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AIList Digest Volume 2 Issue 006
AIList Digest Tuesday, 10 Jan 1984 Volume 2 : Issue 6
Today's Topics:
Humor,
Seminars - Programming Styles & ALICE & 5th Generation,
Courses - Geometric Data Structures & Programming Techniques & Linguistics
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Date: Mon, 9 Jan 84 08:45 EST
From: MJackson.Wbst@PARC-MAXC.ARPA
Subject: An AI Joke
Last week a cartoon appeared in our local (Rochester NY) paper. It was
by a fellow named Toles, a really excellent editorial cartoonist who
works out of, of all places, Buffalo:
Panel 1:
[medium view of the Duckburg Computer School building. A word balloon
extends from one of the windows]
"A lot of you wonder why we have to spend so much time studying these
things."
Panel 2:
[same as panel 1]
"It so happens that they represent a lot of power. And if we want to
understand and control that power, we have to study them."
Panel 3:
[interior view of a classroom full of personal computers. At right,
several persons are entering. At left, a PC speaks]
". . .so work hard and no talking. Here they come."
Tickler (a mini-cartoon down in the corner):
[a lone PC speaks to the cartoonist]
"But I just HATE it when they touch me like that. . ."
Mark
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 7 Jan 84 20:02 PST
From: Vaughan Pratt <pratt@navajo>
Subject: Imminent garbage collection of Peter Coutts. :=)
[Here's another one, reprinted from the SU-SCORE bboard. -- KIL]
Les Goldschlager is visiting us on sabbatical from Sydney University, and
stayed with us while looking for a place to stay. We belatedly pointed him
at Peter Coutts, which he immediately investigated and found a place to
stay right away. His comment was that no pointer to Peter Coutts existed
in any of the housing assistance services provided by Stanford, and that
therefore it seemed likely that it would be garbage collected soon.
-v
------------------------------
Date: 6 January 1984 23:48 EST
From: Steven A. Swernofsky <SASW @ MIT-MC>
Subject: Seminar on Programming Styles in AI
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1984
TIME: 3.45 p.m. Refreshments
4.00 p.m. Lecture
PLACE: NE43-8th Floor, AI Playroom
PROGRAMMING STYLES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Herbert Stoyan
University of Erlangen, West Germany
ABSTRACT
Not much is clear about the scientific methods used in AI research.
Scientific methods are sets of rules used to collect knowledge about the
subject being researched. AI is an experimental branch of computer science
which does not seem to use established programming methods. In several
works on AI we can find the following method:
1. develop a new convenient programming style
2. invent a new programming language which supports the new style
(or embed some appropriate elements into an existing AI language,
such as LISP)
3. implement the language (interpretation as a first step is
typically less efficient than compilation)
4. use the new programming style to make things easier.
A programming style is a way of programming guided by a speculative view of
a machine which works according to the programs. A programming style is
not a programming method. It may be detected by analyzing the text of a
completed program. In general, it is possible to program in one
programming language according to the principles of various styles. This
is true in spite of the fact that programming languages are usually
designed with some machine model (and therefore with some programming
style) in mind. We discuss some of the AI programming styles. These
include operator-oriented, logic-oriented, function-oriented, rule-
oriented, goal-oriented, event-oriented, state-oriented, constraint-
oriented, and object-oriented. (We shall not however discuss the common
instruction-oriented programming style). We shall also give a more detailed
discussion of how an object-oriented programming style may be used in
conventional programming languages.
HOST: Professor Ramesh Patil
------------------------------
Date: Mon 9 Jan 84 14:09:07-PST
From: Laws@SRI-AI
Subject: SRI Talk on ALICE, 1/23, 4:30pm, EK242
ALICE: A parallel graph-reduction machine for declarative and other
languages.
SPEAKER - John Darlington, Department of Computing, Imperial College,
London
WHEN - Monday, January 23, 4:30pm
WHERE - AIC Conference Room, EK242
[This is an SRI AI Center talk. Contact Margaret Olender at
MOLENDER@SRI-AI or 859-5923 if you would like to attend. -- KIL]
ABSTRACT
Alice is a highly parallel-graph reduction machine being designed and
built at Imperial College. Although designed for the efficient
execution of declarative languages, such as functional or logic
languages, ALICE is general purpose and can execute sequential
languages also.
This talk will describe the general model of computation, extended
graph reduction, that ALICE executes, outline how different languages
can be supported by this model, and describe the concrete architecture
being constructed. A 24-processor prototype is planned for early
1985. This will give a two-orders-of-magnitude improvement over a VAX
11/750 for derclarative languages. ALICE is being constructed out of
two building blocks, a custom-designed switching chip and the INMOS
transputer. So far, compilers for a functional language, several logic
languages, and LISP have been constructed.
------------------------------
Date: 9 Jan 1984 1556-PST
From: OAKLEY at SRI-CSL
Subject: SRI 5th Generation Talk
Japan's 5th Generation Computer Project: Past, Present, and Future
-- personal observations by a researcher of
ETL (ElectroTechnical Laboratory)
Kokichi FUTATSUGI
Senior Research Scientist, ETL
International Fellow, SRI-CSL
Talk on January 24, l984, in conference room EL369 at 10:00am.
[This is an SRI Computer Science Laboratory talk. Contact Mary Oakley
at OAKLEY@SRI-AI or 859-5924 if you would like to attend. -- KIL]
1 Introduction
* general overview of Japan's research activities in
computer science and technology
* a personal view
2 Past -- pre-history of ICOT (the Institute of New Generation
ComputerTechnology)
* ETL's PIPS project
* preliminary research and study activities
* the establishment of ICOT
3 Present -- present activities
* the organization of ICOT
* research activities inside ICOT
* research activities outside ICOT
4 Future -- ICOT's plans and general overview
* ICOT's plans
* relations to other research activities
* some comments
------------------------------
Date: Thu 5 Jan 84 16:41:57-PST
From: Martti Mantyla <MANTYLA@SU-SIERRA.ARPA>
Subject: Data Structures & Algorithms for Geometric Problems
[Reprinted from the SU-SCORE bboard.]
NEW COURSE:
EE392 DATA STRUCTURES AND ALGORITHMS
FOR GEOMETRIC PROBLEMS
Many problems arising in science and engineering deal with geometric
information. Engineering design is most often spatial activity, where a
physical shape with certain desired properties must be created. Engineering
analysis also uses heavily information on the geometric form of the object.
The seminar Data Structures and Algorithms for Geometric Problems deals with
problems related to representing and processing data on the geometric shape of
an object in a computer. It will concentrate on practically interesting
solutions to tasks such as
- representation of digital images,
- representation of line figures,
- representation of three-dimensional solid objects, and
- representation of VLSI circuits.
The point of view taken is hence slightly different from a "hard-core"
Computational Geometry view that puts emphasis on asymptotic computational
complexity. In practice, one needs solutions that can be implemented in a
reasonable time, are efficient and robust enough, and can support an
interesting scope of applications. Of growing importance is to find
representations and algorithms for geometry that are appropriate for
implementation in special hardware and VLSI in particular.
The seminar will be headed by
Dr. Martti Mantyla (MaM)
Visiting Scholar
CSL/ERL 405
7-9310
MANTYLA@SU-SIERRA.ARPA
who will give intruductory talks. Guest speakers of the seminar include
well-known scientists and practitioners of the field such as Dr. Leo Guibas and
Dr. John Ousterhout. Classes are held on
Tuesdays, 2:30 - 3:30
in
ERL 126
First class will be on 1/10.
The seminar should be of interest to CS/EE graduate students with research
interests in computer graphics, computational geometry, or computer
applications in engineering.
------------------------------
Date: 6 Jan 1984 1350-EST
From: KANT at CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Subject: AI Programming Techniques Course
[Reprinted from the CMUC bboard.]
Announcing another action-packed AI mini-course!
Starting soon in the 5409 near you.
This course covers a variety of AI programming techniques and languages.
The lectures will assume a background equivalent to an introductory AI course
(such as the undergraduate course 15-380/381 or the graduate core course
15-780.) They also assume that you have had at least a brief introduction to
LISP and a production-system language such as OPS5.
15-880 A, Artificial Intelligence Programming Techniques
MW 2:30-3:50, WeH 5409
T Jan 10 (Brief organizational meeting only)
W Jan 11 LISP: Basic Pattern Matching (Carbonell)
M Jan 16 LISP: Deductive Data Bases (Steele)
W Jan 18 LISP: Basic Control: backtracking, demons (Steele)
M Jan 23 LISP: Non-Standard Control Mechanisms (Carbonell)
W Jan 25 LISP: Semantic Grammar Interpreter (Carbonell)
M Jan 30 LISP: Case-Frame interpreter (Hayes)
W Feb 1 PROLOG I (Steele)
M Feb 6 PROLOG II (Steele)
W Feb 8 Reason Maintenance and Comparison with PROLOG (Steele)
M Feb 13 AI Programming Environments and Hardware I (Fahlman)
W Feb 15 AI Programming Environments and Hardware II (Fahlman)
M Feb 20 Schema Representation Languages I (Fox)
W Feb 22 Schema Representation Languages II (Fox)
W Feb 29 User-Interface Issues in AI (Hayes)
M Mar 5 Efficient Game Playing and Searching (Berliner)
W Mar 7 Production Systems: Basic Programming Techniques (Kant)
M Mar 12 Production Systems: OPS5 Programming (Kant)
W Mar 14 Efficiency and Measurement in Production Systems (Forgy)
M Mar 16 Implementing Diagnostic Systems as Production Systems (Kahn)
M Mar 26 Intelligent Tutoring Systems: GRAPES and ACT Implementations
(Anderson)
W Mar 28 Explanation and Knowledge Acquisition in Expert Systems
(McDermott)
M Apr 2 A Production System for Problem Solving: SOAR2 (Laird)
W Apr 4 Integrating Expert-System Tools with SRL (KAS, PSRL, PDS)
(Rychener)
M Apr 9 Additional Expert System Tools: EMYCIN, HEARSAY-III, ROSIE,
LOOPS, KEE (Rosenbloom)
W Apr 11 A Modifiable Production-System Architecture: PRISM (Langley)
M Apr 16 (additional topics open to negotiation)
------------------------------
Date: 9 Jan 1984 1238:48-EST
From: Lori Levin <LEVIN@CMU-CS-C.ARPA>
Subject: Linguistics Course
[Reprinted from the CMUC bboard.]
NATURAL LANGUAGE SYNTAX FOR COMPUTER SCIENTISTS
FRIDAYS 10:00 AM - 12:00
4605 Wean Hall
Lori Levin
Richmond Thomason
Department of Linguistics
University of Pittsburgh
This is an introduction to recent work in generative syntax. The
course will deal with the formalism of some of the leading syntactic
theories as well as with methodological issues. Computer scientists
find the formalism used by syntacticians easy to learn, and so the
course will begin at a fairly advanced level, though no special
knowledge of syntax will be presupposed.
We will begin with a sketch of the "Standard Theory," Chomsky's
approach of the mid-60's from which most of the current theories have
evolved. Then we will examine Government-Binding Theory, the
transformational approach now favored at M.I.T. Finally, we will
discuss in more detail two nontransformational theories that are more
computationally tractable and have figured in joint research projects
involving linguists, psychologists, and computer scientists:
Lexical-Functional Grammar and Generalized Context-Free Phrase
Structure Grammar.
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End of AIList Digest
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