Projections as Concepts

Abstract

What do the first concepts look like? I propose that the earliest concepts learned by infants are abstractions of activities. The semantics of these concepts are predictive---a good abstraction is one that will help the infant predict reward. This idea has been implemented in several programs, in particular, as fluents in the Baby simulator and preimages in Coelho and Grupen 's robotics work. Additional examples and a longer version of this paper can be found at http://eksl-www.cs.umass.edu /research/conceptual-systems/index.html Keywords: Conceptual development One of the great mysteries of human development is how a sensorimotor neonate becomes a thinking child. Piaget documented the stages of infancy that lead to conceptual knowledge and he sketched mechanisms---assimilation and accommodation---that drive development [13]. Today his account is challenged partly because assimilation and accommodation are mechanisms only in a very weak and general sense, a bit like saying, "to win fo...