[net.ai] AIList Digest V1 #10

AIList-REQUEST@SRI-AI@sri-unix.UUCP (06/04/83)

From:  AIList (Kenneth Laws, Moderator) <AIList-REQUEST@SRI-AI>


AIList Digest            Saturday, 4 Jun 1983      Volume 1 : Issue 10

Today's Topics:
  VAX Interlisp Availability
  LIPS
  Kurzweil Reading Machine
  Chemical AI, Scientific Journals
  Current List of Hosts
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Date: 31 May 1983 1434-PDT
From: Raymond Bates <RBATES at ISIB>
Subject: VAX Interlisp Availability

In response to the Silverman [V1 #7] message:

Interlisp is available for both the VMS and UNIX operating systems for
the VAX family.  For more information send a note to Interlisp@ISIB 
with a post office address in it.

/Ray

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Date: Thu 12 May 83 22:59:59-PDT
From: PEREIRA@SRI-AI.ARPA
Subject: LIPS

[Reprinted from the Prolog Digest.]

The LIPS (logical inferences per sec.) measure for Prolog (and maybe 
other logic programming systems) is not as useless as it might appear 
at first sight.  Of course, resolving a goal against a clause head 
takes a different amount of work for different goals and clauses, but 
a similar observation could be made about the MIPS measure for 
conventional machines.  The speed of the concatenate loop

        conc([],L,L).
        conc([X|L1],L2,[X|L3]) :- conc(L1,L2,L3).

appears to be a remarkably good indicator of the speed of a Prolog 
implementation for large "pure" Prolog programs (ie. Horn clauses+cut 
but no evaluable predicates except maybe arithmetic).  For example, 
compiled Prolog on a DEC 2060 runs at 43000 LIPS with this estimate, 
and (interpreted) C-Prolog on a VAX 11/780 runs at 1500 LIPS.  Prolog 
compilers for the VAX and similar machines are starting to be 
developed, and at least one is expected to reach 15000 LIPS on a VAX 
780 (it will be quite a while before these are incorporated into full 
Prolog systems). The first Prolog machine prototype from Japan (the 
Psi machine from ICOT) is expected to reach 40000 LIPS.

Extensive use of evaluable predicates may invalidate the measure to a 
large extent (but then, we aren't talking about *logic* programs 
anymore, and "logical inference" is no longer the main operation).

-- Fernando Pereira

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Date: Tue, 31 May 83 10:25 PDT
From: GMEREDITH.ES@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
Subject: Kurzweil Reading Machine

The Kurzweil company, a subsidiary of Xerox, is producing a reading 
machine which is, to my knowledge, the most advanced in the industry.
Xerox had the unit on display at the NCC in Anaheim in May.

Xerox has recently donated a number of the Kurzweil units to various 
educational institutes to aid blind students, so some people on the
nets have probably had experience with them or can locate one nearby
to check out.

Guy

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Date: 1 Jun 1983 1238-PDT
From: RTAYLOR at USC-ECL
Subject: Chemical AI, Scientific Journals


Ken (and everyone else!),
    Thanks for the response to my cry for help [concerning expert 
systems for evaluation at RADC].  From 9 Jun thru 20 Jun I will be 
enjoying "God's Country" (Oregon to the uninformed).  But, until my 
storage quota is exceeded, my mailbox will accept msgs--which I will 
dilligently answer on my return.
    For those of you who don't know me personally, I was a chemist
before being "lured" away to the US Air Force and electronics.  I
still maintain my ACS membership (American Chemical Society).  C&E
News (the ACS weekly info publication) devoted a large part of their 9
May 83 issue to computers and mathematical tools and their influence
on Chemistry.  Their "Special Report" feature was entitled "A computer
program for organic synthesis".  I have not studied it, but have
skimmed it, thinking it would be worth reading.
    I have just received my 30 May issue, and its "Special Report"
feature is entitled "Troubled Times for Scientific Journals", which
should be of interest to those of us who do (or must) publish.  (Only
a small section on Electronic Publishing.)
    Those interested in reprints of either special report can send
$3.00 for each report (although 10 or more cys of one report are only
$1.75 each).  Requests are sent to:  Distribution, Room 210, American
Chemical Society, 1155--16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.  They
want prepayment for orders less than or equal to $20.
    For those of you who are fans of Asimov's robot novels/stories,
the article "Molecular Electronic Devices Offer Challenging Goal"
might be one way of accomplishing the "positronic brain".?!  (This,
too, was in C&E News, but the 23 May issue...yes, C&E News is not my
highest reading priority--note the dates.)
    Thanks again for all your help.
                              Roz

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Date: Thu 2 Jun 83 14:54:15-PDT
From: Laws@SRI-AI <AIList-Request@SRI-AI.ARPA>
Subject: Current List of Hosts


The following BBoards and hosts are currently on the mailing
list.

AIDS-UNIX (4), BBNA, BBNG, BBN-UNIX (2), BBN-VAX,
UCBCAD@BERKELEY, UCBCORY@BERKELEY, AIList%UCBKIM@BERKELEY,
AIList@BRL, AI-Info@CIT-20, CMUA (4), CMU-CS-A (19),
CMU-CS-C (5), CMU-CS-G, CMU-CS-IUS, CMU-CS-SPICE (2),
CMU-CS-VLSI, CMU-CS-ZOG, CMU-RI-FAS (2), CMU-RI-ISL (3),
AIList@CORNELL, DEC-MARLBORO (3), ECLA, KESTREL,
HI-MULTICS, UW-Beaver!UTCSRGV@LBL-CSAM, VORTEX@LBL-CSAM,
MIT-DSPG (2), AIList-Distribution@MIT-EE, MIT-MC (16),
MIT-CIPG@MIT-MC, MIT-EECS@MIT-MC, MIT-OZ@MIT-MC (18),
MIT-ML (3), MIT-OZ@MIT-ML, MIT-MULTICS, MIT-SPEECH,
bbAI-List@MIT-XX (+6), NADC, NBS-VMS, AI@NLM-MCS, NPRDC (2),
NYU-AIList@NYU, OFFICE-3, XeroxAIList^.PA@PARC-MAXC,
AI@RADC-TOPS20, {EMORY, IBM-SJ, AIList.RICE, TEKTRONIX,
UCI-AIList.UCI, UIUC}@Rand-Relay, AIList-BBOARD@RUTGERS (+3),
S1-C, AIList@SRI-AI (+7), SRI-CSL, SRI-KL (7), SRI-TSC (2),
AIList-Usenet@SRI-UNIX, SU-AI, Incoming-AIList@SUMEX,
SUMEX-AIM, DSN-AI@SU-DSN, SU-SIERRA@SU-DSN, SU-SCORE (10),
G@SU-SCORE (2), Local-AI-BBoard%SAIL@SU-SCORE (+2),
UCLA-LOCUS (2), V.AI-News@UCLA-LOCUS, {BUFFALO-CS,
Spaf.GATech, AIList.UMASS-CS (+1), AI-BBD.UMCP-CS,
Post-AIList.UNC}@UDel-Relay, USC-ECL (5), USC-ECLB (3),
USC-ECLC (3), SU-AI@USC-ECL (6), USC-ISI (3), USC-ISIB (7),
USC-ISID, EDXA%UCL-CS@ISID, USC-ISIE, USC-ISIF (8),
UTAH-20 (8), BBOARD.AIList@UTEXAS-20, CC@UTEXAS-20,
CMP@UTEXAS-20, G.TI.DAK@UTEXAS-20, WASHINGTON (5), XX,
AI-LOCAL@YALE (+1).

                                        -- Ken Laws

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End of AIList Digest
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