Steve (01)
In the Odyssey, Odysseus was 'agathos' (good) exactly because he lied
and cheated in defence of his people, as was his duty as the king. I'm
not sure that is the forum to discuss whether we have progressed - or
whether this is an issue of philosophy or politics. I have read your
disclaimer. (02)
Sean Barker
Bristol, UK (03)
This mail is publicly posted to a distribution list as part of a process
of public discussion, any automatically generated statements to the
contrary non-withstanding. It is the opinion of the author, and does not
represent an official company view. (04)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
> Steve Newcomb
> Sent: 31 August 2007 14:31
> To: [ontolog-forum]
> Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] electric sheep
>
>
> *** WARNING ***
>
> This mail has originated outside your organization, either
> from an external partner or the Global Internet.
> Keep this in mind if you answer this message.
>
> Sean Barker wrote:
>
> > At what level of complexity do I need to start
> concerning myself with
> > Semantics rather that just Pragmatics? At what point would
> one say the
> > robot "understands concepts", rather than behaves according to
> > particular pragmatics?
>
> > I should add that as we develop increasing complex autonomous
> > systems, we need to create architectures that provide proper
> > separation of concerns, so this is primarily a question about
> > engineering, rather than philosophy.
>
> Autonomous military systems require significant "separation
> of concerns", especially including separation of the concern
> for humanity as a whole from concern for the success of a
> narrowly-defined military mission.
>
> A robot that fetches claret is amusing, but an autonomous
> target selector/destroyer is monstrous. If we must have such
> things, then it might be a good idea to insist that their
> behaviors reflect deep "concerns" about many things other
> than their narrowly-defined missions.
>
> In a 19th-century novel that still reverberates strongly in
> popular culture, Mary Shelley wrote about what happens when a
> marvelous engineering task is accomplished in the absence of
> awareness of broader issues.
>
> In a series of novels about robots, Isaac Asimov examined the
> implications of having "Laws of Robotics" that reflect the
> broadest concerns for the welfare of humanity. One of the
> later novels is kind of a murder mystery; it's all about a
> robot who is already dead when the novel begins. By the end
> of the novel, we understand that the robot had got himself
> into a jam in which he had no options at all, under the
> "Laws" he was bound to obey. As a result, he suffered from a
> kind of halting problem. It turned out to have been neither
> murder, nor suicide, nor a system failure. In a sense, the
> Laws of Robotics were Broken As Designed (BAD), in that they
> did not provide a way for a robot to survive their demands.
>
> It's so much easier to build a monster. Let's just forget
> about those pesky philosophical questions. Let's get on with
> the engineering!
> (;^)
>
> -- Steve
>
> Steven R. Newcomb, Consultant
> Coolheads Consulting
>
> Co-editor, Topic Maps International Standard (ISO/IEC 13250)
> Co-editor, draft Topic Maps -- Reference Model (ISO/IEC 13250-5)
>
> srn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.coolheads.com
>
> direct: +1 910 363 4032
> main: +1 910 363 4033
> fax: +1 910 454 8461
>
> 268 Bonnet Way
> Southport, North Carolina 28461 USA
>
> (This communication is not private. Since the destruction of
> the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by the U.S.
> Congress on August 5, 2007, no electronic communications of
> innocent citizens can be hidden from the U.S. government.
> Shamefully, our own generation, acting on fears promoted by
> fraudulently-elected rogues, has allowed absolute power
> (codenamed "unitary Executive") to be usurped by those very
> same rogues. Hail Caesar!)
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
> Subscribe/Config:
> http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
> Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/ Community Wiki:
> http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/ To Post:
> mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> (05)
********************************************************************
This email and any attachments are confidential to the intended
recipient and may also be privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender.
You should not copy it or use it for any purpose nor disclose or
distribute its contents to any other person.
******************************************************************** (06)
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
Subscribe/Config: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/
Community Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/
To Post: mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (07)
|