Von Foerster meets Kohonen - approaches to artificial intelligence, cognitive science and information systems development
Timo Honkela
Kybernetes Volume 34, Number 1/2, pp. 40-53, 2005. ISSN 0368-492X

Abstract

In this article, some aspects of Heinz Von Foerster's work that are of particular importance for cognitive science and artificial intelligence are studied. Kohonen's self-organizing map is presented as one method that may be useful in implementing some of Von Foerster's ideas. The main foci are the distinction between trivial and non-trivial machines and the concept of constructive learning. The self-organizing map is also presented as a potential tool for alleviating the participatory crisis discussed by Von Foerster. In the end, the importance of considering change in information systems development is considered.

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