COMMON SENSE AND UNCERTAIN REASONING
Professor Jeff Paris, Department of Mathematics, Manchester University, Manchester

Abstract: The last twenty years has seen a considerable effort directed towards understanding and formalising`intelligent uncertain reasoning', such as we ourselves apparently aspire to on our good days, with the goal of implementing such reasoning within computer systems. Whilst it may not be immediately clear what we mean by `intelligent' it is usually painfully obvious when a mode of reasoning falls short of this ideal. In my talk I shall describe certain criteria of `common sense' whose observance is, I would assert, a prerequisite for intelligence (in a particular probability logic framework) both for computer systems as well as ourselves . I shall then go on to describe the rather far reaching consequences for `intelligent reasoning' of accepting these criteria. I shall aim to keep my talk non-technical and accessible to a wide audience.

This seminar was held at the Department of Computer Science, Royal Holloway, University of London on 24 January 2000.

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