The brain is a computer is a brain: neuroscience's internal debate and the social significance of the Computational Metaphor
Alexis T. Baria (1), Keith Cross (2) ((1) Society of Spoken Art,, New York, USA, (2) University of Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, USA)

TL;DR
This paper examines the widespread use of the Computational Metaphor in neuroscience and AI, questioning its scientific validity and exploring its societal impacts, including potential biases and ethical concerns.
Contribution
It highlights the social implications of the Computational Metaphor and calls for neuroscientists to consider its societal effects beyond scientific debates.
Findings
The metaphor influences societal perceptions of AI and neuroscience.
Concerns about bias and ethical issues linked to the metaphor.
Calls for a reevaluation of language used in AI and neuroscience.
Abstract
The Computational Metaphor, comparing the brain to the computer and vice versa, is the most prominent metaphor in neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI). Its appropriateness is highly debated in both fields, particularly with regards to whether it is useful for the advancement of science and technology. Considerably less attention, however, has been devoted to how the Computational Metaphor is used outside of the lab, and particularly how it may shape society's interactions with AI. As such, recently publicized concerns over AI's role in perpetuating racism, genderism, and ableism suggest that the term "artificial intelligence" is misplaced, and that a new lexicon is needed to describe these computational systems. Thus, there is an essential question about the Computational Metaphor that is rarely asked by neuroscientists: whom does it help and whom does it harm? This essay…
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsAction Observation and Synchronization · Child and Animal Learning Development · Neuroscience, Education and Cognitive Function
