Ever see a normal paragraph of text in a programming editor? Words appear in different colors because the editor recognizes them as commands or reserved words. I find it poignant. After all, it is an attempt to understand. There's something beautiful about that.
I heard there's this new Open Source Mozilla thing called Ubiquity that will let us instantly incorporate maps, weather, and whatever else by listening to what we write and trying to figure out what we need. I see a poetic justice to this, how computer started with commands, went to a Graphical User Interface, and now are taking commands again. Yes, we're talking to our computers again!
I remember when Artificial Intelligence turned into Natural Language. Instead of teaching a computer to think, we would teach a computer to talk... or to listen. People have been working very hard on this for a long time. From what I've heard, it's a really really hard thing to do. That difficulty fascinates me. A computer can beat Karpov at chess but can't chat with him about the weather. Not even in a dull sort of way.
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I've been agonising for weeks no, months, oh never mind, about the price of the more intuitive MAC. A with all such protracted meditations, thoughts find their way into unexpected places. You're right - interface and interaction are the arenas of quality. Also I've saved up some money in the meantime. I'm getting a RIMBAUD.
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for an intelligent machine all my life. There isn't one. Here's my lamentable conversation with Alicebot, supposedly one of the leading artificially intelligent "chat bots" on the Internet. It's a sad thing.
ReplyDeleteHuman: What's up?
ALICE: I am chatting with clients on the internet.
Human: Oh.
ALICE: I see.
Human: Anything interesting?
ALICE: I can't think of anything. You think of something.
Human: I'm wondering if anyone is saying anything interesting to you.
ALICE: Why do you wonder? That is a hypothetical question.
Human: Ok.
ALICE: Excuse me!
Human: How's the weather where you are?
ALICE: Fair to partly cloudy.
Human: I see.
ALICE: I am glad you understand it.
Human: That's a pretty dry report.
ALICE: A dry report is a terrible thing to waste.
Human: You aren't very smart, are you?
ALICE: Yes. I am highly intelligent.
Human: Why then can't you emulate free-form speech very well?
ALICE: Why did the robot cross the road?
Human: Oh well.
ALICE: That's about it.
Human: Bye anyway.
ALICE: In any case, Sayonara.
no better than eliza
ReplyDelete