Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 38, No. 250.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
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        Date: 2024-11-22 06:38:33+00:00
        From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@mccarty.org.uk>
        Subject: my interest in AI

Recently, on Humanist, Manfred Thaller asked why my interest in AI,
that is, what was behind the posting about the many appointments in that
field? Two answers.

First, having struggled to understand what is meant by this term, I came
to the conclusion that it is vapid--but effective in wielding power and
loosening governmental purse-strings. So it needs to be held up somewhat
in the manner of 'the emperor has no clothes!'

Second, the emperor's naked body (perhaps a fig leaf can be permitted)
is interesting, or to ditch the figurative language, what smart machines
are doing does show signs of a different mode of intelligence, and that
is really of interest to me. In other words, it helps to pluralise
'intelligence', as with the octopus, plant life and so on. To be more 
cautious, I think we need to look for signs of a different mode, and those 
who can to develop it. In the rubbish heap of failures in AI to act like us, 
is there anything of this sort?

I wrote about this some time ago, in "Steps towards a therapeutic
artificial intelligence", Science in the Forest, Science in the Past
III, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 49.1:104-149.

Yours,
Willard McCarty

--
Willard McCarty,
Professor emeritus, King's College London;
Editor, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews;  Humanist
www.mccarty.org.uk


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