LAWS@SRI-AI.ARPA (01/17/85)
From: AIList Moderator Kenneth Laws <AIList-REQUEST@SRI-AI.ARPA> AIList Digest Thursday, 17 Jan 1985 Volume 3 : Issue 4 Today's Topics: Application - TeX Indexing Program, Education - Micro LISP & AI Course, Business - Xerox Rumor, News - Recent Articles, Opinion - Overblown Expectations for AI, Psychology - Infantile Amnesia, Conferences - Space Station Automation & Probability in AI ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 9 January 1985 09:49-EST From: Jon C. Haass <JONCH @ MIT-MC> Subject: TeX indexing program [Forwarded from the MIT bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.] I am very interested in finding a program which will produce an index of specified keywords in a (or several) TeX files. In order to know the page numbers the input would be either a press (or dvi) file, the output would preferably be the list of words with all pages on which they occur. The environment of choice is UNIX 4.2 . If you have information leading to the acquisition of such, I would be glad to offer at least a free lunch! If you have a proof that one does not exist that would also be of interest. Thanks.. ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jan 1985 20:52-EST From: cross <cross@wpafb-afita> Subject: micro LISP for short course? I am setting up a short course in AI concepts and programming techniques. The course will be five weeks long. I want the course to be laboratory intensive and representative of development and laboratory environments using LISP machines. Because of monetary constraints I can only afford IBM XT's. It seems Golden Hill COMMON LISP is a good piece of software to build the course around - fairly compatable with Zeta-LISP (I even hear that someone has an interface that enables programs to be transferred from an IBM machine to a 3600). Any comments anyone has about this programming environment or suggstions for a better one given the constraints would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Steve Cross ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jan 85 17:09:05 cst From: neves@wisc-rsch.arpa (David Neves) Subject: AI course suggestions? I'm teaching an undergraduate AI course this semester and would like to get/share some ideas with others in a similar situation. Part of the course is Lisp programming projects. Last semester I had 3 projects. The first was the 8-puzzle (A*). I am thinking of replacing it with a simple game (and alpha-beta search). Anyone have any good ideas or experiences with a 2-person game that is easy to represent and which doesn't have many rules? The second program was a SIR-type program teaching about semantic nets. I'm not all that happy with it and am thinking about a program on frames. Ideas here? The last program was an ATN and I'm happy with that. I am looking for an idea for one more program though. For the course I used Rich (for the AI part) and Wilensky (for the Lisp part). Rich is very comprehensive although some parts are confusing to students. It is also used in the graduate course here. The other alternative is Winston's AI book (the 2nd edition). Have others had good experiences with it? It seems easier to understand than Rich but doesn't cover nearly as much material. Another book I like is Raphael's book (The thinking computer). It is somewhat dated but might be appropriate for a lower level (or non computer science) course. I'm trying Winston&Horn (for Lisp) this semester because they seem to have more examples and a somewhat better style (LET's and DO's). -Thanks, David Neves ...!{allegra,heurikon,ihnp4,seismo,uwm-evax}!uwvax!neves neves@uwvax ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jan 85 18:01 PST From: Sheil.pa@XEROX.ARPA Reply-to: Sheil.pa@XEROX.ARPA Subject: Re: Xerox Rumor Xerox moved most of its workstation manufacturing from Dallas, Texas to El Segundo, California quite some time ago, so the changes at Dallas will have no impact on 1108 (Dandelion) production. And, no, we're not getting out of the Lisp machine business! Beau Sheil Xerox Artificial Intelligence Systems ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jan 85 07:09:43 cst From: Laurence Leff <leff%smu.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> Subject: Recent Articles Computer Design: Volume 23, Number 13 November 84 Single-User Symbolic Processor Cuts AI Systems Cost by J. Bond Datamation January 15, 1985 page 69 from their "Worldwide" section. "TOKYO - Hot on the heels of the phantom fifth comes word of Japanese efforts to go after Josephson Junction Lisp machines, and biological chips that would fuel the sixth generation. Following the familiar form without substance format are recommendations in a confidential report [of] Japan's Science & Technology Agency that plant seeds for biocomputer research." ------------------------------ Date: Monday, 31 Dec 1984 10:18-EST From: munck@Mitre-Bedford Subject: Overblown Expectations for AI [Forwarded from Human-Nets Digest by Laws@SRI-AI.] Les Earnest's report that sanity still exists in the "real" AI community, despite the fantastic pronouncements surrounding it, was long overdue. However, I must quibble with his use of past tense in describing the attempts at AI "Command and Control" systems by the Air Force and others. They've changed focus slightly, but they're still around. Specifically, it's a widely-held belief in the DoD that our problems with building large software systems will be solved - more accurately, circumvented - within a decade by AI. They believe that AI systems will be able to listen to an hour or so of verbal description of, say, an air-defense system and then produce overnight the million-odd lines of code to implement it. Normally, I'd classify this belief as relatively harmless, like those in the Tooth Fairy, the Star Wars initiative, and Santa Claus, but it has a chilling effect on work on practical, people-writing-code methodologies. I have no doubt that there is a great deal of the programming task that can be taken over by computers using AI techniques, but the state of the art is that many people are not convinced that compilers can be used to free humans from doing register allocation. Fusion research uses the criterion of "break-even," the point at which a reactor produces more power than is needed to run it, as a goal. I suggest that a similar measure could be applied to AI systems and the field as a whole. What AI systems have saved more human effort than was needed to produce them? -- Bob Munck ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jan 85 12:52:32 EST From: Morton A Hirschberg <mort@BRL-BMD.ARPA> Subject: Re: PBS Series on the Brain I am glad that Dana has brought up the series on the brain. When I was studying psychology with an emphasis on personality, some 15 years ago, the very subject of infantile amnesia arose. We, the professors and students in the seminar, felt that it was a true phenomena. Indeed we also felt it was very unusual for people to have no memories until well into grade school. It does seem that there is the likelihood of either/or suppression or repression at work in these cases. Often the early memories are of a traumatic nature and are of a single incident rather than recurring events. Although basically a Freudian, I am not convinced that a single incident is responsible for latter behavior. I am more of the mind that several events or the entire gestalt or ambiance of the environment are responsible. Serious traumatic events lead to the phenomena of multiple personalities. Here we see that various personalities have no recollection for long periods of time, although I am not suggesting that everyone who has no childhood memories is a multiple. I also recall that some myelination occurs about the time that language skills develop so there seems to be a correlation between lack of language skills and early memory. If you had early conceptual memories more power to you. I would agree with visual/olfactory which seems to make us reminisce, have feelings of deja vu, and when we get older feel maudlin. Remember there are great individual differences so that a wide range can be expected. Don't feel that you are bonkers if you have no early childhood memories (unless supported by other evidence.) Is there no personologist who can shed some further light here? Side issues such as multiple personalities are so fascinating. Mort ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jan 85 1236 PST From: William K. Erickson <WKE@SU-AI.ARPA> Subject: Conference Announcement / Call for Papers Call For Papers ****************************************************************** SPACE STATION AUTOMATION to be held in conjunction with the International Conference on INTELLIGENT ROBOTS AND COMPUTER VISION II ****************************************************************** Part of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers' (SPIE) 1985 Cambridge Symposium on Optical and Electro-Optical Engineering 15-20 September 1985 Hyatt Regency Cambridge Cambridge, Massachusetts Chairman: Wun C. Chiou, Sr., NASA/Ames Research Center In the next decade an increasing amount of research will be devoted to the applications of artificial intelligence and robotics technology to space station automation. The purpose of the conference is to bring together researchers in the areas of artificial intelligence, image science and robotics who are working on various aspects of space station automation. Papers on the following and related topics as applied to this unique microgravity, high vacuum, high radiation environment are invited. Topics of interest include: * Space automation and tele-science * Image understanding and scene analysis * Machine/computer vision * Autonomous/self-organizing systems * Hardware architecture designs * Knowledge-based expert systems If you are interested in participating in this conference, please leave your name and address at the SPIE Registration Desk, or contact: Cambridge 1985 SPIE P.O. Box 10 Bellingham WA. telephone: (206)676-3290 Abstract Due Date: April 15, 1985 Manuscript Due Date: August 19, 1985 ------------------------------ Date: Tue 15 Jan 85 14:13:55-PST From: P. Cheeseman <cheeseman@SRI-AI.ARPA> Subject: Workshop - Probability in AI CALL FOR PARTICIPATION "Workshop on Uncertainty and Probability in Artificial Intelligence" Sponsored by: AAAI and IEEE University of California, Los Angeles, California August 14 through August 16, 1985 The workshop will explore the use of probabilities for decision making in AI systems. In particular, topics such as the induction of "theories" from uncertain data, coupling to decision theory, the accuracy of probability values, and computerized "subjective" probability estimation will be examined. Participants are encouraged to submit papers or join the discussions on the following topics: * Probabilistic Induction and Machine Learning * Higher Order Probabilities (or accuracy of probabilities) * Probabilities and "Subjective" Estimates (people and machines) * Techniques for Probability Evaluation * Foundations of Probability Theory for AI This workshop has been designed to provide an atmosphere which will foster not only the exchange of information, but also extensive discussion and participation by all involved. Paper Submission Details Authors should submit two copies of an extended abstract to the program chairman by April 6 for consideration by the review committee. Each copy should include a title, the names and addresses of all authors, as well as a primary topic from the above list. One of the authors should be identified as the principal contact. Acceptance will be based on originality as well as significance of research (Notification by April 27). Complete papers should be sent to the general chairman by June 1 for distribution at the workshop. Program Committee: Lotfi Zadeh Judea Pearl Laveen Kanal Peter Cheeseman John Lemmer Program Chairman: General Chairman: Arrangements Chairman: John Lemmer Peter Cheeseman Rob Suritis PAR Technology Corp. SRI International Par Technology Corp. 220 Seneca Turnpike 333 Ravenswood Ave. 220 Seneca Turnpike New Hartford, NY 13413 Menlo Park, CA 94025 New Hartford, NY 13413 (315) 738-0600 x322 (415) 859-6469 (315) 738-0600 x233 ------------------------------ End of AIList Digest ********************