Frame problem - Definition and Overview

In artificial intelligence, the frame problem has a number of possible formulations. One of the most common is that it is the question of how to determine efficiently which things remain the same in a changing world. John McCarthy and Patrick J. Hayes introduced the term "frame problem" in their 1969 essay, Some Philosophical Problems from the Standpoint of Artificial Intelligence.

The name 'frame problem' was coined for this phenomenon because of a common technique used by cartoon makers called framing where the currently moving parts of the cartoon are superimposed on the "frame" or the surroundings which do not change.

From its origins as a special problem in AI, it now has a broader meaning in philosophy and knowledge representation.

According to J. van Brakel, some other problems that are related to, or more specific versions of, the frame problem include the following:

• extended prediction problem
• holism problem
• inertia problem
• installation problem
• planning problem
• persistence problem
• qualification problem
• ramification problem
• relevance problem
• temporal projection problem

Suggested solutions to the frame problem include satisficing, heuristics, and rational ignorance.

See also

• combinatorial explosion
• common sense
• non-monotonic logic

External link

• The Frame Problem (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frame-problem/) at the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.
• Some Philosophical Problems from the Standpoint of Artificial Intelligence (http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/mcchay69/mcchay69.html); the original article of McCarthy and Hayes that proposed the problem.
• Robotics and the common sense informatic situation (http://www.iis.ee.ic.ac.uk/~mpsha/roboticsECAI96.pdf) presents solution to the frame problem