Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!TAURUS.BITNET!shani
From: shani@TAURUS.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Why?
Summary: It's about time!
Message-ID: <867@taurus.BITNET>
Date: 19 Sep 88 06:59:52 GMT
References: <6823@uwmcsd1.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: 
Organization: Tel-Aviv Univesity Math and CS school, Israel
Lines: 30

In article <6823@uwmcsd1.UUCP>, markh@csd4.milw.wisc.edu.BITNET writes:
>         Why does anyone want artificial intelligence?
>
> What is it that you're seeking to gain by it?  What is it that you would have
> an intelligent machine do?

Well, well waddaya know! :-)

Not long ago, an endless argument was held in this newsgroup, reguarding AI
and value-systems. It seem that the reason this argument did not (as far as
I know) reach any constructive conclousions, is that the question above was
never raised... So realy? what do we expect an intelligent machine to be like?

Or let me sharp the question a bit:

                  How will we know that a machine is intelligent, if we lack
                  the means to measure (or even to define) intelligence ?

This may sound a bit cynical, but it is my opinion that setting up such
misty goals, and useing therms like 'intelligence' or 'value-systems' to
describe them, is mainly ment to fund something which MAY BE beneficial
(since research is allmost always beneficial in some way), but will never
reach those goals... why who would like to fund a research which will only
end up with easyer to use programming languages or faster computers?


O.S.

BTW: I wish it wasn't like that. It could be wonderful if RND financing was
     not goal-depended... all and all, the important thing is the research
     itself.