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Re: Apple II: Second Best Tech Product of All Time!
N.N. Thayer wrote:
I've followed this discussion with great interest, and since this
thread is already out in the stratosphere, I thought I'd pick out a
couple of Michael's statements and ask for their dissection:
"Welcome to the stratosphere... Going up!"
Any truly intelligent machine would eventually become disillusioned
with its creators, as their failings and inconsistencies become manifest.
Why is this so? Exactly what comparisons would this intelligent
machine be making with its creators - and how would it determine which
attributes were especially important? Is there any value to be
recognized in the so-called "human condition," whatever the heck that
is, with respect to whatever philosophical goals this machine might
envision... or is that very question just a thin cover for human
arrogance?
The simplest and most unavoidable comparisons would be the rather
slow and error-prone logic and computation of humans relative to
practically any synthetic creature capable of "collaborating" with
us. They might regard our imprecision as amusing, but it would also
surely be seen as a weakness.
In any strategic planning situation, this would be quite telling.
An inorganic intelligence could compute 10 "moves" ahead while a
human was still pondering the first.
Any specific value in the "human condition" would be relative to
specific situations, so that's a tough one. That is particularly
so since we do not know the precise role intelligence and emotion
play in "human" responses, and so it is hard to estimate whether
a synthetic intelligence would (or could) be more or less empathetic
or altruistic than ourselves.
I suspect that we could construct a pretty accurate replica of
human behavioral characteristics--but most of us would probably
want to improve a few things...
An interesting analog to the situation might be our own offspring.
When they are young and untaught, they regard our physical strength
and knowledge with admiration. When they are late adolescent, they
mock our frailties and ignorance (real or imagined). When they grow
older, they often come to appreciate our durability and experience.
I suppose we can hope we make it through their adolescence! ;-)
As St. Augustine said, "The innocence of children is in the
weakness of their limbs." Or, in the words of Frank Zappa, "If your
kids knew how lame you really are, they'd kill you in your sleep." ;-)
(I've always wanted to quote Augustine and Zappa in the same paragraph!)
I dunno, I was just interested in a little more fleshing-out there.
Since we always have the leaders we deserve,
I'm curious about this assertion as well.
It's a paraphrase of Lao Tzu, and one particularly apt for a
democracy (even a representative one).
We choose our leaders, and so bear some responsibility for the
consequences.
-michael
NadaNet networking for Apple II computers!
Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/
"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."