From: Delvieron@aol.com
Date: Wed Nov 24 1999 - 18:45:36 MST
In a message dated 99-11-24 18:55:51 EST, you write:
<< 'What is your name?' 'Delvieron@aol.com.' 'IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR
NAME IS!!!':>>
No, my name is Glen Raymond Finney. And it does matter to me<g>. I've never
been able to figure out exactly what this intro of yours means. One thing
that I do know is, it is a little bothersome to be addressed by a yell. Now
on to what really matters.
<<I strongly doubt that anything we'd call "intelligent" could be built in a
non-upgrading manner.>>
I believe we may be thinking of different things when we use the term
upgrading. I am talking about being able to change the physical parameters
of how the "brain" works in order to improve function, as opposed to being
able to add information and remember optimal strategies that are within the
current parameters. Even humans are not yet able to really upgrade our
intelligence....optimize it, yes, but nothing that would increase it
substantially. If we did, then we would have less concern about bootstrap
AIs, because we would be bootstrapping humans. Think about it. Has there
been any improvement between humans today and, say, humans in Hellenic Greece?
<<Would you call a thing intelligent if it could not
change its own behavior in response to stimuli?>>
Nope. But I'm not saying that it couldn't change its behavior in response to
stimuli, only that the range of behaviors could be constrained to a preset
range. Heck, most humans are constrained in the kinds of behaviors they will
generate based on personality traits. And it is very hard to modify
personality in humans (not imposible, though, in that way we would have more
flexibility than constrained AIs).
<<If it could not (at least apparently) revise its own beliefs in response to
what it observes?>>
I've unfortunately met some reasonably intelligent, closed-minded people in
my life. It does tend to limit the full potential of their intellect, but
does not change the fact that they are intelligent.
<<Imagine something like this trying to pass the Turing Test:
You: My favorite color is red. What's your favorite color?
AI: My favorite color is green.
You: What's my favorite color?
AI: I don't know.>>
This is not what I envision as a non-upgrading AI. First, a non-upgrading AI
would have little or no conscious control over its own programming. It could
respond to environmental stimuli, formulate behaviors based on its
motivational parameters, and implement those behaviors. This is basically
what humans do. Technically, such an AI could possibly learn about itself,
if creative enough figure out a way to improve itself, then find some tools
and do it (if it could remain active while making modifications). This would
be no different than you or me. However, it might never do so if we program
it to have an aversion to consciously tinkering with its internal functions
except for repairs. This would be in my estimation a non-upgrading AI.
Now then, an upgrading AI would likely start out with an intrinsic knowledge
of its internal structure, maybe even be able to be conscious of how it
processes information and be able to change internal architecture simply by
willing it. This would be different from the way humans operate. And more
importantly, the upgrading AI would have a motivational drive to improve its
capabilities, at least in the seed AI (for, of course, the upgrading AI can
and would consider altering all its functions even the drive to improve
function).
<<Analogies to Alzheimer's patents aside, we can quickly see what sort of
limitations "non-upgrading" AIs would be under. We might, at best, hope
to build some kind of non-upgrading idiot savant, but not an A*I*.
The I is important. ;)>>
Intelligence is important, but so is inclination and ability.
<<-Dan>>
'What is your name?' 'Dan' 'It doesn't matter what your name is...or does
it?'
<< -unless you love someone-
-nothing else makes any sense-
e.e. cumming. >>
BTW, great ee cumming quote.
Glen Raymond Finney
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