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AIList Digest Volume 1 Issue 020
AIList Digest Thursday, 7 Jul 1983 Volume 1 : Issue 20
Today's Topics:
Coupled Systems
Re: Foundation of Perception, AI
AI in the media
Re: Lunar Rovers
Solution Found to Coin Problem (2)
HP Computer Colloquium, 7/7/83
List-of-Lists Updated
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Date: Mon 4 Jul 83 19:25:23-PDT
From: Ira Kalet <IRA@WASHINGTON.ARPA>
Subject: coupled systems
This is in response to the query about when to build an AI "front-end"
to an existing software system as a separate process with its own
address space, as opposed to putting more code in the existing system
to implement the AI component. At the University of Washington we
have built a very complex graphic simulation system for planning of
radiation therapy treatments for cancer. We are now starting to work
on a rule based expert system that will model the clinical decision
making part of the process, with the two (separate) systems to
communicate via messages. We do this as two separate processes
because the simulation system is already a system of multiple
concurrent processes communicating by messages, and because the
simulation system is written in PASCAL, which seems less suitable
than, for example, INTERLISP, for the AI component. The kind of
information needed to pass between the systems also affects the
decision. In our case, the AI system will consult the graphic
treatment planning system for answers to questions that are rather
traditionally compute intensive, eg. radiation dose calculation,
geometric calculations...so the messages are simple and well defined.
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Date: Tue, 5 Jul 83 08:16:13 EDT
From: "John B. Black" <Black@YALE.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Foundation of perception, AI
The recent assertion on this list that "Mind Sciences" (unlike
physics) do not have a "common, roughly correct, theory to start with"
is just dead wrong. In fact, the study of "naive psychology" (i.e.,
people's folk theories of how other people behave) constitutes a
sizable subfield within formal psychology. You don't have to be a
professional psychologist to recognize this, just listen to the
conversations around you and you will find a large proportion of them
are composed of people offering explanations and predictions of other
people's behavior. The source of these explanations and predictions
are, of course, people's folk or naive theories of human behavior (and
these theories ae "roughly correct"). Thus AI and the other "mind
sciences" do seem to be like physics in this regard.
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Date: 03 Jul 83 1521 PDT
From: Jim Davidson <JED@SU-AI>
Subject: AI in the media
[Reprinted from the SU-SCORE BBoard.]
The July issue of Psychology Today contains a letter to the editor,
which refers to the earlier interview with Roger Schank:
"I was shocked to read Roger Schank's claims of success in building an
English-language front end for a large oil company's geological
mapping system ['Conversation', April]. I was chief programmer of
that system, and it was a dismal failure. It suffered from the same
disease as all the other "user-friendly" software I have seen. It is
friendly as long as you play by its rules and tell it what it expects
to hear. The slightest departure causes apparently random results.
Computers are completely linear in their 'thinking', while the
mind is both linear and at the same time capable of wondrously
spontaneous associations and creative flights into fantasy. The mind
has an infinite number of scripts, each with hundreds of possible
hooks on which associations with other scripts can be hung. I don't
think we'll ever duplicate the mind's linguistic ability.
Stanley M. Davis
Chicago, Ill. "
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Date: 30 Jun 83 9:23:58-PDT (Thu)
From:
Subject: Re: Lunar Rovers - (nf)
Article-I.D.: ucbcad.188
Another contribution to the growing class of "NOW WAIT A MINUTE"
notes:
The weight of AI is nearly zero.
Tell me that when you can lift a LISP machine in one hand.
In addition, the reliability of a system decreases with
increased quantity of hardware,
Are ECC chips on RAM boards an "increased quantity of hardware"?
Consider the electrical shielding problems above the atmosphere.
Let's be little more cautious here...
Flame Off,
Michael Turner
------------------------------
Date: 5 Jul 83 10:33:11 EDT (Tue)
From: Dana S. Nau <dsn.umcp-cs@UDel-Relay>
Subject: Re: a simple logic/number theory/A I/scheduling/graph
theory problem
. . . Using coins of value v[1],...,v[n] find a
set of coins for which any amount less than M can
be accumulated and which minimizes the number of
coins over those such sets.
This problem appears similar (although not identical) to the 0/1
Knapsack problem, and thus is probably NP-hard. For approaches to
solving it, I would recommend Branch and Bound (for example, see
Fundamentals of Computer Algorithms, by Horowitz and Sahni).
Dana S. Nau
------------------------------
Date: 4 Jul 1983 0825-CDT
From: CS.CLINE@UTEXAS-20
Subject: solution found to coin problem
[Reprinted from the UTexas-20 BBoard.]
The coin problem suggested in my BBOARD message of 1 July has been
solved. Rich Cohen developed an algorithm and he, Elaine Rich, and I
proved that it solves the problem. Interested parties should contact
me.
------------------------------
Date: 6 Jul 83 14:00:26 PDT (Wednesday)
From: Kluger.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
Reply-to: Kluger.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
Subject: HP Computer Colloquium, 7/7/83
Professor Robert Willensky
Computer Science Department
U.C. Berkeley
Talking to UNIX in English: An Overview of an
On-Line UNIX Consultant
UC (UNIX Consultant) is an intelligent natural language interface that
allows naive users to communicate with the UNIX operating system in
ordinary English. The goal of UC is to provide a natural language
help facility that allows new users to learn operating systems'
conventions in a relatively painless way.
UC exploits Artificial Intelligent developments in common sense
reasoning as well as natural language processing in an attempt to
provide an interface that is helpful and intelligent, and not merely a
passive repository of facts. Areas of current research involve
multi-lingual capabilities, analyzing the user's plan structure via
natural dialogue, computing possible solutions to a user's problem,
and generating responses in natural language.
Thursday, July 7, 1983 4:00 pm
Hewlett-Packard
Stanford Park Division
5M conference room
1501 Page Mill Rd
Palo Alto, CA 94304
*** Be sure to arrive at the building's lobby ON TIME, so that
you may be escorted to the conference room.
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jul 1983 0002-PDT
From: Zellich@OFFICE-3 (Rich Zellich)
Subject: List-of-lists updated
OFFICE-3 file <ALMSA>INTEREST-GROUPS.TXT has been updated and is ready
for FTP. OFFICE-3 supports the net-standard "ANONYMOUS" Login within
FTP, using any password.
INTEREST-GROUPS.TXT is currently 1290 lines (or 52,148 characters).
Please try to limit any weekday FTP jobs to before 0600-CDT and after
1600-CDT if possible, as the system is heavily loaded during most of
the day.
Enjoy, Rich
CHANGES SINCE LAST UPDATE-NOTICE (10 May 83):
Icon-Group
Distribution address updated with host name.
INFO-PRINTERS
New coordinator.
PROLOG/PROLOG-HACKERS
New mailing-lists added.
SF-LOVERS
New moderator; Archive references updated for current volume.
UNIX-WIZARDS
New host; New coordinator.
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End of AIList Digest
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