Xref: utzoo alt.cyberpunk:4862 comp.ai:7947 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!timbuk!cs.umn.edu!uc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!purdue!sage.cc.purdue.edu!arh From: arh@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Eric B) Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk,comp.ai Subject: Re: The AI Breakthough -- What It Will Be Like !!! Keywords: intelligent artificial machines Message-ID: <4857@sage.cc.purdue.edu> Date: 2 Nov 90 14:49:07 GMT References: <35244@cup.portal.com> <25207@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> <25224@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> Followup-To: alt.cyberpunk Distribution: na Organization: Purdue University Lines: 42 In <25224@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> rlp@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Trouble) writes: >... Man, I'd like just a teeny bit >of it on my desk...and the Hoover Dam to power it. Makes one realize the efficiency of neurons! >I like this extension of the concept. Or how about this: the AI works >on the problem, a co-worker flips on the radio, the AI says "Yuck, >I hate Vanilla Ice, change to the easy listening station," and keeps >working on the problem. Consider that humans do it all the time. >Are we multitasking, context switching, "shadow processing" (two >things running on the same processor literally at the same time >[though at different priorities, perhaps], not just switching really >fast from one thing to another), or something else? >Bob Consider this... you're listening to music, foot tapping to the beat (assuming one has rhythm 8-), while you're doing something simple like: talking on the phone, typing a message, or reading news. Meanwhile, a whole host of essential body functions are monitored & controlled. The fact is that human brains are divided up into very specialized areas. Many are hard-wired to their corresponding body parts. When one area is damaged, its function is usually lost, although it is possible for other neurons to "rewire" themselves, gaining a partial recovery of the lost function. The idea is that brains are specialized multi-processors with dedicated hardware. A PhD. in Brain Psychology could use all the big words to describe it, but I wouldn't understand him. I would recommend taking (or auditing) a course on brain function or brain behavior. At Purdue, it's Psych 220. When I took it, I continually analyzed how the brain could be represented by silicon. Amazing stuff. I actually developed an idea for an artificial eye. I'm just waiting to apply optical computing to it. The one problem is using a {optic,wire} to neuron connection. We'll see... just spinnin' my cycles away, Eric G. Bolinger 8-) arh@sage.cc