Questions tagged [philosophy-of-computer-science]
27 questions
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Why is it impossible for a program or AI to have semantic understanding?
relatively new to philosophy.
This question is based on John Searle's Chinese Room Argument.
I find it odd that his main argument for why programs could not think was that because programs could only follow syntax rules but could not associate any…
Abraham
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Do computers use logic?
I know we refer to computers as using logic, logic gates and the like, but is this just us ascribing human capacities to the machines? It sounds like a case of us giving more meaning to the machines than they deserve. I've read about things like…
adkane
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What are some resources on the philosophy of computer science?
Are there any links between philosophy and computer science? What resources might be useful for a programmer learning philosophy?
Clippy
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Is there any philosophical theory behind the concept of object in computer science?
From - Object (computer science) - Wikipedia:
A language is usually considered object-based if it includes the basic capabilities for an object: identity, properties, and attributes. A language is considered object-oriented if it is object-based…
Ooker
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Why was intuitionist logic abandoned?
I have seen many questions discussing intuitionist logic (Brouwer, Weyl etc.) on the site.
However, this whole area of logic seems to be dead, and it also looks like philosophers / mathematicians / logicians don't even take it seriously (or am I…
Dennis Kozevnikoff
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Is AI in a Crisis of Science?
According to Thomas S. Kuhn in his classic work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions:
...'normal science' presupposes a conceptual and instrumental
framework or paradigm accepted by an entire scientific community ...
[T]he resulting mode of…
Roddus
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Anthropomorphism and AI
The human brain and computer based AI are vastly different systems. Although both may perform similar functions, the mechanisms are different: one is purely electrical and assembled, the other is bioelectrochemical and grown. If form follows…
user64314
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How can mathematical results impact the physical world?
In his 2007 book I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas Hofstadter uses an analogy based on a domino computer.
Indeed, it is possible to build logical doors made of dominoes (see e.g. here) and realize simple programs such as an adder (see here).
For…
thingsthatmighthavebeen
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Is Rule-Based Machine Learning an Example of Inductive Logic in the Philosophical Sense?
Human beings are capable of deciding upon rules based on intuitions and observations their neurons presumably provide (certainly metaphysical presumptuous). According to WP, this is inductive reasoning:
Inductive reasoning is a method of reasoning…
J D
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What is computation?
The most common definitions of computation I have seen are in terms of "what Turing Machines, Lambda Calculus, etc. do," which is unsatisfying. The definition of computable functions does not seem to be a definition of what computation itself, as a…
Tim Brown
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Can abstract concepts be represented by types in mathematics?
I am reading about type theory along with abstraction and am wondering how they relate. Am i right in thinking that an abstract concept (from the result of abstraction) can be represented by a type in type theory?
Richard Bamford
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How do we use topology to model knowledge?
The topology of knowledge: In this application, topological spaces are used to model the structure of knowledge, where the open sets correspond to coherent bodies of knowledge and the closure operation represents the process of inference.
I've heard…
Sayaman
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Can the brain be considered an analog computer?
Some people consider the brain a computer. Like brain philosopher D. Hofstadter. In a public talk he gave he tried to do anything to show that. Including tackling opponents. But he couldn't convince (that is, me). Hofstadter is a computer scientists…
user53283
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6 answers
Is it immoral/ethically wrong to torture an AI that thinks it's human?
So this question stems from the Black Mirror episode I watched. On one hand it's just computer code so who really cares, but on the other it really thinks it is human and thinks it has feelings.
What are some references to philosophical discussions…
user28917
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Help understanding this bit of philosophy in this paper
I was reading about data structuring in computer science in this paper "Record Handling C.A.R. Hoare" when he outlined some philosophy about the properties of objects that I'm struggling to understand, please help.
In section 1.2. he writes the…
Richard Bamford
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