Eric Baum
Encyclopedia
Eric B. Baum is an American
computer scientist
, artificial intelligence
researcher and author. He is known for his materialist and evolutionist theories of intelligence and consciousness
, set forth in his 2004 book What is Thought? (ISBN 0262524570).
In his book, Baum claims that intelligence
, consciousness
, qualia
and free will
are fully explained by evolution's mandate to "exploit the compact structure of the world." He argues that meaning and semantics
arise whenever a compact description or program correctly captures a large amount of data. He sees the mind as composed of computational modules that are "meaningful" in this sense, found and improved by evolution over large time spans and largely encoded in the genome
. The genome, in his view, also provides guidance ("inductive bias
") to the very fast learning processes that occur during an organism's lifetime. Further the genome provides a complex of evaluation function
s to guide the organism's decision processes, with the ultimate goal of maximizing propagation of the genes. The illusion of free will is seen as arising from the necessity to model future decisions of oneself and other actors, decisions that are guided by wants and desires but cannot be fully predicted. He has also developed software inspired by his theories, including Hayek, an evolutionary system that can solve large blocks world
problems (named for economist Friedrich Hayek
due to a bidding mechanism used by the program).
Baum was awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees by Harvard University
and a Ph.D.
in physics
by Princeton University
. He has worked at the NEC Research Institute since 1990.
He is the son of Leonard Baum, co-creator of the Baum–Welch algorithm.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer scientist
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
researcher and author. He is known for his materialist and evolutionist theories of intelligence and consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
, set forth in his 2004 book What is Thought? (ISBN 0262524570).
In his book, Baum claims that intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
, consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
, qualia
Qualia
Qualia , singular "quale" , from a Latin word meaning for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to refer to subjective conscious experiences as 'raw feels'. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, the experience of taking a recreational drug, or the...
and free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
are fully explained by evolution's mandate to "exploit the compact structure of the world." He argues that meaning and semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
arise whenever a compact description or program correctly captures a large amount of data. He sees the mind as composed of computational modules that are "meaningful" in this sense, found and improved by evolution over large time spans and largely encoded in the genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
. The genome, in his view, also provides guidance ("inductive bias
Inductive bias
The inductive bias of a learning algorithm is the set of assumptions that the learner uses to predict outputs given inputs that it has not encountered ....
") to the very fast learning processes that occur during an organism's lifetime. Further the genome provides a complex of evaluation function
Evaluation function
An evaluation function, also known as a heuristic evaluation function or static evaluation function, is a function used by game-playing programs to estimate the value or goodness of a position in the minimax and related algorithms...
s to guide the organism's decision processes, with the ultimate goal of maximizing propagation of the genes. The illusion of free will is seen as arising from the necessity to model future decisions of oneself and other actors, decisions that are guided by wants and desires but cannot be fully predicted. He has also developed software inspired by his theories, including Hayek, an evolutionary system that can solve large blocks world
Blocks world
The blocks world is one of the most famous planning domains in artificial intelligence. The program was created by Terry Winograd and is a limited-domain natural-language system that can understand typed commands and move blocks around on a surface....
problems (named for economist Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
due to a bidding mechanism used by the program).
Baum was awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
by Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He has worked at the NEC Research Institute since 1990.
He is the son of Leonard Baum, co-creator of the Baum–Welch algorithm.
External links
- What is Thought book page.
- Papers by Eric Baum.