Machines like Us: Toward AI with Common Sense

320 Pages·2022·4.328 MB·English

by  Ronald J. Brachman, Hector J. Levesque

Machines like Us

Machines like Us
Toward AI with Common Sense
Ronald J. Brachman and Hector J. Levesque
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2022 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any
electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information
storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
The MIT Press would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers who provided
comments on drafts of this book. The generous work of academic experts is essential
for establishing the authority and quality of our publications. We acknowledge with
gratitude the contributions of these otherwise uncredited readers.
This book was set in ITC Stone Serif Std and ITC Stone Sans Std by New Best-set
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available.
Names: Brachman, Ronald J., 1949- author. | Levesque, Hector J., 1951- author.
Title: Machines like us : toward AI with common sense / Ronald J. Brachman and
Hector J. Levesque.
Description: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2022] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021031316 | ISBN 9780262046794 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Artificial intelligence. | Knowledge representation (Information
theory)
Classification: LCC Q335 .B695 2022 | DDC 006.3—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021031316
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Mom and Dad, for lifetimes of love.
— RJB
For my dear brothers John, Ray, and the late Peter and Paul.
— HJL

Contents
Preview ix
1 The Road to Common Sense 1
2 Common Sense in Humans 9
3 Expertise in AI Systems 25
4 Knowledge and Its Representation 51
5 A Commonsense Understanding of the World 67
6 Commonsense Knowledge 83
7 Representation and Reasoning, Part I 113
8 Representation and Reasoning, Part II 137
9 Common Sense in Action 159
10 Steps toward Implementation 183
11 Building Trust 197
Epilogue 215
Appendix 219
Bonus Chapter: The Logic of Common Sense 227
Acknowledgments 247
Notes 249
Bibliography 279
Index 297
About the Authors 305