Re[2]: computer-go: Pattern matching

[rbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

David Elsdon asserted:

"There is no inherent difference between the human brain and a computer system
which prevents knowledge that it [sic] stored in a human brain from being
emulated by a computer."

This is a _very_ strong assertion.  I think it can easily be disproved.

It may be the case that knowledge like office skills and perhaps even go skills
may be so emulated.  It may be the case that computers can write sonatas in the
style of Bach, or play games of go in the style of Takemiya, or of Go Seigen.

I'm not disputing that, and maybe a computer will some day beat a 9-dan pro, or
compose Beethoven's 783rd Symphony.

However, I _know_ what a rose smells like.  I _know_ when I am hungry.  If you
can prove to me that such knowledge, stored in my brain, may be emulated by a 
computer, I will agree with your assertion.  Until then, I will continue to
believe that there _is_ an inherent difference between the human brain and a
computer system.  That inherent difference _does_ prevent the knowledge of what
a rose smells like, or the knowledge of what it is to be hungry, from being
stored in a computer.

The Turing test is useless here, it's not enough for your program to type,
"I'm hungry" even if it can fool me into thinking that it is a human.

As for what that difference is, it may simply be that we are made of meat
instead of silicon, that our memories are stored electro-chemically as RNA,
instead of being stored upon coarser media.  So, all you have to do is build
a meat computer, and re-try your assertion then.  Until then, such an assertion
about the capabilities of computers is at best wishful thinking.

Rich
-- 
Richard L. Brown              Office of Information Services
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