Giant brains; or, Machines that think

by Edmund Callis Berkeley

Compares group after group of observations with the information in the memory.

Compares these groups with patterns furnished, or seeks to organize the observations into patterns.

Counts cases and tests frequencies.

Finds out how much matching with patterns there is.

Tunes the observing instruments in ways to increase matching.

Fig. 2. Scheme of an automatic recognizer.

4. Program 2. The element “Program 2” performs another set of standard instructions. Under these instructions, the machine, if it is tuned well, matches sets of observations one after another with the patterns and so reads them.

5. Triggering Control. This element shifts the control of the machine from Program 1 to Program 2. It does this when the machine reaches “good matching.” We shall set the meaning of this into the machine in much the same way as we set “warm” into a thermostat.

6. Output. This element performs any action that we want, depending on recognized patterns read and any other knowledge or instructions stored in the memory.