Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!bellcore!faline!thumper!gamma!pyuxp!nvuxj!nvuxl!nvuxh!hall
From: hall@nvuxh.UUCP (Michael R Hall)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Defining Machine Intelligence.
Message-ID: <298@nvuxh.UUCP>
Date: 23 Dec 88 00:12:22 GMT
References: <484@soleil.UUCP> <4216@homxc.UUCP> <401@uwslh.UUCP> <1111@dukeac.UUCP> <404@uwslh.UUCP> <713@quintus.UUCP> <405@uwslh.UUCP> <6213 Dec 88 22:37:34 GMT <1281@client1.dciem.dnd.ca>
Reply-To: hall%nvuxh.UUCP@bellcore.COM
Organization: Bell Communications Research
Lines: 30

Martin Taylor writes:
>>[Barry Kort writes:]
>>I would be convinced if, upon acquiring language skills, the intelligent
>>machine unexpectedly uttered the assertion, "I am."
>>
>>--Barry Kort
>
[Stuff about 1956 checkers program omitted.]
>One day, the teletype line became noisy, and in the midst of plenty of
>cartoon-type swearing (#$$8N%#...etc), it said "Od's blood I shall claim
>the game."  A little earlier, it had said "Swounds".  Would you be
>convinced it was acquiring a mediaeval intelligence?

In 1979 I built a little speaker for my Commodore Pet PC. Once when
I was playing around with creating beeps, the speaker suddenly put forth
a great amount of static and then the words came, "Call me
King's Rook" in perfectly human-like male speech - then silence. I
was a bit shocked, and so apparently was my PC, because it had froze
up (it was not normal for it to crash, so it was not just
coincidental.)  Sadly, these were both the first and the last words
it ever spoke.

On the surface, it seemed like the PC had proclaimed not only "I
am", but had named itself as well.  However, I surmized at the time
that the speaker and/or computer circuits had picked up a nearby CB
broadcast.  (Anyone know if that is possible?) I was only 14 at the
time, and in retrospect I think this event may have started my
interest in AI.

Michael R. Hall (hall%nvuxh.UUCP@bellcore.COM  OR  bellcore!nvuxh!hall)