It's not so much that people need to learn to drive, it's that all people need to have their licenses revoked unless they can prove competence behind the wheel anually.
In the case of you thermostat, yes, I would consider it to have a certain level of intelligence.
Statements like this is why it is hard to take AI fanatics seriously. This statement reveals a form of anthropomorphism at best or an attempt at definitional ambiguity at worst. A thermostat is not intelligent. A thermostat (old style) takes advantage of materials science to make a switch close. Modern thermostats take other inputs into account (such as time of day or pricing information). However, the thermostat is not deciding(1) to change the temperature. It is opening or closing a switch based on a logic table or algorithm.
Further down in the discussion there was this exchange:
We will have true Artificial Intelligence when machines can do things that human beings do, not single cell organisms.
Such as? How about Chess, parallel parking, cross country driving? All things humans can do, now being done using AI.
None of these really exemplify AI.
Chess: See above. The chess engine does not decide what move to make. Chess was originally attacked as an AI problem however the solution that ended up being adopted is not a solution that utilizes artificial intelligence: all decisions are made by the programmer.
Parallel parking: This doesn't seem to need AI either. If the sensor input indicates that the car can fit in the space and the space is empty this is a controls problems.
Cross country driving: I don't realy know much about this one. Is the car making decisions or are the decisions pre-made?
I am open to suggestions that the driving problems are harder than I imagine.
As you can probably tell my requirements for AI are slightly different than yours. AI needs to make decisions (not just implement pre made decisions) on incomplete data and AI needs to learn.
Now, the field of AI is a little different than AI itself. The field of AI researches things that are thought might lead to AI. Expert systems, decision trees, evaluation functions are all the fruits of AI research, but they are not AI. While currently computer vision and controls seem to be the glamourous parts of AI research I think that Machine learning, Natural Language Processing and knowledge representation are more likely to lead to advances toward AI.
-- JimFive
1) Deciding in this case is used in a narrow sense requiring freedom of action.
As soldiers, we were legally obliged to deny direct orders if they were unlawful.
Was this ever effectively drilled, though? Were you occasionally given unlawful orders to test whether you would refuse to obey it? If so, were refusals accompanied by threats for failure to carry out the order? Were these tests given sporadically and without warning throughout your service career? -- JimFive
What other option is there? It's either polynomial (P) or not polynomial (NP), isn't it?
NP doesn't mean Not polynomial. It means NonDeterministic Polynomial. That is, solvable in Polynomial time by a Nondeterministic Finite Automata. As opposed to P which is solvable in Polynomial time by a Deterministic Finite Automata.
Polynomial time means that as the number of inputs (n) increase the time the algorithm takes to solve the problem increases by some constant exponent (e.g. n^2 or n^3). There is also Exponential time which means the algorithmic time increases by e.g. 2^n. In between Polynomial (n^2) and Exponential (2^n) there is 2^(log n)
-- JimFive
Probably not. But Barnes and Nobles was advertising a "rent an etextbook" deal around September where you paid less but it was time limited. I'm not really sure how it was implemented or whether it worked out for anyone. -- JimFive
Slightly off topic, but how do you like it. I took a look right after they came out and the interface seemed slow and clunky, especially browsing my library, which, in my mind, should not be using the network. I understand that they have added a search function to the library so having a lot of books isn't as cumbersome as it was. Right now I'm considering the Sony and the Nook. -- JimFive
I can browse the library's catalog online and have the books waiting for me by the time I show up. If my library doesn't have the book I can get it from another, for free.
I used to be able to do that. Now my local library charges a quarter per hold request, I haven't tried the interlibrary loan since they imposed the fee so I'm not sure what they charge for that.
I wondered why they imposed the fee (which on the one hand is annoying and on the other clearly doesn't pay for the service) but now I imagine that their goal was to free up employee time by stopping people from doing what you are doing. The library staff isn't really there to go collect the books off of the shelves for you. -- JimFive
You don't need regulation to do that, you need justice and law.
Umm...Laws are regulations.
I was going to leave it at that, but on further reflection decided that it would be better to expound.
Contracts are just pieces of paper without a government to decide what they mean and how they should be enforced. That deciding is codified in laws which regulate the writing and enforcement of contracts. You seem to be using some other definition of "regulation". But, really, what is that definition other than "laws I don't like"? Every law regulates the actions of some entity, that is all they can do.
Ray Kurzweil has been able to establish himself has the singularity/transhumanism guru despite due to being a latecomer and making no important intellectual contributions.
Now that isn't as large a problem as it may seem since it isn't like getting a fingerprint from someone and making a replica is the easiest thing in the world,
How many of your fingerprints exist on your laptop right now? How difficult can it be to lift those well enough to get past the cheapest bid fingerpring scanner on the laptop? (I picked on laptops because that is where I'm always seeing the fingerprint swipe used. Right past the full disk encryption. -- JimFive
to absolutely and 100% accurately predict the fall of a dice, you have to take into account every atom in the universe (see my example of the pool table).
I don't buy either example. At some reasonable range, probably measured in centimeters(or at most, meters), the external effects are so minute that they have no real effect on the motion of the dice, or the billiard ball. The fact that the billiard ball is cited from a popular book does not make it a credible statement. It is possible that the billiard ball example might be accurate in an idealized situation of perfectly elastic collisions and no friction, but that is hardly real life.
Apart from your anti-union bias, you are correct. But the solution is not to allow corporations a free hand. The solution is to treat all associations the same way - denying them the privilege of influencing the political process. The short version is: If you cannot vote in a particular election/race then you are not allowed to influence that election/race. No monetary or other donations, no political ads, nothing.
This should include all organizations including political parties, unions, corporations, churches, and any other group. -- JimFive
1. Bulk. A car is big, shipping is expensive. 2. If your part isn't at the assembly plant when it is needed and GM has to shut down the line, your company gets charged about $2000 per minute (might be more, now). With "Just in Time" inventory practices, no supplier would be willing to risk a long transport time. 3. Logistics (related to 2) When I worked for an auto supplier, orders were finalized no more than 3 weeks out. When I worked for the paper products company, product from China was shipped 3-6 months out. -- JimFive
the e-book is more technologically advanced than a printed book - no disputing that. But, it's not more convenient. With an e-book, you will always need a reader,
I think it is a mistake to compare a single ebook with a paper book. You are correct that a single ebook is not more convenenient due to all the things mentioned (file formats, batteries, fragility, etc.) However, the ebook reader replaces a library not a book. -- JimFive
Actually, Doyle was incredibly bad about not giving the reader all of the necessary information. A particularly egregious example is in the "Red-Haired Gentlemen's Club" (or whatever it's name is) where the missing tidbit of information is that the person had dirt on his trousers. Doyle rationalizes this because the reader only knows/observes what Watson knows/observes, if Watson is obtuse, then so is the reader. Christie's novels are almost all solvable by the reader with the information given in the story at the moment that the detective announces that E has the answer. Stout is usually good about with a couple of exceptions.
How would *I* find out that information without hitting a spolier?
How about by searching for a Review instead of an encyclopedia article that includes a section on the plot?
Alternatively, you could decide that those tidbits of trivia aren't important enough that you need to know them right now. Then you could wait and look them up after you see the play. -- JimFive
Parent is not a troll and I hope someone with mod points fixes the moderation.
Currently, a physical book does the job better than an e-book. Except for the space/size issue I can think of no areas for improving upon the book format. The primary benefits of physical books (off the top of my head):
Lack of distractions. My book will never:
tell me that I have mail
ring because someone called me
pop over to an internet browser because I bumped the touchscreen.
I can read smoothly through page turns with no noticable pause.
It is very difficult to make a book unreadable, barring fire or a bucket of ink.
To be even more pedantic the TS-1000 was an upgraded ZX81 and came later. The ZX81 was sold in the US (at least as a kit), I still have mine.
-- JimFive
See, I don't understand this line of thinking. Your using that ATM is indeed a "privilege." [...]
The ATM in the public place (restaurant, gas station, etc.) is a marketing device for the location. The ATM allows the business to sell more stuff by ensuring that potential customers have the cash to buy it. It also saves money by reducing credit card transactions. If the ATM isn't paying for itself in additional sales, then it isn't worth it and shouldn't be in that location.
If you, as a third party ATM owner, are charging both the location and the consumer then you are double-dipping, not illegal, but not respectable either. If the concern is people coming in to the ATM and not purchasing anything at the facility then that is easily handled by having the transaction fee discounted at the register for cash purchases made within x minutes of the time on the receipt.
In short, you should be making your money off of the business owners(your customers), not the customers of those businesses. -- JimFive
Yes, put the traffic lights on posts on the near side of the intersection instead of on a wire across the middle of the intersection, or, worse, on the far side of the intersection.
--
JimFive
Slashdot Mirror
It's not so much that people need to learn to drive, it's that all people need to have their licenses revoked unless they can prove competence behind the wheel anually.
FTFY. -- JimFive
In the case of you thermostat, yes, I would consider it to have a certain level of intelligence.
Statements like this is why it is hard to take AI fanatics seriously. This statement reveals a form of anthropomorphism at best or an attempt at definitional ambiguity at worst. A thermostat is not intelligent. A thermostat (old style) takes advantage of materials science to make a switch close. Modern thermostats take other inputs into account (such as time of day or pricing information). However, the thermostat is not deciding(1) to change the temperature. It is opening or closing a switch based on a logic table or algorithm.
Further down in the discussion there was this exchange:
We will have true Artificial Intelligence when machines can do things that human beings do, not single cell organisms.
Such as? How about Chess, parallel parking, cross country driving? All things humans can do, now being done using AI.
None of these really exemplify AI.
I am open to suggestions that the driving problems are harder than I imagine.
As you can probably tell my requirements for AI are slightly different than yours. AI needs to make decisions (not just implement pre made decisions) on incomplete data and AI needs to learn.
Now, the field of AI is a little different than AI itself. The field of AI researches things that are thought might lead to AI. Expert systems, decision trees, evaluation functions are all the fruits of AI research, but they are not AI. While currently computer vision and controls seem to be the glamourous parts of AI research I think that Machine learning, Natural Language Processing and knowledge representation are more likely to lead to advances toward AI.
--
JimFive
1) Deciding in this case is used in a narrow sense requiring freedom of action.
As soldiers, we were legally obliged to deny direct orders if they were unlawful.
Was this ever effectively drilled, though? Were you occasionally given unlawful orders to test whether you would refuse to obey it? If so, were refusals accompanied by threats for failure to carry out the order? Were these tests given sporadically and without warning throughout your service career?
--
JimFive
What other option is there? It's either polynomial (P) or not polynomial (NP), isn't it?
NP doesn't mean Not polynomial. It means NonDeterministic Polynomial. That is, solvable in Polynomial time by a Nondeterministic Finite Automata. As opposed to P which is solvable in Polynomial time by a Deterministic Finite Automata.
Polynomial time means that as the number of inputs (n) increase the time the algorithm takes to solve the problem increases by some constant exponent (e.g. n^2 or n^3). There is also Exponential time which means the algorithmic time increases by e.g. 2^n. In between Polynomial (n^2) and Exponential (2^n) there is 2^(log n)
--
JimFive
Probably not. But Barnes and Nobles was advertising a "rent an etextbook" deal around September where you paid less but it was time limited. I'm not really sure how it was implemented or whether it worked out for anyone.
--
JimFive
Slightly off topic, but how do you like it. I took a look right after they came out and the interface seemed slow and clunky, especially browsing my library, which, in my mind, should not be using the network. I understand that they have added a search function to the library so having a lot of books isn't as cumbersome as it was. Right now I'm considering the Sony and the Nook.
--
JimFive
I can browse the library's catalog online and have the books waiting for me by the time I show up. If my library doesn't have the book I can get it from another, for free.
I used to be able to do that. Now my local library charges a quarter per hold request, I haven't tried the interlibrary loan since they imposed the fee so I'm not sure what they charge for that.
I wondered why they imposed the fee (which on the one hand is annoying and on the other clearly doesn't pay for the service) but now I imagine that their goal was to free up employee time by stopping people from doing what you are doing. The library staff isn't really there to go collect the books off of the shelves for you.
--
JimFive
You don't need regulation to do that, you need justice and law.
Umm...Laws are regulations.
I was going to leave it at that, but on further reflection decided that it would be better to expound.
Contracts are just pieces of paper without a government to decide what they mean and how they should be enforced. That deciding is codified in laws which regulate the writing and enforcement of contracts. You seem to be using some other definition of "regulation". But, really, what is that definition other than "laws I don't like"? Every law regulates the actions of some entity, that is all they can do.
--
JimFive
You don't have to join the class action. You can hire a lawyer and sue on your own behalf.
--
JimFive
Door to Door transportation.
--
JimFive
Ray Kurzweil has been able to establish himself has the singularity/transhumanism guru despite due to being a latecomer and making no important intellectual contributions.
FTFY.
--
JimFive
Now that isn't as large a problem as it may seem since it isn't like getting a fingerprint from someone and making a replica is the easiest thing in the world,
How many of your fingerprints exist on your laptop right now?
How difficult can it be to lift those well enough to get past the cheapest bid fingerpring scanner on the laptop? (I picked on laptops because that is where I'm always seeing the fingerprint swipe used. Right past the full disk encryption.
--
JimFive
separating the Internet from specialized services is a dramatic advance in the discussion,
Hey, I remember that, it was called CompuServe.
--
JimFive
to absolutely and 100% accurately predict the fall of a dice, you have to take into account every atom in the universe (see my example of the pool table).
I don't buy either example. At some reasonable range, probably measured in centimeters(or at most, meters), the external effects are so minute that they have no real effect on the motion of the dice, or the billiard ball. The fact that the billiard ball is cited from a popular book does not make it a credible statement. It is possible that the billiard ball example might be accurate in an idealized situation of perfectly elastic collisions and no friction, but that is hardly real life.
--
JimFive
Apart from your anti-union bias, you are correct. But the solution is not to allow corporations a free hand. The solution is to treat all associations the same way - denying them the privilege of influencing the political process. The short version is: If you cannot vote in a particular election/race then you are not allowed to influence that election/race. No monetary or other donations, no political ads, nothing.
This should include all organizations including political parties, unions, corporations, churches, and any other group.
--
JimFive
1. Bulk. A car is big, shipping is expensive.
2. If your part isn't at the assembly plant when it is needed and GM has to shut down the line, your company gets charged about $2000 per minute (might be more, now). With "Just in Time" inventory practices, no supplier would be willing to risk a long transport time.
3. Logistics (related to 2) When I worked for an auto supplier, orders were finalized no more than 3 weeks out. When I worked for the paper products company, product from China was shipped 3-6 months out.
--
JimFive
Of course this would mean we live in a bounded Universe that was only(!)13.1 billion light years wide.
I'm pretty sure this is wrong, the Universe would be (13.1 billion ly) + (However far we've moved in the last 13.1 billion years)
On a less pedantic note, do cosmologists have an estimate for the age of the galaxy?
--
JimFive
the e-book is more technologically advanced than a printed book - no disputing that. But, it's not more convenient. With an e-book, you will always need a reader,
I think it is a mistake to compare a single ebook with a paper book. You are correct that a single ebook is not more convenenient due to all the things mentioned (file formats, batteries, fragility, etc.) However, the ebook reader replaces a library not a book.
--
JimFive
not a toy intended for kids older than the "lets eat random crap" stage.
You might be surprised by the amount of crap an 8 year old puts in es nose.
--
JimFive
Actually, Doyle was incredibly bad about not giving the reader all of the necessary information. A particularly egregious example is in the "Red-Haired Gentlemen's Club" (or whatever it's name is) where the missing tidbit of information is that the person had dirt on his trousers. Doyle rationalizes this because the reader only knows/observes what Watson knows/observes, if Watson is obtuse, then so is the reader. Christie's novels are almost all solvable by the reader with the information given in the story at the moment that the detective announces that E has the answer. Stout is usually good about with a couple of exceptions.
I lament the demise of the whodunnit.
--
JimFive
How would *I* find out that information without hitting a spolier?
How about by searching for a Review instead of an encyclopedia article that includes a section on the plot?
Alternatively, you could decide that those tidbits of trivia aren't important enough that you need to know them right now. Then you could wait and look them up after you see the play.
--
JimFive
Currently, a physical book does the job better than an e-book. Except for the space/size issue I can think of no areas for improving upon the book format. The primary benefits of physical books (off the top of my head):
-- JimFive
To be even more pedantic the TS-1000 was an upgraded ZX81 and came later. The ZX81 was sold in the US (at least as a kit), I still have mine.
--
JimFive
See, I don't understand this line of thinking. Your using that ATM is indeed a "privilege." [...]
The ATM in the public place (restaurant, gas station, etc.) is a marketing device for the location. The ATM allows the business to sell more stuff by ensuring that potential customers have the cash to buy it. It also saves money by reducing credit card transactions. If the ATM isn't paying for itself in additional sales, then it isn't worth it and shouldn't be in that location.
If you, as a third party ATM owner, are charging both the location and the consumer then you are double-dipping, not illegal, but not respectable either. If the concern is people coming in to the ATM and not purchasing anything at the facility then that is easily handled by having the transaction fee discounted at the register for cash purchases made within x minutes of the time on the receipt.
In short, you should be making your money off of the business owners(your customers), not the customers of those businesses.
--
JimFive
Got a better design,
Yes, put the traffic lights on posts on the near side of the intersection instead of on a wire across the middle of the intersection, or, worse, on the far side of the intersection. -- JimFive