Brain and cognitive sciences

Study of the human brain and cognitive sciences can help us understand how humans use information and thus how computers can and/or should. These studies can lead us in creating systems that are easier for humans to understand and use and they may even help us model systems that mimic or even approach artificial intelligence. Since the ontological model of intelligence and formal semantics reflect basic truths about how our minds think and work, theories for Computer Science and solutions for the Semantic Web stand to be greatly enriched by a reverence for these sciences.

Jeff Hawkins: Brain science is about to fundamentally change computing
To date, there hasn't been an overarching theory of how the human brain really works, Jeff Hawkins argues in this compelling talk. That's because we still haven't defined intelligence accurately. But one thing's for sure, he says: The brain isn't like a powerful computer processor. It's more like a memory system that records everything we experience and helps us predict, intelligently, what will happen next. Bringing this new brain science to computer devices will enable powerful new applications – and it will happen sooner than you think.

MIT OpenCourseWare - Brain and Cognitive Sciences
The human brain is the most complex, sophisticated, and powerful information-processing device known. To study its complexities, the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology combines the experimental technologies of neurobiology, neuroscience, and psychology, with the theoretical power that comes from the fields of computational neuroscience and cognitive science.