Nick Byrd, Ph.D.
@ByrdNick@nerdculture.de  ·  activity timestamp 4 weeks ago

How are concepts like 'reasoning' and 'inference' defined?

#Philosophy has definitions that go way back (e.g., in #epistemology and #PhilMind). Now #computerScience are realizing a need for definitions.

This #openAccess#CS review takes a crack at them: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2504.15900

"...we formalize reasoning as a structured, multi-step process that dynamically decomposes complex problems, generates intermediate hypotheses, and iteratively refines solutions through logical and evidence-based transformations." "While inference I constitutes a single-step conditional probabilÎ𝑡=1 𝑇 ity computation 𝑃( 𝑦 |𝑥) = 𝑃( 𝑦 𝑡 |𝑥, 𝑦 <𝑡 ), reasoning R implements a meta-process coordinating multiple inference calls through explicit state management R(𝑥) = Φ 1 ◦ Φ 2 ◦ · · ·◦Φ 𝑛(𝑥). T"
"...we formalize reasoning as a structured, multi-step process that dynamically decomposes complex problems, generates intermediate hypotheses, and iteratively refines solutions through logical and evidence-based transformations." "While inference I constitutes a single-step conditional probabilÎ𝑡=1 𝑇 ity computation 𝑃( 𝑦 |𝑥) = 𝑃( 𝑦 𝑡 |𝑥, 𝑦 <𝑡 ), reasoning R implements a meta-process coordinating multiple inference calls through explicit state management R(𝑥) = Φ 1 ◦ Φ 2 ◦ · · ·◦Φ 𝑛(𝑥). T"
"...we formalize reasoning as a structured, multi-step process that dynamically decomposes complex problems, generates intermediate hypotheses, and iteratively refines solutions through logical and evidence-based transformations." "While inference I constitutes a single-step conditional probabilÎ𝑡=1 𝑇 ity computation 𝑃( 𝑦 |𝑥) = 𝑃( 𝑦 𝑡 |𝑥, 𝑦 <𝑡 ), reasoning R implements a meta-process coordinating multiple inference calls through explicit state management R(𝑥) = Φ 1 ◦ Φ 2 ◦ · · ·◦Φ 𝑛(𝑥). T"