Now, see it's responses like this (and many more in this thread) that make Slashdot great. And to think people say that there are no thoughtful or informative discussions still going on here.
It's not just specialization, there is also fear
on
Where's HAL 9000?
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· Score: 5, Interesting
He talks mostly in this article about how the focus has been on developing specialized software for solving specific problems and with specialized goals, rather than focusing on general AI. And it's true that this is part of what is holding general AI back. But there is also something that Loebner is perhaps loathe to discuss, and that's the underlying (and often unspoken) matter of the *fear* of AI.
For every utopian vision in science fiction and pop culture of a future where AI is our pal, helping us out and making our lives more leisurely, there is another dystopian counter-vision of a future where AI becomes the enemy of humans, making our lives into a nightmare. A vision of a future where AI equals, and then inevitably surpasses, human intelligence touches a very deep nerve in the human psyche. Human fear of being made obsolete by technology has a long history. And more recently, the fear of having technology become even a direct *enemy* has become more and more prevalent--from the aforementioned HAL 9000 to Skynet. There is a real dystopian counter-vision to Loebner's utopianism.
People aren't just indifferent or uninterested in AI. I think there is a part of us, maybe not even part of us that we're always conscious of, that's very scared of it.
I know that fire in a sub is considered one of the most dangerous threats there is (every crew-member is trained in fire suppression on a sub). But since this ship was presumably unmanned and in dry dock, and presumably also still air-tight, why didn't they just close all the hatches in the effected areas and shut off the oxygen? I can't imagine a fire in such an enclosed space would last very long without incoming oxygen.
These days it's not unusual for us to receive more than 250,000 requests each week, which is more than what copyright owners asked us to remove in all of 2009
SETI helps our reach to exceed our grasp. What else are the heavens for?
No it doesn't. It's an exercise in futility. When I was a kid, I believed in Star Trek. I also believed in Santa Claus. When I grew up, I realized why both are laughably implausible.
But some people never grow up. They never gain an appreciation of the scale of the universe, the limitations that Einsteinian physics places on communication and exploration of it, the incredible odds of finding coincidental intelligent life in close proximity to us on the kind of time scale and size scale of a 14 billion year old, 14 billion light year diameter universe. They don't realize the odds of finding that life at the EXACT RIGHT MOMENT when it happens to be using radio waves for communications. They have no appreciation of just how vast and empty the universe is, how a probe that takes 9 years to get to Pluto would take over 100,000 years to get to even the next nearest solar system to us--a mere 4.2 light years away. They think you can just hop in the old Enterprise, say "Warp 9, Mr. Sulu" and find life everywhere out there. They're big children.
And being a big child is fine, being a hopelessly unrealistic dreamer is fine. And if people want to be big kids on this issue and waste their time and money on it, more power to them. Just don't waste my tax dollars on them. And don't try to sell me on it as some sort of noble dream, when it's essentially just a time sink for big children.
Oh yes, because it's real easy to cover up a Soyuz launch (which sets off every launch detector in the U.S.) and pretend it never happened. Both the Soviet and Russian space programs are well documented at this point, and only a conspiracy theory nutball thinks they somehow killed tons of cosmonauts and then disappeared them not only from all the reams of documentation that became public after the fall of the USSR, but also from the memories of dozens of engineers and cosmonauts who have provided extensive oral histories of the program in subsequent decades.
Of course, there are still nutcases who think that NASA never landed on the moon and are hiding little green men at Groom Lake, so you're in plenty of crazy company.
Slashdot Mirror
Why is it that every psychologist I've ever met was much crazier than their patients?
Now, see it's responses like this (and many more in this thread) that make Slashdot great. And to think people say that there are no thoughtful or informative discussions still going on here.
He talks mostly in this article about how the focus has been on developing specialized software for solving specific problems and with specialized goals, rather than focusing on general AI. And it's true that this is part of what is holding general AI back. But there is also something that Loebner is perhaps loathe to discuss, and that's the underlying (and often unspoken) matter of the *fear* of AI.
For every utopian vision in science fiction and pop culture of a future where AI is our pal, helping us out and making our lives more leisurely, there is another dystopian counter-vision of a future where AI becomes the enemy of humans, making our lives into a nightmare. A vision of a future where AI equals, and then inevitably surpasses, human intelligence touches a very deep nerve in the human psyche. Human fear of being made obsolete by technology has a long history. And more recently, the fear of having technology become even a direct *enemy* has become more and more prevalent--from the aforementioned HAL 9000 to Skynet. There is a real dystopian counter-vision to Loebner's utopianism.
People aren't just indifferent or uninterested in AI. I think there is a part of us, maybe not even part of us that we're always conscious of, that's very scared of it.
Pardon my ignorance here. But I have a question.
I know that fire in a sub is considered one of the most dangerous threats there is (every crew-member is trained in fire suppression on a sub). But since this ship was presumably unmanned and in dry dock, and presumably also still air-tight, why didn't they just close all the hatches in the effected areas and shut off the oxygen? I can't imagine a fire in such an enclosed space would last very long without incoming oxygen.
Corporations can't execute you.
Yet.
UA faculty voted unanimously today to restrict all university research to millionaires and large corporations only.
These days it's not unusual for us to receive more than 250,000 requests each week, which is more than what copyright owners asked us to remove in all of 2009
In that case, they'll win the war any day now.
And that whale the Mexicans put up there--and the bodies of those unfortunate whalers that followed.
The FBI tends to get a little touchy about things like election fraud.
If I could afford it, I'd keep an Apollo landing site intact and undisturbed, and build a freaking resort hotel around it.
With blackjack and hookers?
You gonna come up here and get us, NASA?
Yeah, I didn't THINK so.
The problem is Yahoo's track record is poor when it comes to updating their products.
Nonsense, I'm sure whoever happens to be Yahoo's CEO this week will provide the leadership and vision to keep this on track.
I am really looking forward to the day when SETI announces evidence of an intelligent signal from deep space.
You'll never see it.
SETI helps our reach to exceed our grasp. What else are the heavens for?
No it doesn't. It's an exercise in futility. When I was a kid, I believed in Star Trek. I also believed in Santa Claus. When I grew up, I realized why both are laughably implausible.
But some people never grow up. They never gain an appreciation of the scale of the universe, the limitations that Einsteinian physics places on communication and exploration of it, the incredible odds of finding coincidental intelligent life in close proximity to us on the kind of time scale and size scale of a 14 billion year old, 14 billion light year diameter universe. They don't realize the odds of finding that life at the EXACT RIGHT MOMENT when it happens to be using radio waves for communications. They have no appreciation of just how vast and empty the universe is, how a probe that takes 9 years to get to Pluto would take over 100,000 years to get to even the next nearest solar system to us--a mere 4.2 light years away. They think you can just hop in the old Enterprise, say "Warp 9, Mr. Sulu" and find life everywhere out there. They're big children.
And being a big child is fine, being a hopelessly unrealistic dreamer is fine. And if people want to be big kids on this issue and waste their time and money on it, more power to them. Just don't waste my tax dollars on them. And don't try to sell me on it as some sort of noble dream, when it's essentially just a time sink for big children.
The intelligent funding doesn't waste its money on pointless projects for hopeless dreamers.
Scrapping the existing curriculum was a good first step
Why not continue the existing program until you develop a replacement? I'm pretty sure even a flawed program is better than none at all.
But when you multiply that times 10, that's pretty smart.
As opposed to the environmentalist wackos who show up to find and publicize a nuclear disaster, whether it actually exists or not.
Oooh, libertarians are stupid and slaves.
No, right now they're just stupid. But give them time.
You know, I'm really considering selling this damned Y2K bunker.
My iPhone lets me choose from Safari and dozens of different skins of Safari
Oh yes, because it's real easy to cover up a Soyuz launch (which sets off every launch detector in the U.S.) and pretend it never happened. Both the Soviet and Russian space programs are well documented at this point, and only a conspiracy theory nutball thinks they somehow killed tons of cosmonauts and then disappeared them not only from all the reams of documentation that became public after the fall of the USSR, but also from the memories of dozens of engineers and cosmonauts who have provided extensive oral histories of the program in subsequent decades.
Of course, there are still nutcases who think that NASA never landed on the moon and are hiding little green men at Groom Lake, so you're in plenty of crazy company.
Methinks people may be sharing a little too much with Siri. She's a glorified search engine, not your personal confidant, dipshits!
Haven't you heard? Tesla invented EVERYTHING! So he also invented TV, the sitcom, and the first game show.
Am I the only one still using Cello?
Hello...anyone?