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From: libes@nbs-amrf.UUCP (Don Libes)
Newsgroups: net.ai,net.jokes
Subject: AI joke that anyone can understand
Message-ID: <459@nbs-amrf.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 10-Mar-85 17:33:29 EST
Article-I.D.: nbs-amrf.459
Posted: Sun Mar 10 17:33:29 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 12-Mar-85 20:41:45 EST
Organization: National Bureau of Standards
Lines: 35
Xref: linus net.ai:2359 net.jokes:9015

I've been waiting for some good AI jokes but haven't seen a one.  If I
had saved the announcement for the AI joke contest, I would enter this
one.  However, I must admit I read it in Ted Nelson's Computer Lib
(published in 1974).


A very large artificial-intelligence system had been built for the
military to help in long-range policy planning; financed by Arpa,
with people from MIT, Stanford, CMU and so on.

"The system is now ready to answer questions" said the spokesman for
the project.

A four-star general bit off the end of a cigar, looked whimsically
at his comrades and said--

   "Ask the machine this:  Will it be Peace or War?"

The clerk-typist (GS3) translated this into the query language and
typed it in.

The machine replied:

   Yes.

"Yes what?!?!" bellowed the general.

The operator typed in the query.

Came the answer:

  Yes, SIR!


Don Libes	{seismo,umcp-cs}!nbs-amrf!libes