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From: cycy@isl1.ri.cmu.edu (Christopher Young)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Goal of AI: where are we going?
Message-ID: <1270@isl1.ri.cmu.edu>
Date: Mon, 5-Oct-87 18:58:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: isl1.1270
Posted: Mon Oct  5 18:58:34 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Oct-87 06:41:41 EDT
References: <178@usl> <549@csm9a.UUCP> <270@uwslh.UUCP>
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
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In article <270@uwslh.UUCP>, lishka@uwslh.UUCP (Christopher Lishka) writes:
> To me this seems to be one of many problems in A.I.: the assumption
> that the human mind can be looked at as a machine, and can be analyzed
> as having flaws or not, and subsequently be fixed or not.
> 
> A comment: why don't A.I. "people" use the human mind as a model, for
> better or for worse, and not try to label it as "flawed" or "perfect?"

I guess I basically agree, though I certainly feel that there are some
people whose reasoning is either flawed or barely existent, and it is true
in fact that physiological parameters can affect thought, and that these
parameters can be adjusted in certain ways to cause depression, and to recover
from depression (etc). So in that way, one might say that human minds may
become flawed, I suppose.

On the other hand, since we pretty much define "mind" based on human ones,
it's hard to say that they are flawed. If there was something "perfect"
(whatever that might be", then it might very well not be a mind.

I do believe that there is some mechanism to minds (or perhaps a variety of
them). One reason why I am interested in AI (perhaps this is very Cog. Sci.
of me, actually) is because I think perhaps it will help elucidate the ways
in which the human mind works, and thus increase our understanding of human
behaviour. I don't know; perhaps I am naive in that respect. At anyrate,
I do try to use the human mind as a model in at least some of what I am doing.

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents.
-- 

					-- Chris. (cycy@isl1.ri.cmu.edu)

I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure
you realise that what you heard is not what I meant.