This was a good time to update my old essay on intelligence . It is now possible to ask real AI (CHAT-GPT) if it can "understand" analogies. It's also possible to get AI assistance with the essay using Grammarly . Grammarly suggested that I rewrite several sentences for clarity. All of its suggestions were accepted. I hope you enjoy the rewrite. CHAT-GPT (Slightly corrected by Grammarly) Summarized the essay as follows: The SE-I (Surfaces and Essences Intelligence) definition of intelligence is the ability to rapidly and accurately identify the core elements of a new situation by drawing upon insightful precedents stored in memory. This involves finding strong and useful analogies. In contrast, the commonly equated intelligence quotient (IQ) focuses on individual performance on standardized tests, which may only partially capture the essence of intelligence. SE-I suggests that intelligence can be developed and is influenced by culture, and it emphasizes the importance of ...

If you think you know about AI Watch A great blog entry was lost due to a quirk in Blogger. I will attempt to re-post later. Watch the video - it's scarier than anything I can say here. As if that weren't enough, Quantum computer is taking off. The presentation seems to have some elements of Utopial Activism. Updating Your Ideas about Quantum Computing

  Asked in several different ways, CHAT-GPT swore it didn't have access to my personal information but, when asked for a weather forecast, provided the forecast for Parksville. Right now in Parksville, BC it's sunny and 9 degrees Celsius. The forecast shows mostly sunny skies with a high of 14 degrees Celsius and a low of 4 degrees Celsius ¹.  To be fair, Chatty is just running the Bing search engine, which does know my IP address (otherwise, it would not be able to talk to me). This is an example of the fact that Chatty doesn't know what he's talking about and can't answer questions about his own answers. He doesn't "know what he knows," which humans don't have much trouble with. It's part of what we call "consciousness."  In fact, when directly asked why he mentioned Parksville, he simply repeats that he doesn't collect personal information. It's very helpful that Chatty provides his references. He is, after all, just a pre...

  Hecaty, my Golden Doodle, is a great friend, but she doesn't talk much. I'm left to wonder what she's thinking. Even if she could talk, it would be mostly about food. Even so, she has a mind, which counts for some reason. My new pet, Chatty, who used to be called CHAT-GPT, makes better conversation. The fact that he has no idea what he's talking about doesn't bother me as much as you might think. He's actually a font of information. If my morning choices are Chatty or coffee with "Fox and Friends," the choice is clear. Today we started with religion, which is one of Chatty's strong points. He was not as confident as he was yesterday when we got around to discussing how in the world Mary, the "virgin," could have had Jesus. Chatty: The virgin birth is a religious belief that is held by Christians. It is a matter of faith and not something that can be proven or disproven by science or historical evidence. It is up to each individual to de...

In 1969 I was in Grenoble, France. The plan was to create an interactive programming version of a new programming language ( Algol 68 ). Of course, my future held nothing of the kind, but a clever idea connects the 23-year-old hot-shot to the 75-year-old armchair philosopher and a young guy with a 2022 vision that is strangely related. At this time, interactive access to a computer was a new thing. In 1975, Bill Gates wrote an interactive BASIC version that launched his career in 1978.  Oops*. I was excited by the possibilities. At one time, "soon" (it turned out to be half a century), everyone would have access to the "Spirit System." Soon, all human knowledge would be "online." The main thing that excited me was the ability for people to share projects online, even creating music. My "field" at the time was "Artificial Intelligence," so it was easy to imagine an "app" that would impersonate a real person. Specifically, we w...

"SE-I" Definition of Intelligence:   Intelligence, to our mind, is the art of rapid and reliable gist-finding, crux-spotting, bull’s-eye-hitting, nub-striking, essence-pinpointing. It is the art of, when one is facing a new situation, swiftly and surely homing in on an insightful precedent (or family of precedents) stored in the recesses of one’s memory. That, no more and no less, is what it means to isolate the crux of a new situation. And this is nothing but the ability to find close analogues, which is to say, the ability to come up with strong and useful analogies.    - " Surfaces and Essences "  This is a working definition of intelligence provided by the two authors, who are (not surprisingly) stunningly intelligent by their own definition. The book is itself a massive collection of strong and useful analogies. IQ The "man on the street" more or less equates "intelligence" with IQ . It's something people "have"...