Philosophy
When Doug Hofstadter came to visit last year, he made a point that I've continued to marvel at. When we think of artificial intelligence, we usually think in terms of machines being able to do well what we do well. The usual standard is what is called the Truing test wherein if you cannot tell the difference between a person and a machine when you are interacting with it, and it happens to be a machine, then we can call it intelligent. The difficulty of the Turing test is generally thought to be creating a machine that is up to our level. But Hofstadter's point is that to pass the test it would also have to be down to our level as well, that is, it would have to make the sort of mistakes that we tend to make.
Our brains are wired to do wonderful things, but there are also things that trip it up, often quite simple ones. The kids have been playing with tongue twisters lately and they are something quite amazing. They are simple arrangements of syllables, but ones designed to exploit our neurological shortcomings. There is a reason why some strings of sounds are hard to say and a machine would likely not fall prey to them.
The latest favorite has been:
But the one that is the most amazing to me is the bathroom humor classic:
If not, what are your favorite tongue twisters?
- The Gender Genie, Artificial Intelligence, And Irony
More Turing. This one from 2007:I've been thinking about writing something on definitions of artificial intelligence since Christmas when my niece received a "toy" called 20Q. If you have not seen it, it is stunning. Seriously, check it out, it IS...
- Jeopardy!, Errors, And Artificial Intelligence
Thinking about the man vs. machine competition that is going on this week on Jeopardy! The challenge is to get computers to interact in a way that accounts for the sophistication of actual intelligent human discourse replete with allusions, puns, and...
- Comedy And The Turing Test
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists everywhere, This week, good brother 71 sent me a link to this article, "Computers Crack Jokes in Unusual Artificial Intelligence Test." Alan Turing used as a sufficient condition for artificial intelligence...
- The Gender Genie, Artificial Intelligence, And Irony
I've been thinking about writing something on definitions of artificial intelligence since Christmas when my niece received a "toy" called 20Q. If you have not seen it, it is stunning. Seriously, check it out, it IS that weird. About the size of a...
- Turing Test - Important Questions
Turing test brings up many questions crucial to philosophy of mind. It was designed by a British logician Alan Turing and remains a challenge both to artificial intelligence creators and philosophers. Turing test, despite rumours, still has not been passed...
Philosophy
Turing Tests and Tongue Twisters
When Doug Hofstadter came to visit last year, he made a point that I've continued to marvel at. When we think of artificial intelligence, we usually think in terms of machines being able to do well what we do well. The usual standard is what is called the Truing test wherein if you cannot tell the difference between a person and a machine when you are interacting with it, and it happens to be a machine, then we can call it intelligent. The difficulty of the Turing test is generally thought to be creating a machine that is up to our level. But Hofstadter's point is that to pass the test it would also have to be down to our level as well, that is, it would have to make the sort of mistakes that we tend to make.
Our brains are wired to do wonderful things, but there are also things that trip it up, often quite simple ones. The kids have been playing with tongue twisters lately and they are something quite amazing. They are simple arrangements of syllables, but ones designed to exploit our neurological shortcomings. There is a reason why some strings of sounds are hard to say and a machine would likely not fall prey to them.
The latest favorite has been:
You know New York. you need New York. You Know you need unique New York.
But the one that is the most amazing to me is the bathroom humor classic:
Three smart fellows they felt smart.All tongue twisters cause predictable mispronunciations, but the incredible thing about that one is that the way the brain errs causes a second different string of sounds that forms a distinct, but meaningful sentence. It's almost like a palindrome of error. Does anyone know any other that works that way?
If not, what are your favorite tongue twisters?
- The Gender Genie, Artificial Intelligence, And Irony
More Turing. This one from 2007:I've been thinking about writing something on definitions of artificial intelligence since Christmas when my niece received a "toy" called 20Q. If you have not seen it, it is stunning. Seriously, check it out, it IS...
- Jeopardy!, Errors, And Artificial Intelligence
Thinking about the man vs. machine competition that is going on this week on Jeopardy! The challenge is to get computers to interact in a way that accounts for the sophistication of actual intelligent human discourse replete with allusions, puns, and...
- Comedy And The Turing Test
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists everywhere, This week, good brother 71 sent me a link to this article, "Computers Crack Jokes in Unusual Artificial Intelligence Test." Alan Turing used as a sufficient condition for artificial intelligence...
- The Gender Genie, Artificial Intelligence, And Irony
I've been thinking about writing something on definitions of artificial intelligence since Christmas when my niece received a "toy" called 20Q. If you have not seen it, it is stunning. Seriously, check it out, it IS that weird. About the size of a...
- Turing Test - Important Questions
Turing test brings up many questions crucial to philosophy of mind. It was designed by a British logician Alan Turing and remains a challenge both to artificial intelligence creators and philosophers. Turing test, despite rumours, still has not been passed...