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From: turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: Thought and Utility
Summary: John McCarthy would agree.
Keywords: utility, decision theory
Message-ID: <7462@cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 29 Dec 89 03:15:35 GMT
References: <31821@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> <0cTG02uf793w01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
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Organization: U. Texas CS Dept., Austin, Texas
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In article <0cTG02uf793w01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>, kp@uts.amdahl.com (Ken Presting) writes:
> Evaluating a utility function and applying a decision procedure seems to
> me to be the formal essence of cognition.  Any system that does this has,
> I suggest, the beginnings of intelligence.  Several other qualities are
> relevant (use of a public language, self-modification, susceptibility to
> argument) to full "personhood", but you have to respect a machine that
> knows what it wants and knows how to get it.

You're in good company.  John McCarthy makes the same kind of
argument.  According to him, a thermostat is capable of three
different thoughts: "it's too hot", "it's too cold", and "the
temperature here is just right". 

Russell