The graph shows how the similarity selection function is gauging the meaning of words when selecting relevant background knowledge to help solving a problem. The selected parts of this knowledge are added to the logic formulae which describe the problem and are being fed to the automated reasoning system, that is, to the reasoner.
The Theater of Consciousness
The above-described mechanism for processing very large amounts of knowledge turns out to share many features with Bernard Baars' Global Workspace Theory (GWT), which since its conception in the 1980s has gained a prominent place in the fields of psychology and philosophy as one of the theories for explaining consciousness.
The theory departs from the observation that the human brain has a very limited working memory. Humans can actively manipulate approximately seven separate things at the same time within their working memory. This is an astonishing small number of tasks considering the large amount of more than 100 billion neurons in a human brain. Another variable is that human attentiveness is limited to only one single stream of input. For example, one can listen attentively only to one speaker at any one time. This also means, for instance, that one cannot have a thoughtful conversation with a passenger while driving in heavy traffic, and so on. At the same time there are numerous processes running in parallel yet unconsciously so. Global Workspace Theory uses the metaphor of a theater to model how consciousness enables humans to handle the huge amount of knowledge, memories, and sensory input that the brain is controlling at every moment.
Proponents of the Global Workspace Theory assume a theater consisting of a stage, an attentional spotlight shining at the stage, actors which represent the contents, an audience, and some people behind the scene. In a nutshell, the functionality of these components is as follows:
The stage. The working memory consists of verbal and imagined items. Most parts of the working memory are inactive, hidden in the dark, yet there are a few active items that are usually contained in
2680 (2020), 12–26, here p. 20, https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2680/paper2.pdf.
the short-term memory.
The spotlight of attention. This bright spotlight helps in guiding and navigating through the working memory. Humans can shift it at will, by imagining things or events.
The actors. This is the crew of the working memory; crew members are competing against each other to gain access to the spotlight of attention.
The audience. The audience represents the vast collection of specialized knowledge. It can be considered as a kind of long-term memory and consists of specialized properties, which are unconscious. Navigation through this part of the knowledge is done mostly unconsciously. This part of the theater is additionally responsible for interpretation of certain contents such as objects, faces, or speech—there are some unconscious automatisms occurring in the audience.
Context behind the scene. Behind the scenes, the director coordinates the show while stage designers and make-up artists prepare the next scenes.
The automated reasoning system discussed in the previous section exhibits remarkable parallels with the Global Workspace Theory. The data structure representing logical formulae corresponds to the stage, while the spotlight represents the mechanism that selects portions of the formulae, the actors, for inferences. Behind the scenes, heuristics and strategies prepare the next logical inference steps, while the audience corresponds to the background knowledge.
Even though the Global Workspace Theory uses a theater metaphor, it is nonetheless very different from a model such as the Cartesian theater in which René Descartes advanced the thesis that there is a certain region within the brain, a homunculus, which accounts for the location of consciousness. In Baars' theater, the entire brain is the theater and hence there is no special location responsible for human consciousness as it is the entire integrated structure which is conscious.
While there are numerous other approaches to understanding consciousness, it is important to note that when discussing this subject matter, the brain cannot be separated from the body, which is situated in the world.
Conclusion
In this essay I show how automated reasoning is a fundamental aspect of symbolic AI by way of exploring
