Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!uw-beaver!milton!cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU
From: cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU (Chris Phoenix)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Brain/Environment "bottleneck"
Keywords: bottleneck
Message-ID: <2205@milton.acs.washington.edu>
Date: 1 Mar 90 06:58:25 GMT
References: <2193@milton.acs.washington.edu>
Sender: hlab@milton.acs.washington.edu
Reply-To: cphoenix@csli.stanford.edu (Chris Phoenix)
Organization: Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford U.
Lines: 39
Approved: hitl@hardy.u.washington.edu



In article <2193@milton.acs.washington.edu> jtm@cs.cornell.edu (Jan Thomas Miksovsky) writes:
>If we could directly manipulate the computer with neuron pulses, yeah, 
>sure, we could cruise along at light-speed.  But if we're performing any 
>kind of analytical task, wouldn't we still be limited by the speed of 
>our consciousness "processor"?

If we could directly manipulate the computer with neuron pulses, and it could
manipulate our neurons, surely someone would develop a brain-accelerator.  It
could be as simple as a math coprocessor, or maybe a memory.  I don't know 
how much we could be sped up while still staying human (followups to 
alt.philosophy.humanist.computer.flame :-) ) but it's too early to say we
won't be able to keep up with computers.

>The real speedup will probably occur in tasks that are repeated so 
>often, and learned so well, that conscious thought isn't required.  

For tasks like that, have an AI do it!  No, this isn't facetious, though it
may be naive.  It shouldn't be too hard to build a program that could learn
repetitive tasks, and do them at the proper times and in the proper ways...
or something... 
To tie this in with VR:  I recently called up VPL to ask about summer 
internship opportunities.  I told them I was interested in AI, and the person
I talked to (sorry, I didn't get the name) told me that they were trying to
get away from AI, and have it more user-directed.
This surprised me.  I would have thought that AI would be a pretty important
part of VR, if only to choose which things to display and how to display them.
Can anyone comment on whether AI is being used at all in VR, and if so, how?
(and if there are any AI-VR jobs available in the Bay Area? :-) )




-- 
Chris Phoenix               |  "I've spent the last nine years structuring my
cphoenix@csli.Stanford.EDU  |      life so that this couldn't happen."
...And I only kiss your shadow, I cannot see your hand, you're a stranger 
now unto me, lost in the dangling conversation, and the superficial sighs...