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Main Authors: McGrath, Sam Whitman, Russin, Jacob
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.13231
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author McGrath, Sam Whitman
Russin, Jacob
author_facet McGrath, Sam Whitman
Russin, Jacob
contents The multiple realizability thesis holds that psychological states may be implemented in a diversity of physical systems. The deep learning revolution seems to be bringing this possibility to life, offering the most plausible examples of man-made realizations of sophisticated cognitive functions to date. This paper explores the implications of deep learning models for the multiple realizability thesis. Among other things, it challenges the widely held view that multiple realizability entails that the study of the mind can and must be pursued independently of the study of its implementation in the brain or in artificial analogues. Although its central contribution is philosophical, the paper has substantial methodological upshots for contemporary cognitive science, suggesting that deep neural networks may play a crucial role in formulating and evaluating hypotheses about cognition, even if they are interpreted as implementation-level models. In the age of deep learning, multiple realizability possesses a renewed significance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_13231
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multiple Realizability and the Rise of Deep Learning
McGrath, Sam Whitman
Russin, Jacob
Artificial Intelligence
The multiple realizability thesis holds that psychological states may be implemented in a diversity of physical systems. The deep learning revolution seems to be bringing this possibility to life, offering the most plausible examples of man-made realizations of sophisticated cognitive functions to date. This paper explores the implications of deep learning models for the multiple realizability thesis. Among other things, it challenges the widely held view that multiple realizability entails that the study of the mind can and must be pursued independently of the study of its implementation in the brain or in artificial analogues. Although its central contribution is philosophical, the paper has substantial methodological upshots for contemporary cognitive science, suggesting that deep neural networks may play a crucial role in formulating and evaluating hypotheses about cognition, even if they are interpreted as implementation-level models. In the age of deep learning, multiple realizability possesses a renewed significance.
title Multiple Realizability and the Rise of Deep Learning
topic Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.13231