4 Brain-style Computing

“If I Only Had a Brain” was a song sung by the Scarecrow in the classic 1939 musical film The Wizard of Oz. What the Scarecrow did not know was that he already had a brain and could hardly have talked or sung without one, but the brain was only two days old, and his real problem was a lack of experience. With time, he learned about the world and was eventually recognized as the wisest man in all of Oz, wise enough to know his own limitations. In contrast, the Tin Woodman sang “If I Only Had a Heart.” He and the Scarecrow debated which was more important, having a brain or having a heart. In Oz, as well as in the real world, cognition and emotion, both products of the brain, work together in a delicate balancing act with learning to create human intelligence. Drawing on this classic musical, the theme of this chapter is “If AI Only Had a Brain and a Heart.”