arXiv AI

Fodor and Pylyshyn's Systematicity Challenge Still Stands

arXiv:2606. 14512v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The recent successes of neural networks producing human-like language have caused significant stir in cognitive science, with many researchers arguing that classical puzzles about human cognition and challenges to artificial intelligence are being solved by neural networks.

arXiv AI
Aug 17

Modular Cognitive Architecture Emerges in Large Language Models

arXiv:2608. 13567v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The human brain exhibits a striking degree of functional specialization, with distinct networks supporting language, formal reasoning, reasoning about other minds, and reasoning about the physical world.

By Pengrui Han, Jacob Andreas, Evelina Fedorenko, Andrea Gregor de Varda
arXiv AI
Jul 20

Verbalizable Representations Form a Global Workspace in Language Models

arXiv:2607. 15495v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Out of everything the human brain processes, only a small fraction is consciously accessible, in the sense of being available for verbal report, deliberate control, and flexible reasoning.

By Wes Gurnee, Nicholas Sofroniew, Adam Pearce, Mateusz Piotrowski, Isaac Kauvar, Runjin Chen, Anna Soligo, Paul Bogdan, Euan Ong, Rowan Wang, Ben Thompson, David Abrahams, Subhash Kantamneni, Emmanuel Ameisen, Joshua Batson, Jack Lindsey
arXiv AI
Jun 3

Identifying Quantum Structure in AI Language: Evidence for Evolutionary Convergence of Human and Artificial Cognition

arXiv:2511. 21731v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We present the results of cognitive tests on conceptual combinations, performed using specific Large Language Models (LLMs) as test subjects.

By Diederik Aerts, Jonito Aerts Argu\"elles, Lester Beltran, Suzette Geriente, Roberto Leporini, Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi, Sandro Sozzo
arXiv Computation and Language
Sep 18

Generalization through Lexical Abstraction in Transformer Models: The Case of Functional Words

The study investigates whether pretrained transformer models encode functional words—such as pronouns and adverbs—in a way that mirrors human usage. By comparing embeddings of nouns with those of their functional counterparts in both isolated and parallel sentences, the authors find that functional words occupy a central yet distinct position in embedding space and that parallel lexicalized and functional sentences reside in different subspaces. Experiments show that only a mixed training set of functional and lexicalized sentences reveals shared syntactic and semantic structure, whereas training on either type alone fails to capture this parallelism.

By Giuseppe Samo, Vivi Nastase, Paola Merlo