AI Agents & Applications · advanced · concept 262 of 311 · Updated Nov 4, 2026
Cognitive Architectures
A cognitive architecture is a blueprint for a whole mind: how memory, attention, planning and action fit together. Soar, ACT-R and the belief-desire-intention model came from trying to model human thinking and build general agents. Today's AI agents are rediscovering many of the same parts, including working memory and goal stacks, so this older work is worth reading.
Key terms
SoarACT-RBelief-desire-intentionBlackboard systemWorking memory
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Where you meet it in the real world
Agent design, human behavior simulation, training simulators
Guides and articles
Soar cognitive architecture ↗
University of Michigan