Biological and artificial intelligence

The paper discusses the characteristics of Biological Intelligence (BI) and its differences with artificial intelligence. In particular the plasticity of the nervous system is considered in the different forms with special attention to deterministic and localizationist views of the brain vs holistic approaches. When memory and learning are considered the localizationist views do not offer a possible solution to a number of problems while memory may be better conceptualized in terms of categorization procedures and generalizing strategies. Finally, the problem of individual variability, an important feature in terms of BI, is considered. The legitimacy of analogies between BI and AI is discussed and the necessity for an innovative approach to the field of AI is stressed.