Imagining Imagination: A Computational Framework Using Associative Memory Models and Vector Space Models

Imagination is considered an important component of the creative process, and many psychologists agree that imagination is based on our perceptions, experiences, and conceptual knowledge, recombining them into novel ideas and impressions never before experienced. As an attempt to model this account of imagination, we introduce the Associative Conceptual Imagination (ACI) framework that uses associative memory models in conjunction with vector space models. ACI is a framework for learning conceptual knowledge and then learning associations between those concepts and artifacts, which facilitates imagining and then creating new and interesting artifacts. We discuss the implications of this framework, its creative potential, and possible ways to implement it in practice. We then demonstrate an initial prototype that can imagine and then generate simple images.