jkb@sdcrdcf.UUCP (07/06/84)
I was watching Showtime the other day and happened to see an
episode of The Paper Chase, the Second Year where the engineering
department pitted their "thinking" computer program against the
law department, and eventually, Professor Kingsfield. He was soundly
trounced on all of the rote questions involving interpretations of
the law because the computer had a faster access to the law database
and could cite (and use) more references and relevant cases for
substantiation. When it came down to the final showdown, Kingsfield
posed a hypothetical situation to the computer, which proceeded to
apply more and more of its resources to the problem until it barfed.
My question is this: Is there such a thing as a machine that
will, without regard to its own life and limb and programming, consume
itself by applying more resources (i.e., CPU power, memory, etc.)
to solve a particular problem?
This theme has been shown in quite a few SF movies and shows
(Forbidden Planet and the Star Trek episode with the Mark V computer,
to name two). It bothers me a little that whenever we see a version of
Man vs. Computer, man always wins because computer barfs.
Does anybody out in net.sf.land know of a situation where this
has not happened; that is, where either computer wins and man barfs, or
where computer gives up (note: I don't consider Wargames in this
category)?
Yours until Nomad comes home,
John BarbeeBALZAC%YKTVMZ.BITNET%Berkeley@sri-unix.UUCP (07/12/84)
From: Stephen R. Balzac <BALZAC%YKTVMZ.BITNET@Berkeley> Sure, in the movie (and books) Colossus: The Forbin Project the computer wins in a BIG way (it takes over the world).
SANDER%DEC-MARLBORO@sri-unix.UUCP (07/13/84)
From: Warren Sander <SANDER at DEC-MARLBORO> >>Sure, in the movie (and books) Colossus: The Forbin Project the >>computer wins in a BIG way (it takes over the world). If you read the next book "The Fall of Colossus" you find out that with the help of 'alien' intelligence's a simple input problem is enough to cause the new even better Colossus (talked about in the first book) is brought to it's knees because it's input backs up to an uncatchable level. Of course in the 3rd book "Colossus and the Crab" it all works itself out. Read the books they are very much different from the movie. Also keep in mind that they were written in the 50's or 60's so don't expect to much from them. Another Man vs. Machine book is "The Adolesance of P1" in this book an IBM 360/30 of all machinces develops an Artifical Intellegance and begins doing some different things Also there is Hogans "Two Faces of Tomorrow" where the men make a super computerized intellegence and then attack it to make sure that they can shut it off... This is an excellent book... oh well more later Warren Sander (Sander at DEC-MARLBORO) --------
wbpesch@ihuxp.UUCP (Walt Pesch) (07/22/84)
Another is in a recent Asimov's, a short called Reatime. A great story, I highly recommend it. Walt Pesch AT&T Technologies ihnp4!ihuxp!wbpesch