leekin@kira.msu.edu (Kin-Wing Edwin Lee) (03/05/91)
I have encountered many, many times with questions like what is
AI, either from technical or nontechnical people.
For my classmates, I would just tell them to take a "intro" course
on AI, but what if you need to explain to someone in 2 minutes
what generally AI is, what is its potential and how does it change
people 's life, in a accurate and concrete sense, so normal people
would not find it hard to understand and people with technical
background(e.g.CS student) would not think the explanations are
too vague.
Normally, I try to avoid these type of conversation, with only a
very short period of time, it is difficult to give a taste of the
subject, without going into details and not causing any confusion
from your audiences.
Any comments are welcomed and thanks in advance,
================================================================================
Imagine that Cray computer decides to make a personal computer. It has
O O a 150 MHz processor, 200 megabytes of RAM, 1500 megabytes of disk
o storage, a screen resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels, relies entirely on
___ voice recognition for input, fits in your shirt pocket and costs $300.
U What's the first question that the computer community asks?
"Is it PC compatible?" - a clip from fortune
leekin@frith.egr.msu.edu | uunet!frith!leekin | leekin@msuegr.bitnet
================================================================================pnettlet@gara.une.oz.au (Philip Nettleton) (03/05/91)
In article <1991Mar4.192154.2209@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>, leekin@kira.msu.edu (Kin-Wing Edwin Lee) writes: > I have encountered many, many times with questions like what is > AI, either from technical or nontechnical people. > > For my classmates, I would just tell them to take a "intro" course > on AI, but what if you need to explain to someone in 2 minutes > what generally AI is, what is its potential and how does it change > people 's life, in a accurate and concrete sense, so normal people > would not find it hard to understand and people with technical > background(e.g.CS student) would not think the explanations are > too vague. > > Normally, I try to avoid these type of conversation, with only a > very short period of time, it is difficult to give a taste of the > subject, without going into details and not causing any confusion > from your audiences. > > > Any comments are welcomed and thanks in advance, > Quite a worthwhile discussion was had last year about coming up with an unbiased (non-human centred) definition of intelligence. I thought it about time to repost the results in light of recent postings. As before, any constructive critisms would be most appreciated and flames will of course be ignored. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DEFINITION: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF AN INTELLIGENT SYSTEM. a) The system MUST be able to learn. This implies that the system MUST have a memory for learning to be maintained. Also learning comes in a number of varieties: i) It MUST be able to learn from its own experiences. These can be broken down into further groupings: 1) Learning through trial and error. 2) Learning through observation. 3) Learning through active reasoning. ii) It SHOULD be able to learn by instruction, but this is not necessary. At the very least the system MUST have preprogrammed instincts. This is a boot strap for the developing intelligence. Without a starting point, the system cannot progress. b) The system MUST be autonomous. That is to say, it MUST be able to do things by itself (however may choose to accept aid). This can be dissected as: i) The system MUST be able to affect its environment based on its own independent conclusions. ii) The system MUST be its own master first and foremost, and therefore not require operator intervention to function. This does not necessarily rule out the taking of orders from another system, but the choice to obey MUST be made by the system itself. iii) The system MUST be motivated. It must have needs and requirements that can to be satisfied by its own actions. c) The system MUST be able to reason. That is to say, it must use some form of reasoning, based on known facts and capable of producing insights which later become known facts. It should be noted that the degree of certainty about the truth of a known fact is also an important concept and some way of dealing with uncertainty MUST be provided. d) The system MUST be able to develop self awareness. This is related to autonomy, reasoning and learning, but also embodies the need for internal and external senses. Without these senses there is no way of appreciating the difference between "me" and "outside of me". Sensations of pain and pleasure can provide motivation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DEFINITION OF TERMS. 1) A "system" CAN be comprised of multiple subsystems, each one of these could be a system in its own right (systems theory). 2) The "environment" in which the system exists MUST be external to the system, but that is as far as the definition of the environment goes (it could be computer generated). 3) The terms "learning", "reasoning" and "autonomy" are BEHAVIOURAL characteristics, further supported by our understanding (to date) of how they MIGHT work. 4) The term "self awareness" is based on learning, reasoning and autonomy, and is the state where the system is aware (has knowledge) of its own existence as separate from its environment. 5) "Intelligence" is a BEHAVIOURAL phenomena displayed by intelligent systems. 6) "Truth" about a known fact is SUBJECTIVE with respect to the system. Ultimate truth is an ideal which is seldom achievable even in "human intelligence". 7) "Certainty" is a statistical measure of the probability of a fact being true. 8) "Reasoning" can never be independent of a language (read any good book on logic and this will become evident). The language, however need have no verbal or social component. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
jim@se-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Jim Ruehlin, CFC User) (03/05/91)
In <1991Mar4.192154.2209@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> leekin@kira.msu.edu (Kin-Wing Edwin Lee) writes: >I have encountered many, many times with questions like what is >AI, either from technical or nontechnical people. >Any comments are welcomed and thanks in advance, One of the best definitions was one I heard on the net: AI is trying to make computers act like they do in the movies. I usually tell people that AI is the practice (or research) of making computers do things that humans do well, or of creating new machines that do what humans do well (e.g., recognizing characters). Unlike many people, I don't think that computers need to learn to be considered to have intelligence (although I think the ability to learn is a sign of intelligence). Anyway, that's what I tell people who ask me what AI is when I don't have much time to explain. - Jim Ruehlin
sje@bubba.ma30.bull.com (Steven J. Edwards) (03/06/91)
In article <1991Mar4.192154.2209@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> leekin@kira.msu.edu (Kin-Wing Edwin Lee) writes: > From: leekin@kira.msu.edu (Kin-Wing Edwin Lee) > Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy > Organization: Michigan State University, College of Engineering > > I have encountered many, many times with questions like what is > AI, either from technical or nontechnical people. > > For my classmates, I would just tell them to take a "intro" course > on AI, but what if you need to explain to someone in 2 minutes > what generally AI is, what is its potential and how does it change > people 's life, in a accurate and concrete sense, so normal people > would not find it hard to understand and people with technical > background(e.g.CS student) would not think the explanations are > too vague. In 1977 I took the AI grad course at MSU from Carl V. Page, and in the first day of class he gave his quick, layperson's definition of AI. He claimed that the field should really be called "IA" for "Intelligence Amplification". The analogy is: organic brain : AI :: muscle : mechanically-based assistance The idea being that all AI to date and in the near future has found applications only as assistants to "higher" thought processes, and not as standalone applications. AI amplifies the ability of a mind a way similar to an automobile amplifies walking ability. == Steven J. Edwards Bull HN Information Systems Inc. == == (508) 294-3484 300 Concord Road MS 820A == == sje@bubba.ma30.bull.com Billerica, MA 01821 USA == "That Government which Governs the Least, Governs Best." -- Thomas Jefferson
byland@iris.cis.ohio-state.edu (Tom Bylander) (03/06/91)
My current favorite is: AI is the study of the relationship between computation and intelligence. Naturally, intelligence is itself related to learning, being autonomous, reasoning, and self-awareness. As an AI researcher, I try to shed some light on some aspects of these relationships, and try to implement systems that behave intelligently in some fashion. I think it would be unfair to criticize my work because it does not study or produce intelligence "as a whole". I am a finite resource with specialized talents and so I cannot study everything at once. Whether I am studying the "right" aspects of intelligent in the "right" way is an open question, but that is true for everybody else, too, even those who study earwigs. Tom
feldman@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Damon Feldman) (03/06/91)
Don't forget that there is a lot of stuff called "AI" that is not strong AI. Expert systems, practical applications of neural nets, pattern recognition, etc. Maybe you should add that some people include any attempt to model human processes as AI. Not to say what AI should be, just what people should be told if they want to be informed. Damon -- Damon Feldman feldman@rex.cs.tulane.edu Computer Science Dept. Tulane University, New Orleans LA, USA
mikeb@wdl35.wdl.loral.com (Michael H Bender) (03/07/91)
Tom, Your definition AI is the study of the relationship between computation and intelligence. is by far the best one I've heard. Mike Bender
thadani@amygdala.cis.ohio-state.edu (Sunil Thadani) (03/08/91)
In article <90943@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Tom Bylander <byland@cis.ohio-state.edu> writes: >My current favorite is: > >AI is the study of the relationship between computation and intelligence. > But if you took computation to mean "symbol manipulation", then doesnt your definition exclude connectionism from the field of AI? Sunil -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-= email : thadani@cis.ohio-state.edu Sunil Thadani voice (off.) : (614)292-1370 snail : 226, Bolz Hall, CIS Dept, Ohio State Univ, Col OH-43210
petersja@debussy.cs.colostate.edu (james peterson) (03/08/91)
In article <MIKEB.91Mar6121256@wdl35.wdl.loral.com> mikeb@wdl35.wdl.loral.com (Michael H Bender) writes: > >Tom, > >Your definition > > AI is the study of the relationship between computation and intelligence. >is by far the best one I've heard. > >Mike Bender This actually sounds more like a definition of cognitive science to me. If a definition of AI in 15 words or less is needed, how about: The use of any cognitive process model in the development of any computer application. -- james lee peterson petersja@CS.ColoState.edu dept. of computer science colorado state university "Some ignorance is invincible." ft. collins, colorado (voice:303/491-7137; fax:303/491-2293)
stucki@retina.cis.ohio-state.edu (David J Stucki) (03/09/91)
>My current favorite is: > >AI is the study of the relationship between computation and intelligence. > But if you took computation to mean "symbol manipulation", then doesnt your definition exclude connectionism from the field of AI? Sunil This doesn't make sense. Connectionism is clearly a computational approach to understanding intelligence, and computation as symbol manipulation is a fair characterization, so how can connectionism not be in the field of AI, given the above definition of AI? The difference between "symbolic AI" and connectionism is not that connectionism doesn't use symbols -- all mathematical (or computational) models use symbols. The main difference, as I see it, is in the domains of interpretation we are willing to apply to our symbols. One factor contributing to the semantics that a symbol is perceived to have is the set of operators that can use that symbol as an operand. The symbols of a connectionist model are perceived as numerical in nature, subject to manipulation by arithmetical and numeric operators. The symbols of "symbolic AI", on the other hand, are perceived by some to be logical in nature, subject to manipulation by logical operators; others allow for less restrictive characterizations, yet typically non-numerical ones. dave... -- David J Stucki /\ ~~ /\ ~~ /\ ~~ /\ ~~ c/o Dept. Computer and 537 Harley Dr. #6 / \ / \ / \ / \ / Information Science Columbus, OH 43202 \/ \ / \ / \ / 2036 Neil Ave. stucki@cis.ohio-state.edu ~ \/ ~~ \/ ~~ \/ Columbus, OH 43210
sag@hpctdje.HP.COM (Scott Godlew) (03/11/91)
I have had the opportunity to present AI to primary and
secondary school educators in my area, and have used the
following outline. These people are are sometimes computer
literate, but generally run a broad spectrum of "technical"
interest. This part of my talk takes less than 5 minutes,
excluding questions and answers. I'm sure this will leave out
some area of AI, but most non-AI people are satisfied with this
mangitude of discussion.
What is AI?
- Doing things like people do them:
- decision making
- problem solving
- perception
- planning
- etc
- Approaches:
- use "actual" (theorized) human processes
- use approximation techniques that give
desired results
- combinations
- Distinction of Knowledge and Intelligence
- most practical systems today are knowledge based
- intelligence requires learning, awareness, etc.
--
Scott Godlew, R&D Engineer Internet: sag@hpctdkz.col.hp.com
Colorado Telecommunications Div HPDesk: Scott GODLEW / HP3800
Hewlett-Packard Company Phone/Voicemail/HP-Telnet:
5070 Centennial Blvd (719) 531-4704
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80919 FAX: (719) 531-4505