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AIList Digest Volume 4 Issue 001
AIList Digest Monday, 6 Jan 1986 Volume 4 : Issue 1
Today's Topics:
Policy - Welcome & Technology Export Policy,
Games - Wargamers List & Othello Tournament & Computer Chess Tutor
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun 5 Jan 86 23:21:57-PST
From: Ken Laws <Laws@SRI-AI.ARPA>
Subject: Introduction to Volume 4
Welcome to AIList'86. We went through 193 issues last year, and
a high proportion of that was interesting and perhaps even useful.
For those who haven't seen the official welcome message in the
last 2 1/2 years, I've been telling the new arrivals that the list
topics are:
Expert Systems AI Techniques
Knowledge Representation Knowledge Acquisition
Problem Solving Hierarchical Inference
Machine Learning Pattern Recognition
Analogical Reasoning Data Analysis
Cognitive Psychology Human Perception
AI Languages and Systems Machine Translation
Theorem Proving Decision Theory
Logic Programming Computer Science
Automatic Programming Information Science
I like to think of AIList as the forum for AI and pattern recognition,
although we've had precious little of the latter.
There are a number of related lists, some sparked by the success of
AIList. Prolog-Digest@SU-SCORE was here first, of course, and I thank
Chuck Restivo for the help he gave me in getting started.
Human-Nets@RUTGERS also served as a template for AIList. Recently
created lists are Soft-Eng@MIT-XX for programming languages and
man-machine interfaces; Vision-List@AIDS-UNIX for vision algorithms;
AI-Ed@SUMEX-AIM for AI in education (CAI, tutoring systems, user
modeling, cognitive learning, etc.); PARSYM@SUMEX for parallel
symbolic computing; IRList%VPI.CSNet@CSNet-Relay for information
retrieval; MetaPhilosophers%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC list for philosophy
discussions; and the Usenet net.math.symbolic and computers-and
society discussions. Discussions of workstations and individual
languages are carried on WorkS@Rutgers, SLUG@UTexas (Symbolics), and
Scheme@MIT-MC. (If someone wants to spin off other topics, such as
linguistics, seminar announcements, etc., I'll be glad to help.)
The digest goes out to a great many readers via bboards, redistribution
nodes, and Usenet forwarding. I know that places like MIT and Xerox
have hundreds of readers, but I don't have even a rough estimate of
the total readership. My direct distribution (after 738 revisions) is to
Arpanet Hosts:
ACC(BB+1), AEROSPACE(8), AFSC-SD, AIDS-UNIX, ALLEGRA@BTL, AMES-NAS,
AMES-VMSB(4), AMSAA(3), ANL-MCS, APG-3(2), ARDC(3), ARE-PN@UCL-CS,
ARI-HQ1(10), BBN(1), BBNA(BB+1), BBNCC4, BBNCCH(2), BBNCCS, BBNCCT(3),
BBNCCX, BBNCCY(2), BBN-CLXX, BBNF, BBNG(14), BBN-LABS-B, BBN-MENTOR,
BBN-META, BBN-SPCA, BBN-UNIX(9), BBN-VAX(6), B.CC@BERKELEY,
D@BERKELEY.EDU, UCBVAX.BERKELEY.EDU, UCBCAD@BERKELEY(2),
UCBCORY@BERKELEY, UCBDALI@BERKELEY(2), UCBERNIE@BERKELEY(4),
UCBESVAX@BERKELEY, UCBIC@BERKELEY, UCBLAPIS@BERKELEY, BNL44,
BRL(BB+1), BRL-VOC, C.MFENET@LLL-MFE, CECOM-1, CECOM-2,
PCO@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS, CIT-20, CIT-HAMLET, CIT-VAX, CMU-CS-A(BB+5),
CMU-CS-G(2), CMU-RI-ISL1, COLUMBIA-20, CORNELL(BB+1),
CRYS.WISC.EDU, CRDC-VAX2, CSNet-SH, DCA-EMS(2), DCT%DDXA@UCL-CS, DDN,
HUDSON.DEC.COM(2), DEC-MARLBORO(2), Other.DEC@DECWRL(23), DMC-CRC,
DOCKMASTER(2), DREA-XX, EDN-UNIX, EDN-VAX(2), EDWARDS-2060, EGLIN-VAX,
ETL-AI, FORD-COS1, FORD-SCF1(2), FSU.MFENET@LLL-MFE(3), GE-CRD(2),
SCH-GODZILLA@SCRC-STONY-BROOK(2) GSWD-VMS(BB+1), GUNTER-ADAM,
GWUVM@MIT-MULTICS(3), HARV-10, HAWAII-EMH, HI-MULTICS(BB+1),
CSCKNP@HI-MULTICS, HOPKINS, IBM-SJ, ISIA, ISI-VAXA(10), JPL-VAX,
JPL-VLSI(7), KESTREL, LANL, LBL-CSAM, LLLASD.DECNET@LLL-CRG, LLL-CRG,
LLL-MFE(6), CMA@LLL-MFE, DMA@LLL-MFE, ORN@LLL-MFE, PPL@LLL-MFE(2),
SAI@LLL-MFE, LL-VLSI, LL-XN, LOGICON, MARYLAND, MCC-DB@MCC(2),
AI@MCC(2), CAD@MCC, PP@MCC, MIT-MC, MIT-MULTICS, ADL@MIT-MULTICS,
MIT-OZ@MIT-MC, MITRE(14), MITRE-BEDFORD, MITRE-GATEWAY(3), MOUTON,
MWCAMIS@MITRE, MWVM@MITRE, NADC(9), NBS-VMS, NCSC(3), NLM-MCS,
NOSC(BB+4), CCVAX@NOSC, NOSC-F4(BB+5), COD@NOSC(5), TETRA@NOSC,
NPRDC(BB+3), NRL-AIC, NRL-CSS, NSWC-WO(2), NTA-VAX(BB+2), NTSC-74,
NUSC, NYU, NYU-CSD2, OAK.SAINET.MFENET@LLL-MFE, MDC@OFFICE-1, OMNILAX,
ORNL-MSR(BB+1), OSLO-VAX, PAXRV-NES, PURDUE, RADC-MULTICS,
RADC-TOPS20, RAND-UNIX(BB+1), RDG.AM.UTS@UCL-CS, RIACS, RICE,
ROCHESTER(3), RUTGERS(BB+1), SAIL(BB+3), SAN.SAINET.MFENET@LLL-MFE,
SANDIA-CAD, SCRC-STONY-BROOK(5), SECKENHEIM-EMH, SIMTEL20,
SRI-AI(BB+6), SRI-CSL, SRI-KL(19), SRI-NIC(BB+1), SRI-SPAM,
SRI-TSC(3), SRN-VAX, STL-HOST1, SU-AMADEUS@SU-SCORE, SU-CSLI(BB+1),
SU-GSB-HOW(2), SUMEX(BB+3), SU-PSYCH(3), SU-SCORE(BB+8),
SU-SIERRA(BB+2), SU-SUSHI(4), SYMBOLICS(2), TKOV02.DEC@DECWRL, UCBKIM,
UCL-CS(BB+1), CAMJENNY@UCL-CS, UK.AC.EDINBURGH@UCL-CS(2),
RLGM@UCL-CS(3), UCLA-LOCUS(BB+2), UCSD, UDEL, A.CS.UIUC.EDU,
MIMSY.UMD.EDU, VAX.NR.UNINETT@NTA-VAX, VAX.RUNIT.UNIT.UNINETT@NTA-VAX(3),
USC-ECL, USC-ISI(8), USC-ISIB(BB+5), USC-ISIF(6), UTAH-20(BB+2),
UTEXAS-20, WASHINGTON(4), WHARTON-10(2), WHITNEY, WISC-AI,
WISC-CRYS(5), WISC-GUMBY, WISC-PIPE, WISC-RSCH(2), WISCVM,
WPAFB-INFO1, WPAFB-AFITA, WSMR04, WSMR06, XEROX, YALE
CSNet:
BGSU, BOSTONU(3), BRANDEIS, BROWN, BUFFALO, CLEMSON(3), COLGATE,
COLOSTATE, DEPAUL, GATECH, GERMANY, GMR(12), GTE-LABS(2), HP-BRONZE,
HP-LABS, SJRLVM1%IBM-SJ, WLVM1%IBM-SJ, IRO.UDEM.CDN%UBC,
CSKAIST%KAIST(2), LOSANGEL%IBM-SJ, LSU, NMSU(2), NORTHEASTERN(11),
OKSTATE, PITT, RPICS, SCAROLINA(3), SMU(BB+1), SPERRY-RESTON, TAMU,
SPY%TEKTRONIX, TEKCHIPS%TEKTRONIX, TEKIG5%TEKTRONIX, TEKGVS%TEKTRONIX,
TEKLDS%TEKTRONIX, TENNESSEE, CSL60%TI-CSL(BB+1), TI-EG, UTAI%TORONTO,
TUFTS, UBC, UCF-CS, UCI, UCSC, UIOWA(BB+1), ARCHEBIO%UIUC,
UIUCDCSB%UIUC, ULOWELL(2), UMASS-CS, UMN-CS, UNC, UPENN, VIRGINIA,
VPI, WWU(2), YKTVMV@IBM-SJ(7)
BITNET@WISCVM:
BOSTONU(2), BROWNVM, BUCASA, BUCKNELL, CARLETON, CBEBDA3T, CGEUGE51,
CUNYVM(2), CZHRZU1A, DB0TUI11, DBNGMD21, DBNRHRZ1(2), DBSTU1,
DDATHD21, DDATHD21, DHDURZ2(2), HNYKUN52, HNYKUN53, HWALHW5, ICNUCEVM,
IDUI1, IPACUC, ISRAEARN, NJECNVM, NSNCCVM, RYERSON(2), SBBIOVM,
SLACVM.WISC.EDU, SUCASE, UCF1VM(2), UCONNVM, UHUPVM1, UKCC(2), ULKYVX,
UMCVMB, VTVM1, WISDOM, WSUVM1
BITNET@BERKELEY:
CORNELLA(2), HLERUL5, UTCVM(2), VPIVM2, WESLYN
Mailnet@MIT-MULTICS:
Grinnell, NJIT-EIES, RPI-MTS, UMich-MTS, VANDERBILT
Usenet Paths:
bellcore@BERKELEY,
franz@BERKELEY,
ucscc@BERKELEY,
sdcsvax!sdamos!crash@NOSC,
mcvax!inria!imag!csinn@SEISMO.CSS.GOV,
dec-rhea!dec-gvaic3@DECWRL,
mcvax!enea!erix@SEISMO
mcvax!cernvax!ethz@SEISMO.CSS.GOV,
packard!ihesa@SEISMO.CSS.GOV,
mcvax!ircam@SEISMO.CSS.GOV,
mcvax!inria!lasso@SEISMO.CSS.GOV,
mcvax!cernvax!unizh@SEISMO,
tflop@SU-SHASTA,
vitesse!vec_j@S1-C
This includes something like 35 government and military sites, 15
national laboratories and research institutes, 55 companies and
nonprofit corporations, and 100 universities around the world.
That's just the direct mailings; my thanks to the many people who
have established and maintained local bboards and remailers.
About a year ago I began to worry that the international nature of the
list might violate President Reagan's directives concerning
unclassified technical (export restricted) and unclassified national
security-related (UNS-R) information. (The list goes to Canada,
Britain, Australia, West Germany, Norway, the Netherlands,
Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, etc. Readers in these countries have
also contributed to the list, of course.). I sent out some queries
and received a great deal of informed discussion, but there were no
firm precedents for determining whether we were headed for trouble.
The whole file is available for those who want it; just write to
AIList-Request@SRI-AI.ARPA. I have attempted, at least four times, to
summarize the material, but have been unable to do so without losing
the critical context of each opinion. The policy I have settled on
(subject to revision) is the following:
AIList is a public information service provided to the Arpanet
community and others though my own efforts, indirect support from
my company, and the help of numerous individuals and organizations
at other sites. Readers are advised not to submit any material
that is export controlled or classified. As moderator, I must
assume that individuals have obtained all required clearances for
their submissions to the list and for the university bboard messages
that AIList occasionally reprints. The export control laws are both
broad and vague, but material that could be published in news magazines
or publicly available scientific journals is probably safe. Scientific
information "without engineering or military significance" is always
permissible, but technical details of specific military or government-
controlled systems should not be discussed in this forum.
I would also like to point out that, in my own opinion, technology transfer
via informed discussion and incremental question/answer exchanges can be
far more effective than by flooding a channel with printed technical material.
Indeed, that is the very reason for AIList's existence -- to put people in
touch with those who can help them the most. Readers at government-supported
sites should keep in mind that any exchanges of reports or technical data
resulting from "friendly contacts" on the AIList are their own responsibility,
and that care should be taken when communicating over unsecure channels or
with unknown individuals.
For those participants who regard the above as paranoid, I apologize for
any offense. The critical decisions concerning U.S. policy and network
policy are not mine to make; I merely interpret them as best I can. I am
comfortable with the level of exchange that AIList has promoted, and
grateful for the broad participation that has made the list such a success.
-- Dr. Kenneth I. Laws
Computer Scientist
SRI International
------------------------------
Date: Fri 3 Jan 86 23:39:12-EST
From: "Daniel F. Lane" <GZT.LANE@OZ.AI.MIT.EDU>
Subject: Wargamers!
[Forwarded from the MIT bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.]
To anyone interested in wargames, or strategy games in general, myself and
SWF at OZ are starting a wargamers mailing list. Discuss the latest games
out on the market, etc. Also, as soon as we get it all organized (if?) we
will be running a game over the net called "Battle for North America" or,
"The Second Battle-Between-the-States" (whichever you prefer). But, more
about that after we get the group rolling. Send any addition requests to:
WAR-GAMES-REQUEST%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC. Thanks, Daniel Lane (GZT.LANE@OZ)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 86 17:10 EST
From: Kurt Godden <godden%gmr.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>
Subject: Computer Othello Tournament
I received an announcement in the mail and am passing it along to ailist
out of the goodness of my heart. I am not connected in any way with the
tournament (other than as an entrant):
1986 North American Computer Othello Championship Tournament
Host: CS Association at California State University, Northridge
When: February 15-16, 1986.
Where: Cal State campus in Northridge (LA area)
Sanctioned by:U.S. Othello Association
>From flier: "...an eight-round, Swiss-style event with awards for the winners,
and is open to computers of all makes, models, and sizes.
Participation from programmers anywhere in the world is welcome;
entrants need not be present, as they may play via phone or submit
software and/or hardware to be run by volunteer representatives."
For detailed info you are requested to contact
1) North American Computer Othello Championship
CSUN Computer Science Association
School of Engineering, Box 31
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330
2) Brian Swift or Marc Furon (apparently pronounced ['fju ren] -KG) at
213-852-5096
Please don't contact me.
-Kurt Godden
p.s. Presumably it's necessary or at least polite to note that 'Othello'
is a registered trademark of CBS Toys.
------------------------------
Date: Mon 6 Jan 86 07:17:05-EST
From: "Fred Hapgood" <SIDNEY.G.HAPGOOD@OZ.AI.MIT.EDU>
Subject: computer chess tutor
Would anybody know who might be thinking about
tutor/annotator functions in chess computers?
The simplest imaginable computer chess tutor might work like
this: After one had played a game against it one would indicate
the moves one wished to see annotated. The machine would retrieve
the positions in that range on which you had the move. For each
it would run its evaluation routine to see what move it would
have made had it been playing. It would then score both (a) the
position resulting from your move and (b) that resulting from the
move generated by its own routine. This done, it would move on to
the next move in the series and repeat the procedure. One could
of course enter an entire score, perhaps from a newspaper, and
have the computer perform this function for the moves of both
sides.
When the list was exhausted the machine would find all the
cases in which the evaluator routine scored a difference between
(a) and (b) of more than a defined amount. It would then display
these cases either by replaying the game and stopping at the
points found, or in order of greatest disparity, i.e., biggest
blunder first. In either case display would consist of: (i) the
original position, (ii) the move actually made, and (iii) the
improvement claimed by the machine, together with a short list of
the best subsequent moves for both sides.
This is only the simplest instance of how a machine might
comment on a position or 'explain' itself.
From a marketing point of view, one virtue of these devices
is that tutors can never get too strong. A person buying a chess
computer as a opponent is likely to drop out of the market for
new versions once the machines have gotten strong enough to be a
challenge. What is being sold in an annotator is authority, and
one can never get enough of that. In fact, it is possible that as
chess computers improve, the forces driving that market will
shift from using chess computers as calculators to using them as
annotators.
------------------------------
End of AIList Digest
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