Just to sidetrack before I start; Temple Grandin’s book Animals in Translation has a couple of great examples of animal behaviour:
1. A NASA study of pilots using computer simulation found that a worryingly large percentage of professional pilots failed to recognise a plane parked across the runway on which they landed. One even stopped his plane inside the parked plane. Nobody given this test who wasn’t a pilot failed to see the parked plane.
2. Alex? A grey parrot that has been taught to mimic all the phonetic sounds was demonstrated to the sponsors; because time was limited he wasn’t given his normal reward of a nut after each successful attempt. Eventually Alex gave the researcher a dirty look and said “Alex want a nut, Nuh Uh Tuh!”
Anyway;
I’ve just had the pleasure of watching a programme on the BBC titled Horizon - Human V 2.0 (Horizon meets the scientific prophets who claim we are on the verge of creating a new type of human.)
Over thirty years ago a scientist was challenged to stop Spanish bulls, who had been genetically trained to be ultra aggressive, from being aggressive. By the use of a radio controlled device he was able to do this.
From Moore’s Law – computers are a billion times more powerful than they were a century ago and are expected to be a billion times more powerful again in as little as the next twenty five years
To the Robotic rat – a computer controlled living entity that can be steered using a computer by rewarding the pleasure centre of the brain – or the monkey that has its thoughts read by a computer (taught to play a simple game where it moved the cursor via a joystick to touch a circle its thoughts were read by a computer which did the same thing, eventually the monkey stopped using its arm to control the joystick and via the pc accomplished the same objective!)
The date that computers are expected to be able to replicate the human brain is the same date that we are expected to understand the human brain – 2029 if I remember correctly.
From the paralysed person who only has control over his eyes, retaining full brain function, who is being taught to speak again using a computer to read his thoughts and reproduce the vocal functions he has lost to the Uni Bomber, a technophobe who used parcel bombs to kill three people and injure over 20 more, (all bombs were stamped with the letters FC.)
Ending with a little information on Quantum computers this was a great TV program and while I wouldn’t openly suggest anyone use the internet to download and watch this program I do hope you all get the chance to watch it.
I Love AI…
