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From: pollack@uicsl.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Re: FP and AI - (nf)
Message-ID: <2574@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Aug-83 22:44:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.2574
Posted: Mon Aug 15 22:44:27 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Aug-83 21:33:47 EDT
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#R:ssc-vax:-40800:uicsl:15500001:000:883
uicsl!pollack    Aug 15 19:06:00 1983

Having also worked with both FP and AI systems I basically agree with
your perceptions of their respective goals and functions, but I think that we
can have both, since they operate at different levels: Think of a powerful,
functional language that underlies the majority of the work in AI data
and procedural representations, and imagine what the world would be like
if it were pure (but still powerful).

Besides the "garbage collector" running now and then, there could, given
the mathematical foundations of FP systems, also be an "efficiency expert" 
hanging around to tighten up your sloppy code.

Jordan Pollack
University of Illinois
...!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uicsl!pollack

P.S. There is a recent paper by Lenat from Rand called "Cognitive Economy"
which discusses some possible advances in computing environment maintenance;
I don't recall it being linked to FP systems, however.