Includes bibliographical references (p. 334-359) and indexes.

1. Introduction -- 2. Metaphor in practice -- 3. Machinery and dynamics -- 4. Abstraction and implementation -- 5. The digital abstraction -- 6. Dependency maintenance -- 7. Rule system -- 8. Planning and improvisation -- 9. Running arguments -- 10. Experiments with running arguments -- 11. Representation and indexicality -- 12. Deictic representation -- 13. Pengi -- 14. Conclusion.

This book offers a critical reconstruction of the fundamental ideas and methods of artificial intelligence research. Through close attention to the metaphors of AI and their consequences for the field's patterns of success and failure, it argues for a reorientation of the field away from thought in the head and toward activity in the world. By considering computational ideas in a philosophical framework, the author eases critical dialogue between technology and the humanities and social sciences. AI can benefit from new understandings of human nature, and in return, it offers a powerful mode of investigation into the practicalities and consequences of physical realization.

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