From: Walker Michael (mkw@ecs.soton.ac.uk)
Date: Wed Feb 28 2001 - 13:55:16 GMT
> Mo:
> There must also be a way of measuring the quality of the
> answers given by the computer and the human.
Michael:
Stephen Pinker in his book 'How the Mind Works'(1997) gives a
characterization of intelligence. He quotes from another author
(p61): An interviewer asks "What makes a good Alien?"
Answer: "One, they have to have intelligent but impenetrable
responses to situations. You have to be able to abserve the
aliens behaviour and say 'I don't understand the rules by
which the alien is making its decisions, but the alien is
acting rationally by some set of rules.'...The second
requirement is that they have to care about something. They
have to want something and pursue it in the face of obstacles."
So humans have this amazing ability to sense rule governed
'rational' behaviour (in writing), without even having to really understand
what is being said, whatever that means.
(...We can detect higher level argument structures which are
characteristic of intelligence... ?)
> Mo:
> The next section covers the contrary views. The theological
> objection is a debate on whether God could have given
> animals or machines a soul and be able to think. This is
> more religious than scientific so I will not go into any
> depth.
Michael:
A sign of the times I believe, your easy inference "so I will
not go into it in any depth" !!!
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