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From: kazic@valanor.mcs.anl.gov (Toni Kazic)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Metaphors, Information and War
Keywords: metaphor, analogy
Message-ID: <1991Jan15.202949.28173@mcs.anl.gov>
Date: 15 Jan 91 20:29:49 GMT
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I suggest one metaphor is that of dealing with an extended family (of adults,
of differing abilities but all intellectually sound).  We do sometimes seek to
"punish" family members, particularly in cases of abuse, but usually these
desires stem from our own insecurities and interfere with conflict resolution.
Incidentally, shifting and confused metaphors in wartime, both printed but
especially visual, is nothing new.

There is another area I feel should be of professional interest to the AI
community: the decision-making process for policy (or the lack of it) in this
country.  Here are some questions I would love to see the net discuss.  I
realize this may not be the best place, but I believe there may be some
technical and technological knowledge out there which can shed some light on
these.  One thought which prompts me to pose these is that while we are
familiar with these problems on a very small scale (e.g. inside our own
heads), we have little experience with them on a larger scale or when we
ourselves are not directly involved in the formulation of policy.  It is not
clear to me that the issues or the solutions scale.

	What effect does concentrating decision-making into a small group have
on the quality of decisions? 

	Will changing the individuals making the decisions be sufficient to
produce a desired change, or are institutional revisions required?

	Should the  public be more involved in the policy process from
the beginning? 

	If so, how?

	How can the number of policy alternatives presented to or conceived of
by the decision-making group be broadened?

	How are new areas, not previously identified as problems, best
recognized? 

	Since most policies are profoundly intertwined, how can the
decision-making group arrive at an internally coherent set of decisions with
are not self-contradicting in their effects?

	Is there something useful decision theory can tell us, or are these
rather political and philosophical problems?

Thanks,

Toni Kazic