A Framework for Representing
Knowledge
Marvin Minsky (1981 and earlier)
Proposal
• Frames: A data structure for representing a
stereotyped situation
• Contains:
– how to use the information
– what to expect next
– what to do if expections not confirmed
• “network of nodes and relations” (slots and fillers)
– fillers annotated with contraints (e.g. data types)
Proposal (cont)
• The units of reasoning should be bigger “chunks”
than just collections of simple fragments.
• A frame is a data structure representing a
sterotypical situation
• Syntactically, a frame has slots and fillers
• Fillers can have constraints specified for them
• Frames can denote different viewpoints of the
same scene
• Expectations play a key role
A Framework for Representing
Knowledge
• Main Thesis:
– “Most theories in AI have been too minute,
local and unstructured to account for the
effectiveness of common-sense thought. The
“chunks” of reasoning, language, memory, and
perception ought to be larger and more
structured. Their factual and procedural
contents must be more intimately connected.”