε)=0.2p(αβγδ|ε)= 20 * p(αβγδ|λ)p(λ |αβγδ)= 5 * p(ε|αβγδ)

Baye’s Law => λCogency => ε

Quiz! (For those who are sleeping)Quickly select a next word for each of the

following:Company rules forbid takingMickey and Minnie wereCapitol hill observers arePaper is made fromRiding the carousel was

Why Cogency and not Baye’s Law?Typical answers :

NapsHappyWonderingWoodFun

‘the’ also viable : Baye’s law

Conclusion-Action Principle: Origin of Behavior

Conclusion-Action Principle: Origin of BehaviorEvery time a confabulation operation on a module

reaches a conclusion, an associated set of action commands are launched

Winner of a confabulation competition employs skill knowledge to launch an action

Skill knowledge, and skill learning are not parts of cognitive thinking

Hindering BlocksConceiving and then precisely defining a

confabulation architectureConceiving and then precisely defining the

thought processesConceiving and executing an appropriately

staged sequence of learning opportunities

ConclusionA new dimension to the mechanism of

thoughtBased on Cogency (refutes Bayesian model)If proved correct

Better insight into human cognitionWill redefine the outlook towards various AI

problemsRadical improvement in present ML techniques

ReferencesRobert Hecht-Nielson, Cogent Confabulation,

Neural Networks Letter, 2004Robert Hecht-Nielson, Confabulation Theory:

A Synopsis, Institute for Neural Computation, 2005

Robert Hecht-Nielson, The Mechanism of Thought, International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, 2006

scholarpedia.org/confabulation

ThanQ“Animal cognition maximizes cogency, and in

a non-logic environment, cogency maximization implements what I call the ‘duck test.’" - Robert Hecht-Nielson

“There must be some event that triggers every behavioral event, and it had to be the same in every instance, whether we're thinking, moving, or whatever." - Robert Hecht-Nielson