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Article 3910 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: forbis@milton.u.washington.edu (Gary Forbis)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Look-up tables
Message-ID: <1992Feb21.084213.14557@u.washington.edu>
Date: 21 Feb 92 08:42:13 GMT
References: <1992Feb20.235802.28290@oracorp.com> <1992Feb21.060222.6570@mp.cs.niu.edu>
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In article <1992Feb21.060222.6570@mp.cs.niu.edu> rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) writes:
>In article <1992Feb20.235802.28290@oracorp.com> daryl@oracorp.com writes:
>>No, no, you've got it wrong. In the definition of the table lookup
>>program, a conversation is a sequence of responses alternating between
>>interviewer and interviewee. The table covers *every* possible
>>response that the interviewer could make (even stupid, ungrammatical,
>>or nonsensical ones). But it only allows *sensible* responses for the
>>interviewee.
>
> Then you have two cases:
>
> Case 1:  The table is miraculously created almost instantaneously just
>	before the test is conducted.  In this case the Turing test
>	amounts to a test of the table preparer rather than a test
>	of the robot.
>
> Case 2:  The table is prepared in advance, and deals with all possible
>	contingencies.  That means it has to have responses about
>	Jesse Jackson being elected President, about Arafat being
>	elected Prime Minister of Israel, etc.  When the actual test
>	is given what actually happened will be known, so some response
>	by the interviewee will be patently ridiculuous, even though
>	that could not have been known when the table was prepared.
>	A competent interviewer can certainly show up the robot.

How do humans come to know these things?  I guess my table involved all of the
conversations in which the interviewee participates.  I would include news
articles within this group.  I think more of an internet feed where the table
lookup program reads usenet until it gets a piece of email at which time it
reads the email and responds as required.  From time to time it posts a usenet
article.

It seems to me that this would resolve this whole class of problems.  When
JFK died, when Nixon resigned, and when the space shuttle blew up I was 
notified through a conversation.

Those entries where "Did you know President Brown died today?" is the latest
addition and "Oh no!  He was my favorite of all time." is the response would
have some prior indication that Brown became president.


>=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
>  Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science               <rickert@cs.niu.edu>
>  Northern Illinois Univ.
>  DeKalb, IL 60115                                   +1-815-753-6940

--gary forbis@u.washington.edu


