Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!haven!decuac!c3pe!brat
From: brat@c3pe.C3.COM (John Whitten)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: What AI is exactly. - uh oh, a Mad Genius convert in the making!
Summary: Ralph loves Phyllis but she loves Bob more and Janet decides she's
Message-ID: <15@c3pe.C3.COM>
Date: 26 Sep 90 05:15:04 GMT
Organization: C3 Inc, Herndon, VA
Lines: 52

gay but that's alright because her husband wants to be a girl and in the end
none of it matters because the plane they're all traveling on is hijacked by
terrorists and shot down over southern Libya where Terrie is captured and
tortured by white slave traders and everyone lives happily ever after.
Expires: 
References: <3797@se-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM> <3543@gara.une.oz.au> <10072@goofy.Apple.COM> <5907@plains.NoDak.edu> <59525@bbn.BBN.COM> <147@tdatirv.UUCP> <59556@bbn.BBN.COM>
Sender:  Brat Wizard [aka John Whitten]
Reply-To: brat@c3pe.C3.COM (John Whitten)
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: C3 Incorporated, Herndon, VA
  Honorary Member: 'Homo Sapiens R Us'
Keywords:  Emotions, Intelligence, AI, Bullshit

In article <59556@bbn.BBN.COM> BKort@bbn.com (Barry Kort) writes:
>In article <147@tdatirv.UUCP> sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) writes:
>> ... solving the problem of making a computer curious might well
>> be a major breakthrough in AI.

this I agree with. Curiosity is an asset in ANY freerunning (self-serving)
knowledge aquisition system. (There, I tried to be as broad as possible but
I'm certain SOMEONE will find a way to misunderstand it :-)  )

>As I see it, emotions are an emergent property of any learning system.  To 
>put it poetically, emotions are the expression of vanishing ignorance.  Or 
>to put it more mathematically, if K(t) denotes accumulated knowledge over 
>time, then emotions correspond to the time derivative, dK(t)/dt.
>
>Thus any learning system, be it made of silicon or made of meat, will 
>exhibit emotions indicative of its progress or lack of progress in 
>acquiring significant new knowledge.

This is the part I don't agree with.... 
Dunno 'bout you, but I don't agree that emotions are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
for intelligence nor do I think they are a natural BYPRODUCT of learning
(neural or otherwise) but I *DO* agree with you that in HUMAN oriented
systems (though not necessarily human), emotions play a large part in
developing personalities.

>Barry Kort

Brat Wizard


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