Assigning meaning to data: Using sparse distributed memory for multilevel cognitive tasks

It is shown how a single homogeneous SDM memory can be organized to link between low level information and high level correlations. To illustrate this, we report on experiments run in a unified memory retrieval system, that combined pattern recognition of individual English characters followed by the assignment of ‘meaning’ to a string by giving it a Hebrew translation. Symmetry allows the reverse action on the same memory (i.e. Hebrew character identification followed by translation of a string to English).