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The History and Evolution of Neural World Models: From Plato to Modern AI (1990-2015)

@SchmidhuberAI

2d ago· 37 min readenInsight

technology science artificial intelligence machine learning history

Summary

This technical note by Jürgen Schmidhuber traces the history and evolution of neural world models, from ancient philosophical concepts (Plato, Aristotle) through modern AI developments (1990-2015). It covers key milestones including the first world models in robotics, the development of predictive coding, reinforcement learning with internal models, and the theoretical foundations that led to today's generative AI systems. The piece positions world models as a central concept in AI that bridges philosophy, neuroscience, and machine learning.

Source

Twitter / XThe History and Evolution of Neural World Models: From Plato to Modern AI (1990-2015)people.idsia.ch

Key quotes

· 3 pulled

The concept of a mental model of the world—a world model—dates back millennia.

Plato suggested that we recognize objects by recollecting internal blueprints or templates, today often called internal representations.

Aristotle wrote that phantasia or mental images allow humans to imagine the future and to plan action sequences by mentally manipulating images.

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and their origins 1990-2015

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