hani_backup (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hani_backup) wrote2009-10-05 08:07 pm
hani_backup) wrote2009-10-05 08:07 pm
Nobel Prize for Intelligence
This following topic is my first paper for AI. I love the subject matter, though I'm scared to even begin it. It's due Wednesday...
Papers should be 4-6 pages double-spaced.
You are the President of the Nobel Prize Committee in the year 2065. You have been asked to give out the very first Nobel Prize for Intelligence (they’re really hurting for prizes to give out). The nominees have been chosen for you, and you must determine which of them deserves the award and, most importantly, why. You have been instructed not to take this task lightly, since governments and law-making bodies around the world are likely to look at the criteria you used in making your choice whenever they need to update laws regarding rights and restrictions in relation to intelligence. (It’s a rough future – if you aren’t intelligent enough, you aren’t allowed to drive a vehicle, own a home, or reproduce. You are still permitted to run for public office, however.) Since individual rights are at stake, you want to make a clear and insightful decision that will challenge the way people think about intelligence. You have been asked to include a 4-6 page justification and articulation of why you made the choice you did from among the various nominees.
And the nominees are…
1) A 42 year old chimpanzee named Alan. Alan speaks 5 languages (that we know of), including American Sign Language, English, German, Ancient Greek, and Swahili. He uses a voice generator, much like the famous physicist Stephen Hawking did, in order to “speak” languages without the vocal apparatus of the average human being. In addition, Alan paints works of abstract art that are praised in the art community, and he has a gestural and verbal communication system that he uses to communicate with other chimpanzees, the way they have always communicated as a species. While humans are able to recognize this as a robust communication system, no human has learned the gestures and calls well enough to communicate with Alan in his own native language.
2) A 6-day old infant named Mary. Mary is young, but she shows remarkable promise. When she was a mere 10 minutes old, her doctor noticed she was able to imitate his actions; when he stuck his tongue out at her, she stuck her tongue out back. She had never seen a tongue (or a mirror) and hence no one is quite sure how she was able to know how to mimic his action, but she did. She also smiled and giggled when her parents smiled at her, and when they furrowed their brows and looked frustrated, she furrowed her brow and mimicked them. She speaks no languages, cannot feed or care for herself, and is poor at communicating overall, but with many years of training, we expect she will eventually develop these skills.
3) A computer program called Joshua. Joshua does not have a body, but is a very sophisticated set of software programs all running in parallel. Joshua is distributed across several different actual computers, and because of this, when any of his “thoughts” hit a glitch, the other computers pick up the slack and so even Joshua doesn’t notice the glitch. Because of this, his processors never break down obviously. Joshua speaks 600 languages, including several that he invented to better understand the instructions he is given by his human friends. Without these friends, he would be incapable of acquiring new information about the world since he cannot move around and interact with it directly. He has no sensory apparatus.
4) A stay-at-home-dad named David. David has a PhD in education. He speaks English and a little bit of Spanish he picked up watching telenovelas with his two small children. David worked as a second-grade school teacher for seven years before his children were born, and he left the workforce to stay at home and raise them. He excels at crossword puzzles, enjoys camping and waterskiing, and hasn’t learned how to program his DVR yet. He occasionally publishes poetry in respected literary magazines for some extra income.
5) A robot named Rosie. Rosie does not speak any languages. She works as a housekeeper for a very affluent family in the Hamptons. She cleans their 17,000 square foot house from top to bottom every day, as well as preparing meals for the family of 6. She packs lunches for the children (aged 3-17), and does repair work around the house when she recognizes that it is needed. She has fully articulated arms and legs, and does not need any assistance in her every day activities. She is building another robot out of superior materials in the basement in her spare time.
I'm leaning towards Alan...
Papers should be 4-6 pages double-spaced.
You are the President of the Nobel Prize Committee in the year 2065. You have been asked to give out the very first Nobel Prize for Intelligence (they’re really hurting for prizes to give out). The nominees have been chosen for you, and you must determine which of them deserves the award and, most importantly, why. You have been instructed not to take this task lightly, since governments and law-making bodies around the world are likely to look at the criteria you used in making your choice whenever they need to update laws regarding rights and restrictions in relation to intelligence. (It’s a rough future – if you aren’t intelligent enough, you aren’t allowed to drive a vehicle, own a home, or reproduce. You are still permitted to run for public office, however.) Since individual rights are at stake, you want to make a clear and insightful decision that will challenge the way people think about intelligence. You have been asked to include a 4-6 page justification and articulation of why you made the choice you did from among the various nominees.
And the nominees are…
1) A 42 year old chimpanzee named Alan. Alan speaks 5 languages (that we know of), including American Sign Language, English, German, Ancient Greek, and Swahili. He uses a voice generator, much like the famous physicist Stephen Hawking did, in order to “speak” languages without the vocal apparatus of the average human being. In addition, Alan paints works of abstract art that are praised in the art community, and he has a gestural and verbal communication system that he uses to communicate with other chimpanzees, the way they have always communicated as a species. While humans are able to recognize this as a robust communication system, no human has learned the gestures and calls well enough to communicate with Alan in his own native language.
2) A 6-day old infant named Mary. Mary is young, but she shows remarkable promise. When she was a mere 10 minutes old, her doctor noticed she was able to imitate his actions; when he stuck his tongue out at her, she stuck her tongue out back. She had never seen a tongue (or a mirror) and hence no one is quite sure how she was able to know how to mimic his action, but she did. She also smiled and giggled when her parents smiled at her, and when they furrowed their brows and looked frustrated, she furrowed her brow and mimicked them. She speaks no languages, cannot feed or care for herself, and is poor at communicating overall, but with many years of training, we expect she will eventually develop these skills.
3) A computer program called Joshua. Joshua does not have a body, but is a very sophisticated set of software programs all running in parallel. Joshua is distributed across several different actual computers, and because of this, when any of his “thoughts” hit a glitch, the other computers pick up the slack and so even Joshua doesn’t notice the glitch. Because of this, his processors never break down obviously. Joshua speaks 600 languages, including several that he invented to better understand the instructions he is given by his human friends. Without these friends, he would be incapable of acquiring new information about the world since he cannot move around and interact with it directly. He has no sensory apparatus.
4) A stay-at-home-dad named David. David has a PhD in education. He speaks English and a little bit of Spanish he picked up watching telenovelas with his two small children. David worked as a second-grade school teacher for seven years before his children were born, and he left the workforce to stay at home and raise them. He excels at crossword puzzles, enjoys camping and waterskiing, and hasn’t learned how to program his DVR yet. He occasionally publishes poetry in respected literary magazines for some extra income.
5) A robot named Rosie. Rosie does not speak any languages. She works as a housekeeper for a very affluent family in the Hamptons. She cleans their 17,000 square foot house from top to bottom every day, as well as preparing meals for the family of 6. She packs lunches for the children (aged 3-17), and does repair work around the house when she recognizes that it is needed. She has fully articulated arms and legs, and does not need any assistance in her every day activities. She is building another robot out of superior materials in the basement in her spare time.
I'm leaning towards Alan...
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But it was due yesterday so *shrug*