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From: Jerry Avins <jya@ieee.org>
Newsgroups: comp.ai.neural-nets,comp.lang.apl,comp.lang.awk,comp.lang.beta,comp.lang.cobol,comp.lang.dylan,comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: Einstein's Riddle
Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 14:05:38 -0500
Organization: The Hectic Eclectic
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Howard Brazee wrote:
> 
> donald tees wrote:
> 
> > > But the Turing Test only checks whether the program can imitate the
> > > particular forms of stupidity common to human beings.  It doesn't work
> > > as an intelligence test.
> >
> > Sure it does.  If you take that line, then the only logical endpoint is that
> > there is no such thing as intelligence (which may be true).
> 
> Only if you define "intelligence" as "human like".  It may take some AI to
> emulate a person, but there are much better tests.
> 
>                1 a (1) : the ability to learn or understand or to deal
>                with new or trying situations : REASON; also : the
>                skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply
>                knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to
>                think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as
>                tests) b Christian Science : the basic eternal quality
>                of divine Mind c : mental acuteness : SHREWDNESS
>                2 a : an intelligent entity; especially : ANGEL b :
>                intelligent minds or mind <cosmic intelligence>
>                3 : the act of understanding : COMPREHENSION
>                4 a : INFORMATION, NEWS b : information
>                concerning an enemy or possible enemy or an area;
>                also : an agency engaged in obtaining such
>                information
>                5 : the ability to perform computer functions
> 
> Well, #5 is easy.  Most computers can do this.  #1 requires that a program learn
> from its mistakes.   Programs have been written to do this.   The intelligence
> level can be very low - but it is still there.
> 
> So AI exists.   And as computing gets better, there will be some things which
> the computer's AI does better than human NI.  (I just made up "NI", I don't know
> if it has been used elsewhere).  There is no measurable goal which says we have
> arrived.

I suggest, for reasons that I can't clearly articulate, that in order
for an entity to act intelligently (rather than imitate intelligence),
it must *care* about an outcome, and it must exhibit consciousness.
There is good reason to believe that consciousness in animals is a
byproduct of the need to move about in, and know one's position in, an
external environment. Whether consciousness can be constructed without
that basis in machines is an open question.

Jerry
-- 
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.