{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,6]],"date-time":"2026-04-06T07:04:36Z","timestamp":1775459076925,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,24]],"date-time":"2013-12-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1387843200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This article describes existing and expected benefits of the SP theory ofintelligence, and some potential applications. The theory aims to simplify and integrate ideasacross artificial intelligence, mainstream computing, and human perception and cognition,with information compression as a unifying theme. It combines conceptual simplicitywith descriptive and explanatory power across several areas of computing and cognition.In the SP machine\u2014an expression of the SP theory which is currently realized in theform of a computer model\u2014there is potential for an overall simplification of computingsystems, including software. The SP theory promises deeper insights and better solutions inseveral areas of application including, most notably, unsupervised learning, natural languageprocessing, autonomous robots, computer vision, intelligent databases, software engineering,information compression, medical diagnosis and big data. There is also potential inareas such as the semantic web, bioinformatics, structuring of documents, the detection ofcomputer viruses, data fusion, new kinds of computer, and the development of scientifictheories. The theory promises seamless integration of structures and functions within andbetween different areas of application. The potential value, worldwide, of these benefits andapplications is at least $190 billion each year. Further development would be facilitatedby the creation of a high-parallel, open-source version of the SP machine, available toresearchers everywhere.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/info5010001","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,24]],"date-time":"2013-12-24T09:06:57Z","timestamp":1387876017000},"page":"1-27","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["The SP Theory of Intelligence: Benefits and Applications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"5","author":[{"given":"J.","family":"Wolff","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CognitionResearch.org, Menai Bridge LL59 5LR, UK"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Wolff, J.G. (2006). Unifying Computing and Cognition: The SP Theory and Its Applications, CognitionResearch.org."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.3390\/info4030283","article-title":"The SP theory of intelligence: An overview","volume":"4","author":"Wolff","year":"2013","journal-title":"Information"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"According to this criterion, a good theory in a given area lies somewhere between things which are simple but very general\u2014Such as the laws of arithmetic\u2014And over-specific \u201ctheories\u201d that simply repeat what it is they are meant to explain."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Hence the name \u201cSP\u201d."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Barrow, J.D. (1992). Pi in the Sky, Penguin Books."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Similar things were said by Allen Newell about research in human perception and cognition, in his well-known essay on why \u201cYou can\u2019t play 20 questions with nature and win\u201d ([47]. See also [48,49]). And writing about machine technologies to augment our senses, John Kelly and Steve Hamm say \u201c... there\u2019s a strong tendence [for scientists] to view each sensory field in isolation as specialists focus only on a single sensory capability. Experts in each sense don\u2019t read journals devoted to the others, and they don\u2019t attend one another\u2019s conferences. ...\u201d [45] (p. 74)."},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"230","article-title":"On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem","volume":"42","author":"Turing","year":"1936","journal-title":"Proc. Lond. Math. Soc."},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"544","article-title":"On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem. A correction","volume":"42","author":"Turing","year":"1936","journal-title":"Proc. Lond. Math. Soc."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"433","DOI":"10.1093\/mind\/LIX.236.433","article-title":"Computing machinery and intelligence","volume":"59","author":"Turing","year":"1950","journal-title":"Mind"},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Dreyfus, H.L. (1972). What Computers Can\u2019t Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason, Harper and Row. Revised in 1979."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Dreyfus, H.L. (1992). What Computers Still Can\u2019t Do, MIT Press."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"The latest version is SP70."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Even in systems such as DBMSs or expert-system shells, mentioned above, the domain-specific knowledge which is loaded into the system may be regarded as part of the software."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"The reason for putting \u201cCPU\u201d in quote marks in the lower part of Figure 3 is that an SP machine may not have a discrete central processing unit like a conventional computer. The SP system is probably better suited to a \u201cdata-centric\u201d style [45] (pp. 87\u201393), with a closer integration of data and processing than in conventional computers."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"596","DOI":"10.1016\/j.datak.2006.04.003","article-title":"Towards an intelligent database system founded on the SP theory of computing and cognition","volume":"60","author":"Wolff","year":"2007","journal-title":"Data Knowl. Eng."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Levy, Y., Schlesinger, I.M., and Braine, M.D.S. (1988). Categories and Processes in Language Acquisition, Lawrence Erlbaum."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Available online: www.cognitionresearch.org\/lang learn.html."},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Bach, E., and Harms, R.T. (1968). Universals in Linguistic Theory, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"See, for example, \u201cInterlingual machine translation\u201d, Wikipedia, \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bit.ly\/RlTcHU\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t         retrieved 31 May 2013."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"That number may be reduced if one or more languages are used as stepping stones to the translation of others."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"This reference to autonomous robots does not in any way endorse or defend the unethical or illegal use of airborne drones or other autonomous robots to cause death, injury, or damage to property."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"33","article-title":"Computational pool: A new challenge for game theory pragmatics","volume":"31","author":"Archibald","year":"2010","journal-title":"AI Mag."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wolff, J.G. (2013). Application of the SP theory of intelligence to the understanding of natural vision and the development of computer vision 2013, unpublished work.","DOI":"10.1186\/2193-1801-3-552"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Szeliski, R. (2011). Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-84882-935-0"},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"As with information compression, a focus on the isolation of discrete objects in binocular vision is distinct from the more usual interest in the way that slight differences between the two images enables us to see the scene in depth."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.1979.0029","article-title":"A computational theory of human stereo vision","volume":"204","author":"Marr","year":"1979","journal-title":"Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B"},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"The Ames room illusion shows that human vision does not always yield an accurate knowledge of 3D structures (see, for example, Wikipedia, \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ames_room\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t         retrieved 4 December 2013)."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Related work includes \u201cprocess mining\u201d as in, for example, the \u201cProM\u201d system, \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bit.ly\/13iS2Ch"},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"See, for example, \u201cProgramming by demonstration\u201d, Wikipedia,  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bit.ly\/121GrKJ\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t           retrieved 6 June 2013."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Notice that the distinction, just referenced, between domain-specific knowledge and MUP instructions is different from the often-made distinction between declarative programming and imperative or procedural programming. It is envisaged that the SP machine would reduce or eliminate the MUP instructions in software but that it would be able to model both the declarative \u201cwhat\u201d and (Section 6.6.1) the procedural \u201chow\u201d of the real world."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Giltner, M., Mueller, J.C., and Fiest, R.R. (1983). Data Compression, Encryption, and in-Line Transmission System. (4,386,416), U.S. Patent."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Storer, J.A. (1988). Data Compression: Methods and Theory, Computer Science Press."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"See, for example, \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   Data jam threat to UK mobile networks\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   BBC News\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          16\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          November\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          2012\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bbc.in\/T5g14s"},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"See, for example, \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTVs will need retuning again to make room for mobile services\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   The Guardian\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          16\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          November\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          2012\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bit.ly\/ZZ9N8C"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"608","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dss.2005.02.005","article-title":"Medical diagnosis as pattern recognition in a framework of information compression by multiple alignment, unification and search","volume":"42","author":"Wolff","year":"2006","journal-title":"Decis. Support Syst."},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Wolff, J.G. (2013). The management and analysis of big data, and the SP theory of intelligence 2013, unpublished work."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J., and Lassila, O. (2001). The Semantic Web. Scientific American, 35\u201343.","DOI":"10.1038\/scientificamerican0501-34"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1109\/MIS.2006.62","article-title":"The semantic web revisited","volume":"21","author":"Shadbolt","year":"2006","journal-title":"IEEE Intell. Systems"},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"See also W3C information about the semantic web at http:\/\/bit.ly\/1bX7Nv."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.1016\/j.websem.2008.04.001","article-title":"Managing uncertainty and vagueness in description logics for the Semantic Web","volume":"6","author":"Lukasiewicz","year":"2008","journal-title":"Web Semant. Sci. Serv. Agents World Wide Web"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0019-9958(64)90223-2","article-title":"A formal theory of inductive inference. Parts I and II","volume":"7","author":"Solomonoff","year":"1964","journal-title":"Inf. Control"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1093\/comjnl\/11.2.185","article-title":"An information measure for classification","volume":"11","author":"Wallace","year":"1968","journal-title":"Comput. J."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"465","DOI":"10.1016\/0005-1098(78)90005-5","article-title":"Modelling by the shortest data description","volume":"14","author":"Rissanen","year":"1978","journal-title":"Autom. J. IFAC"},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"See, for example, \u201cNot like us: Artificial minds we can\u2019t understand\u201d, New Scientist,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  August\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          2013\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bit.ly\/15m1cnm\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t           As noted in Section 6.5 of this article, transparency in the SP system, in both the representation of knowledge and in reasoning, may prove useful where evidence needs to be examined in a court of law."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kelly, J.E., and Hamm, S. (2013). Smart Machines: IBM\u2019s Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing, Columbia University Press.","DOI":"10.7312\/kell16856"},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"Expected to be $3.8 trillion by 2014 (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGartner: Big data will help drive IT spending to $3.8 trillion in 2014\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInfoWorld\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  January\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          2013\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          available online: http:\/\/bit.ly\/Z00SBr\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        )"},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"Chase, W.G. (1973). Visual Information Processing, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"425","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X00069478","article-title":"Pr\u00e9cis of Unified Theories of Cognition","volume":"15","author":"Newell","year":"1992","journal-title":"Behav. Brain Sci."},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"Newell, A. (1990). Unified Theories of Cognition, Harvard University Press."}],"container-title":["Information"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/5\/1\/1\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T21:51:37Z","timestamp":1760219497000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2078-2489\/5\/1\/1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,24]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,3]]}},"alternative-id":["info5010001"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/info5010001","relation":{},"ISSN":["2078-2489"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2078-2489","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,24]]}}}