Does it matter how an AI encodes information?

One of the fundamental things you need for an AI is a way to encode information about the world. You need a data structure.

Computer programmers are used to arrays, hashes, linked lists, trees, etc. But the question arises: How does the brain do it? And is that an important consideration?

One of my theses is that the data structure used will have a significant impact on the process of developing an AI and, ultimately, the end result. Said differently, I theorize that intelligent algorithms arise quite naturally out of the "right" data structure, and much more unnaturally out of the "wrong" data structure.