BIG DATA ANALYTICS, MACHINE

LEARNING COGNITIVE
ALGORITHMS, AND THE MIND

Tutorial, INNS Big Data

8 Aug 2015

Prof. Leonid Perlovsky

Northeastern University, lperl@rcn.com

OUTLINE
The fundamental principles of the mind-brain
- The mind is more powerful than standard algorithms
- Can we learn from the mind?

Mathematical models and experiments

- Big Data in simple perception, concepts, instincts, emotions
- Big Data in learning situations, hierarchy

Cognitive algorithms and engineering applications

- Big Data in cybersecurity, gene-phenotype associations, medical
applications to disease diagnostics, financial predictions, data
mining in distributed data bases

Mind higher abilities, models and experiments

- language, cognition, intuitions, conscious and unconscious,
abilities for symbols, functions of the beautiful and musical
emotions

Future research directions

MIND FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Mechanisms of
- Instincts, emotions, concepts
- Hierarchy
Bottom-up and Top-down signals

Higher emotions and cognition

- The knowledge instinct
- Abstract concepts
- Beautiful

Language and cognition

- Interaction between L & C
- Emotions of prosody connect L & C
- Music emotions
Overcome cognitive dissonance, enable accumulating knowledge
Unify psyche divided by L

Few principles explain much about the mind

MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF CONCEPTS

Concepts are neural representations (memories)
Perception: match memories to sensor patterns
Mathematics: dynamic logic (DL)
- DL is a process-logic, from vague to crisp
- Vague representations match visual perceptions

Experimental proof
- Imagine an object (with closed eyes), it is vague
- Open eyes, crisp perception takes 0.6 sec
- M. Bar et al, 2006, PNAS; fMRI experiments at Harvard Brain Imaging Center;

- vague ~ unconscious

DYNAMIC LOGIC (DL)

Mathematical models of mind since the 1950s failed
- Artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, neural networks

Reason: Combinatorial Complexity (CC) of matching

memories and sensor patterns
- More computations than the size of the Universe

CC is equivalent to Gdelian incompleteness in a

finite system
- Logic is the reason for failures

DL, vague-to-crisp processes, eliminates CC

DYNAMIC LOGIC ILLUSTRATION

perception / detection of objects below noise

CC, unsolvable for decades, Big Data in simple perception

S/N ratio improved by 100 times

1 km

TRACKING OF MOVING OBJECTS

BELOW NOISE

Range

(a)
True
Tracks

Cross-Range

1 km

Initial state of model

2 iterations

Range

1 km

5 iterations

9 iterations

12 iterations

S/N improvement x 70

Converged state

INTEGRATE SIGNALS FROM 3 SENSORS, #1 (of 3)

(unsolvable since 1970s)

INTEGRATE SIGNALS FROM 3 SENSORS

Sensor #2 (of 3)

INTEGRATE SIGNALS FROM 3 SENSORS

Sensor #3 (of 3)

SITUATIONS (real Big Data)

objects

RANDOM ORDER

Situations (random)

each situation is a collection of objects

only few are relevant

LEARNING SITUATIONS

objects

SORTED DATA

Situations (sorted)

the DL algorithm found situations and

relevant objects

SITUATION LEARNING: ERRORS

convergence in 3 iterations

FINANCIAL MARKET PREDICITION

COGNITIVE ALGORITHMS AND

ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS
Engineering problems have been solved, unsolvable
for decades:
Patterns under noise
Tracking moving objects under noise
Integrating signals from multiple sensors
Real Big data
Learning and recognition of situations
Financial predictions
Data mining in disparate data sources
NEXT (real Big data)
Correlation of genes and diseases beyond 1 gene
Adaptive cybersecurity
Evolution and languages and cultures

CORRELATING GENES AND DISEASES

Whole genome data studies
- hundreds of thousands SNPs
- many diseases have been correlated to genes
- Still, in most successful correlations only few percents are
explained, even when the disease is known to be genetic,
why?

Several genes might be responsible

- How to find which genes relate to which disease?
- Sorting combinations => CC
- Find situations of genes using DL algorithm

ADAPTIVE CYBERSECURITY

features

41
1

sorted messages
by types of malware

119,610

MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF THE MIND

AND COGNITIVE ALGORITHMS

MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF INSTINCTS

AND EMOTIONS
Instincts
- Sensors measuring vital parameters
- Indicating safe range
- E.g. sugar level in blood

Emotions
- When unsafe, neural signals are sent to decision regions
- These neural signals are felt as emotions
- Low sugar level in blood is felt as emotion of hunger

Grossberg and Levine, 1987

KNOWLEDGE INSTINCT (KI)

Adequate representations are necessary for survival
KI drives to improve representations (knowledge)
KI mathematical model
- Maximize similarity between concepts and percepts
- Cannot be solved w/o DL

KI satisfaction aesthetic emotions

- related to knowledge not to bodily needs (spiritual)
- not only in museum, but in every act of perception

Experimental proof: these emotions exist and

different from other emotions (Cabanac et al, 2010)

HIERARCHY OF THE MIND

The highest model

abstract ideas

situations

objects

sensory-motor
signals

Interacting top-down and bottom-up

signals
Concepts at every level unify lowerlevel concepts

HIERARCHY OF THE MIND

The highest model

abstract ideas

situations

objects

sensory-motor
signals

Higher level abstract concepts are

- vague and unconscious
- only understood due to language
Concepts at every level unify lowerlevel concepts

HIERARCHY OF THE MIND

The highest model

abstract ideas

situations

Concepts at the top unify entire life

experience
- meaning of life
- understanding - satisfaction of KI
- emotion of the beautiful
Concepts of behavior
- emotion of the sublime

objects

sensory-motor
signals

Higher level abstract concepts are

- vague and unconscious
- only understood due to language
Concepts at every level unify lower-

LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

DUAL HIERARCHY
COGNITION

abstract ideas

situations

LANGUAGE

abstract
words/phrases

SURROUNDING
LANGUAGE

language
descriptions
of abstract
thoughts

words
words for objects

sensory-motor
signals

sensory-motor
language models

Cognition cannot be
learned w/o language
(1) abstract concepts do not
exist in the world

phrases

phrases for situations

objects

Language is crisp and

conscious w/o life
experience, because it exists
around ready-made

language
sounds

(2) cognition is only

grounded in experience
at the very bottom
()Experimental proof
(Binder 2006): concrete words
-> language & cognition,
abstract words -> only
language brain

EMOTIONS OF THE BEAUTIFUL

The highest aesthetic emotion, beautiful

- improvement of the highest concepts (at the top of
the hierarchy)
- feel emotion of beautiful

Beautiful
reminds
purposiveness
-

us

of

our

the top concepts unify all our experience

vague and unconscious
perceived as our purpose (aimless purposiveness)
scientific beauty valid and general theory (or
experiment)

Beauty is separate from sex

instincts)

(different

- sex uses all our abilities, including beauty

MUSICAL EMOTIONS
(C. Darwin: the greatest mystery)

Knowledge contradict to instincts and other knowledge

-

Cognitive dissonance, CD
-

Contradictions are unpleasant and usually discarded

Ancient Greeks new this 2600 years ago, Aesop: The Fox and the Grape
Fox cannot get the Grape, so the grape is sour
People discard contradictions

Discomfort due to holding contradictory knowledge

Contradictions are unpleasant and discarded
Every new word would be discarded before proved useful
For language to evolve, every word need a sweetener

Emotions of speech prosody (melody of intonation)

- A motivation to overcome CD
- Originally language was like songs
- Connects language and cognition

MUSICAL EMOTIONS
(C. Darwin: the greatest mystery)

Musical emotions help to

- Overcome CD, and create unity of mind
- Hold contradictory knowledge
- E.g. CD between trust, love, betrayal are addressed by many
songs

Why musical emotions are so powerful?

- Knowledge contradicts instincts and other knowledge

- We live in these contradictions
- Music enables human evolution

Experimental proof (Masataka et al 2012; Cabanac et al 2013)

-

Students at exams devote less time to difficult questions

To avoid stress, grades go down
With music in the background more time to difficult questions
Grades go up

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Mathematical development and simulation tests
DL in Hierarchy, Unifying mechanisms (synthesis)
Add prosody emotions to computer models of language & cognition evolution
Evolution of music
Joint evolution of language, cognition, music, and cultures

Psycholinguistic and cognitive experiments

Measure emotionality of various languages
Measure musical emotions

Cultural evolution study effects of languages and music

Improve human condition around the globe
Diagnose cultural states (up, down, stagnation), measure D, S, H
Develop predictive cultural models, integrate spiritual and material causes
Identify language and music effects that can advance consciousness and reduce tensions

Human-computer interaction, robotics

Acquire cultural knowledge
Enable culturally-sensitive communication
Help us understand ourselves
Help us understand each other

MATHEMATICAL DETAILS AND

OTHER TOPICS

Math. Model of the Mind (3)

Aristotle, Gdel, & Alexander the Great (1)

Intuition (2)

Evolution of Music and Consciousness (2)

Evolution of Culture (6)

Why Adam was expelled from paradise? (1)

Terrorists consciousness (1)

Future Directions (1)

MATH. MODEL OF TWO LAYERS

The knowledge instinct = maximize similarity

between signals and concepts (BU & TD)

Similarity between signals and concepts, L

L = l ({x}) =
n

l (x(n)) =

l (x(n))

r(m) l (x(n) | Mm(Sm,n))

l (x(n) | Mm(Sm,n)) is a conditional similarity for x(n) given m

{n} are not independent, M(n) may depend on n

CC: L contains MN items: all associations of

signals and concepts (LOGIC)

DYNAMIC LOGIC (DL)

non-combinatorial solution

Start with a set of signals and unknown concepts

- any parameter values Sm
- associate concepts with their contents (signals)
- (1) f(m|n) = r(m) l (n|m) /

r(m')
m'

l (n|m')

Improve parameter estimation

- (2) Sm = Sm +

f(m|n) [ln l (n|m)/Mm]*[Mm/Sm]

n

determines speed of convergence)

- learn signal-contents of concepts

Continue iterations (1)-(2). Theorem: DL converges

- similarity increases on each iteration
- aesthetic emotions are positive during learning

MATH. MODEL OF
LANGUAGE, COGNITION, & HIERARCHY

How language and cognition interact

- A concept m has vague cognitive and crisp language parts
Mm = { Mmcognitive, Mmlanguage };
- This model requires DL

Ontogenetic development
- Before 1-3 y.a. both representations are vague
- After 5 y.a. language is crisp, cognitive rep. are learned from
vague to crisp guided by language

Hierarchy, a product of similarity over layers, h

- L=

ARISTOTLE VS. GDEL

logic, forms, and DL

Aristotle
Logic: a supreme way of argument
Forms: representations in the mind
Form-as-potentiality evolves into form-as-actuality
Logic is valid for actualities, not for potentialities (Dynamic
Logic)

From Boole to Russell: formalization of

logic
Logicians eliminated from logic uncertainty of language
Hilbert (1900s): formalize rules of mathematical proofs

Gdel (the 1930s)

Logic is not consistent
Any statement can be proven true and false

Aristotle and Alexander the Great

INTUITION

Vague states of incomplete thinking-feelings

vague partly-conscious representations
conceptual and emotional contents
undifferentiated

Artistic intuition
composer: sounds and their relations to psyche
painter: colors, shapes and relations to psyche
writer: words and their relations to psyche

are

INTUITION: Physics vs. Math.

Mathematical intuition is about

- Structure and consistency within the theory

Physical intuition is about

- The real world, first principles of its organization,
and mathematics describing it

Beauty of a physical theory discussed

by physicists
- Related to satisfying the knowledge
instinct
the feeling of purpose in the world

DIFFERENTIATION AND
SYNTHESIS
The knowledge instinct in the mental hierarchy
Two mechanisms: differentiation and synthesis
Differentiation
Down the hierarchy: more detailed concepts
Separate concepts from emotions
Synthesis
Up the hierarchy, more unity, concepts closer to emotions
Connect knowledge to life
Connect concepts and emotions
Connect language and cognition
Meaning: concepts acquire meaning at the next level

EVOLUTION OF MUSIC AND

CONSCIOUSNESS

Melody of human voice contains vital information

About peoples world views and mutual compatibility
Exploits mechanical properties of human inner ear
Consonances and dissonances

Tonal system evolved (14th to 19th c.) for

Differentiation of emotions
Synthesis of conceptual and emotional
Bach integrates personal concerns with the highest

Pop-song is a mechanism of synthesis

Integrates conceptual (lyric) and emotional (melody)

Also, differentiates emotions
Bach concerns are too complex for many everyday needs
Human consciousness requires synthesis immediately

Rap is a simplified, but powerful mechanism of synthesis

Style and content like ancient Greek dithyrambs of Dionysian cult

EMOTIONALITY OF LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE
Conceptual content of culture: words, phrases
Easily borrowed among cultures

Emotional content of culture

In voice sound (melody of speech)
Determined by grammar
Cannot be borrowed among cultures

English language (Diff. > Synthesis)

Weak connection between conceptual and emotional (since 15 c)
Pragmatic, high culture, but may lead to loss of values and identity
crisis

Arabic language (Synthesis > Diff.)

Strong connection between conceptual and emotional
Cultural immobility, but strong feel of identity (synthesis)

CULTURAL EVOLUTION
HOW TO STUDY?

Large-scale simulations of systems of

autonomous agents, each agent with
cognition and language
- It is a significant effort, several Ph.D. dissertations

Mean-field theory
- A simplified mathematical solution
- Following physics many-body problems

MEAN FIELD THEORY

OF CULTURAL EVOLUTION

Differentiation, D, synthesis, S, hierarchy, H

dD/dt = a D G(S);

dS/dt = -bD + dH

Only few solutions

= H0 + e*t,

G(S) = (S - S0) exp(-(S-S0) / S1)

DYNAMIC CULTURE

Average synthesis, high differentiation; oscillating solution

Knowledge accumulates; no stability

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

High synthesis, low differentiation; stable solution

Stagnation, stability increases

INTERACTING CULTURES

Two cultures
dynamic and traditional
slow exchange by D and S

dDk/dt = ak Dk G(Sk) + xkDk

dSk/dt = -bkDk + dkHk + ykSk
Hk

= H0k + ek*t

INTERACTING CULTURES

Early: Dynamic culture affects traditional culture, no reciprocity

2) Later: 2 dynamic cultures stabilize each other
1)

Knowledge accumulation + stability

WHY ADAM WAS EXPELLED FROM

PARADISE?

God gave Adam the mind, but forbade to eat from the Tree of
Knowledge
All great philosophers and theologists from time immemorial
pondered this
Maimonides, 12th century
God wants people to think for themselves
Adam wanted ready-made knowledge
Thinking for oneself is difficult (this is our predicament)

Today we can approach this scientifically

Rarely we use the KI (at higher levels of the hierarchy)

Often we use ready-made heuristics, rules-of-thumb
Both are evolutionary adaptations
Cognitive effort minimization (CEM) is opposite to the KI

2002 Nobel Prize in Economics (work of Kahneman and Tversky)

Peoples choices are often irrational
Like Adam we use rules = cultural wisdom, not our own

TERRORISTS CONSCIOUSNESS

Ancient consciousness was fused

Concepts, emotions, and actions were one
Undifferentiated, fuzzy psychic structures

Psychic
outside

conflicts

were

unconscious

and

projected

Gods, other tribes, other people

Complexity of todays world is too much for many

Evolution of culture and differentiation
Internalization of conflicts: too difficult

Reaction: relapse into fused consciousness

Undifferentiated, fuzzy, but simple and synthetic

The recent terrorists consciousness is fused

European terrorists in the 19th century
Fascists in the 20th century
Current terrorists

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Mathematical development, and simulation tests
DL in Hierarchy, mechanisms of Synthesis
Add prosody emotions to computer models of language & cognition evolution
Evolution of music
Joint evolution of language, cognition, music, and cultures

Psycholinguistic and cognitive tests

Measure emotionality of various languages in labs
Measure musical emotions

Cultural evolution study effects of languages and music

Improve human condition around the globe
Diagnose cultural states (up, down, stagnation), measure D, S, H
Develop predictive cultural models, integrate spiritual and material causes
Identify language and music effects that can advance consciousness and reduce tensions

Human-computer interaction, robotics

Acquire cultural knowledge
Enable culturally-sensitive communication
Help us understand ourselves
Help us understand each other