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Article 3210 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: zeleny@zariski.harvard.edu (Mikhail Zeleny)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy,sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: Table-lookup Chinese speaker
Message-ID: <1992Jan28.103015.8159@husc3.harvard.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 92 15:30:13 GMT
References: <1992Jan24.172328.7312@aisb.ed.ac.uk> <1992Jan27.023623.8118@husc3.harvard.edu> <6522@pkmab.se>
Organization: Dept. of Math, Harvard Univ.
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Nntp-Posting-Host: zariski.harvard.edu

In article <6522@pkmab.se> 
ske@pkmab.se (Kristoffer Eriksson) writes:

>In article <1992Jan27.023623.8118@husc3.harvard.edu> 
>zeleny@zariski.harvard.edu (Mikhail Zeleny) writes:

MZ
>> Compare two programs generating the same
>>kind of output for the same kinds of input (e.g. two sort algorithms).  Why
>>would the intensional difference in program stricture be relevant to our
>>issue?

KE:
>This is fascinating! I suppose my TV-set could be considered equivalent to
>an enormous table of pre-recorded pictures and sounds, that were stored in
>the apparatus at the time of fabrication, and now are being poured out in
>endless streams whenever I power it up. It is absolutely fascinating to
>think about the foresight of the designers, having been able to supply this
>marvelous device with all the pictures that it would ever need to give the
>illusion of reporting of the current happenings all over the world, and
>showing what is absolutely indistinguishable from live programs, and so on;
>all this with my remote control as the only input to select the appropriate
>pictures out of that homungus table. Or is my control a dummy, and has my
>input also been foreseen? I _knew_ those TV transmitters all over the
>country were just fakes.
>
>I'm just a little worried about the day when my TV runs out of pictures.
>Surely such a day must come?

Wake up, and pay attention: compare two programs generating the same kind
of output for the same kinds of input.  You know what input is, don't you?

In fact, intensional difference may indeed be important, i.e. when
comparing a deterministic device to a non-deterministic one, e,g. the
Kronecker multivariate polynomial factoring algorithm to a probabilistic
variation thereof (one is due to R.Zippel of MIT).  But then, in the only
interesting case (i.e. one that would grant us a prima facie entitlement to
ascribe free will to a machine equipped with a genuine random oracle) we
would be able to ascertain the extensional equivalence of the two machines,
proving that their programs generate the same kind of output for the same
kinds of input, with empirical certitude only.

>-- 
>Kristoffer Eriksson, Peridot Konsult AB, Hagagatan 6, S-703 40 Oerebro, Sweden
>Phone: +46 19-13 03 60  !  e-mail: ske@pkmab.se
>Fax:   +46 19-11 51 03  !  or ...!{uunet,mcsun}!mail.swip.net!kullmar!pkmab!ske


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