Binary Intelligence

  On August 31st, 1955,  John McCarthy, Marvin L. Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester and Claude E. Shannon introduced a proposal for a summer research project on artificial intelligence.  This was the first time that a reference to the idea of artificial intelligence can be found in modern history.
  Ever since then computer scientists have been exploring the possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI).  There are now many companies dedicated to just AI.  In fact, you may not be aware of just how often you already encounter it.  Games like Sim City (yes, the first one), Total War and Halo have made huge advancements in AI. All of these games have been very influential in the development of AI.
  Before I get into the ins and outs of intelligence and my views on creating thinking machines, there is some groundwork that I want to lay.  There are several divisions or categories of AI that are typically researched.  The main categories according to John McCarthy are logical, search, pattern recognition, inference, common sense knowledge and reasoning, learning from experience, planning, epistemology, ontology, heuristics and finally genetic programming.  It is my opinion that the most fundamental category of AI is often forgotten or left out, and that is creativity.  A creative artificial intelligence would be capable of making new intelligences, as well as advancing technology in ways previously unimaginable, even in science fiction.


  Noah Websters 1828 dictionary defines intelligence as, "Understanding; skill."   An intelligence can also refer to a being, as the same dictionary also points out, "4. A spiritual being; as a created intelligence. It is believed that the universe is peopled with innumerable superior intelligences."  Unfortunately, it appears that most of the energy in AI points toward the second definition rather than the first.  Even efforts to program creative AI still focus on the idea of replicating part of human intelligence.
  Most AI defies any sense of moral law, and in an attempt to ignore the presence of God, tries to replicate a consciousness.  The idea that man can create a being capable of thinking, learning and even creating on it's own defies God.  It is built around the idea of evolutionary theory, and assumes that humans can become godlike.  The game Black & White is a horribly perfect example of this.  As a result of such beliefs, the idea of working with AI in any way shape or form is a very tedious task, and requires very careful attention to detail. 

  We as humans can't be expected to understand everything a computer can, or to be capable of making any where near similar calculations.  This fact is easy for us to grasp.  You wouldn't remember every cell of a one hundred row by one hundred column spreadsheet, or be able to draw it from memory.  Grant it there are people with photographic memories, and they do have computer like abilities, but there are other calculations that computers make, such as GUI or OS related operations, that humans are very slow at.
  Once you get this fact, it becomes natural to understand that a computer is incapable of understanding things in the same way that humans are.  As far as we know, brain cells do not work in binary.   Until we know exactly how a brain works (something I don't think is possible) we will never be able to duplicate it electronically.
  So where am I going with this?  It's an article on Artificial intelligence, but I just claimed that it's not possible!  Or did I?
  The foundation of modern exploration on artificial intelligence focuses on human, or animal like intelligence.  The goal that has been set by the leaders in AI research is to achieve human like intelligence.  To me this is absurd.  What kind of intelligence is a computer capable of?  A computer understands things to be either truth or error, on or off, yes or no.  If someone could figure out how to give such a machine the ability to create, the possibilities become endless!
  It is my belief that computers are capable of much more in the way of intelligence than we give them credit for, and yet the drive of almost all AI development has been to duplicate a kind of intelligence that we know computers are incapable of.  We know computers are capable of some learning, some pattern recognition, and a type of logic.  Let us now pursue the ability to create, not based on the idea that man can become a god, but based on the idea that we now have a technology known as computers, and we have the responsibility given by God himself to be good stewards of these resources.
  If a group of individuals can make a program with creativity based on these concepts, there is a good chance that it will be capable of creating things that us humans could not even dream of.  So what are we waiting for?

Logic - the key to true understanding

  In the quest for knowledge, there is one concept that stands as the most important.  Without it, truth would cease to exist, ideas would have no meaning and character would vanish along with any moral law.  The past few months I've been taking an in depth look at logic using a curriculum written by Daniel Valles.
  The Art of Logic focuses on building concepts about logic, starting with the simplest and working toward the more difficult.  The series of 41 lessons uses a workbook and each lesson has it's own video.  One of the advantages of this course is the fact that much of the material refers to scripture using the KJV.
  Much of the understanding of logic that Valles comes to is derived from Isaac Watts book Logic. 

  I intend to continue to study logic beyond this course and Isaac Watts' book.  Some of my more recent thoughts have come out of this study, such as a theory for a creative artificial intelligence engine which hopefully I can talk about in a future post.
  Know of any good sources for the study of logic?  Please comment!

Visio

  I was first introduced to Visio, Microsoft's layout and flowchart application at the beginning of this term in school.  It allows you to very easily make layouts or designs of just about anything!  The seemingly limitless possibilities of this program made me practically fall in love with it.  You may even see me use some pictures taken from it as profile pictures for this or that.
  So what can you do with it?  You name it!  Design your dream house, layout a new computer application, design a website or even create a new circuit board.  I learned how do to some of the more advanced things from visguy.com and some other tutorials online.  Once you get it, it becomes very easy to duplicate things.
  My main term project is being done in Visio.  I call it Rigor.  It is a topology of my school.  for those of you that have Visio, I'll let you know when I'm done and I'll be posting a link so you can download the finished project at some point.

above: my dream office :)

A status webapp for Geeks

  Some people have more than one computer!   Some have up to three or four that they use on a daily basis.  So what do we do when we have 10 people to talk to, and we're on 2 out of 3?  I think us hard core geeks need a new web app.

  This application would be web based and be located at a single url... then you could install gadgets for facebook, twitter, and other profile pages, which automatically update in an increment that you define.
  Ok so here's how this works...  when you set it up, you configure each computer you use, then the application knows when you're online and with which computers.  It also knows what applications you have running, so like say you're on facebook but not MSN messenger, anyone that sees this app will know where you are.  You could also set priority levels on separate applications, so say you like Skype more than AIM, people would know what you prefer, and if they have it, probably use it first.
  Is it a good idea?  Would you use it?  Or better yet, if someone else had it, would it effect the way you communicate with them?

Limits

  It is a goal of mine to learn some specific things in the next 10 years.  It just so happens that I tend to spread my interests over so many things that when people ask me what I'm into, it usually takes me more than a few minutes to recall them all.  There are some obvious problems with this, particularly when setting goals about what to learn and when.
  The number of things on my list of things to learn in the next 10 years is currently up to 20.  Craziness I know, but if I don't set the goal, I'll never reach it.  Below is the list, in the most logical order I could come up with:

• IT (Information Technology)
• Bible
• Logic
• Business
• CAD
• Drafting
• Fashion
• Engineering
• Fabrication
  
• Metalwork / Woodwork
• Mechanics
  
• Survival
  
• Martial Arts
• Dirtbikes
  
• Medical
• Aviation
• Aquatics
• Music
• Linguistics
• Programming

  Why so many things?  How do you honestly expect to learn all of this.  Is it possible?
  That's the biggest question!  If it's not possible, then I guess I'll just have to wait for God to help me through whatever changes He decides to make.  You see, I feel that this list is not something that I was inspired to make on my own, but that God has had a big part in it's inspiration.
  I believe that I was called into the ministry to become a missionary pilot / board director / linguist / see list above, in south eastern Bolivar in Venezuela.  I feel He would have me start from scratch and organize a brand new mission board.  This kind of task requires certain skill sets, which I currently do not have.
  One morning, I sat at the river bank of the Susquehanna watching the sun rise.  I was tired and ready for bed.  I had just finished working third shift at Tom's convenience store.

  My life was busy; too busy.  I hadn't stopped to reflect on anything in months.  The continuous work and stress had me dull and mentally congested.  In the solace of the moment, I prayed.  I knew I needed to make some changes, because things were all adding up to being just to much for me to handle. In my prayer I asked for wisdom.  Not just wisdom in general, but a very specific kind of wisdom; the wisdom of organization.
  At that moment I felt a peace come over me.  With new ambition, I got up and went home to get some sleep.  Organization means something different to me now than it did before that morning;  it means fulfilling God's plan for my life.
  So is it possible to learn 20 completely different fields of study in 10 years? 
  Ask me in 10 years :)

The Perfect Workspace

  It has always been a dream of mine to build an office that was absolutely ideal.  Impossible you say?  Well first take a look at some of these work spaces!
  The Emperor 200 workstation from Novel Quest is probably the most ergonomic chair ever made.

It features three 19 inch LCD displays, a control screen at the fingertips of your left hand, a 5.1 surround sound system, fully adjustable seat, tilting and rotation, multiple working lights, filtered air conditioning and a built in webcam and microphone.
  Is it ideal?  Almost, but what if you decide you want to print something?  What if you want to scan files into a computer and organize them into a printed album?  The emperor is almost perfect for a lot of purposes, but in my opinion it doesn't cut it when it comes to the perfect workspace.
  NovelQuest has just recently release a new version called the Emporer 1510.

  Some computer savvy 'geeks' or programmers have built their own workstations in their homes that do as much or more than the emperor!  In this picture, a web developer uses this desk to do all his work.  Notice the computer picture frame on the wall.
  There are some things that I would like to incorporate in my workspace in the future.  Some things that are very important to me are ambient lighting, temperature control, screen space, shelves and filing cabinets to keep clutter down and it's always nice to have a little refrigerator on hand to put snacks and drinks so you don't have to walk all the way to the kitchen :)
  Below is my current workspace.  Always a work in progress, it includes some of the features that I consider ideal.  Green ambient lighting and 3 screens if you include the laptop.  As for temperature control, if I turn on all the lights and have all my computers running (there are some project computers on the back desk) the room warms up very quickly, large replacement windows provide good ventilation and cooling.  Not the best way to control temperatures, but it works.  There are plenty of shelves and desk space to keep things from getting scattered around the room (although i still find ways to make a mess). 

  I don't have a refrigerator, but I can't complain!  This workspace works pretty well for me and does everything I need it to do.  It is not what I would consider ideal, so it is continually expanding and I have plans for the perfect workspace, which hopefully I can build someday.

Language Schedule

  In my quest for learning, language and linguistics is among my favorite topics.  There are several languages that I would like to at least be able to communicate in by the end of my life.  I would like to learn Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese and a native South American language in that order.  This quest is life long, and I understand that.  I spent 3 months in Spain, 3 weeks in Equador, and some time on my own studying Spanish and Catalan.

  This undertaking is definately going to need some help.  I don't have very much time, so my thought was to have a monthly calendar for what to learn.  For instance, the first week of the month, I would learn the name of the month in my first language.  The second week, I would learn the name of the month in my second language and so on.  Days of the week would then be broken down into different subjects.  Monday might be focused on food.  Tuesday might be office things.
  I think this is a system that could potentially be developed into something very powerful.  It is however very preliminary, and really could use some suggestions.  Have you learned another language?  What do you think of this idea?
  I have tried some things similar to this already, but it seems the hardest thing to do is choosing words and finding an easy way to write them out or type them up without wasting time.
  Language remains one of my greatest passions.  The ability to communicate in another world, with a whole new culture, in a completely different tongue is truly beautiful.  The challenge of learning such a language is one of the things that draws me to it.  It can take a lifetime to learn how to best interact in a particular environment.  Thus the guru pilgrim continues his journey.