[Discuss] Fwd : AI crosses the AGI threshold

Dale R. Worley worley at alum.mit.edu
Fri Apr 14 11:48:31 EDT 2023


discuss-request at driftwood.blu.org writes:
> From: Kurt L Keville <kkeville at mit.edu>
> To: "discuss at lists.blu.org" <discuss at driftwood.blu.org>
>
> *********************************************
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
>
> AI crosses the AGI threshold
>
> Stanford, CA, United States - April 1, 2023 - 12AM, AoE

Also, be cautious about trusting the Turing test!

Dale
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James Martin, "The Design of Man-Computer Dialogs", page 525

A Psychiatrist Talks to Eliza

The following is another illustration of a dialogue with ELIZA
(discussed in Chapter 4).  Dr. Andrew T. Weil reported a human
psychiatrist using the teleprinter, not knowing that the responses
were coming from a computer programmed to converse like a psychiatrist
[1]!

footnote:  [1] A. T. Weil, "Conversations with a Mechanical
Psychiatrist," Harvard Rev., No. 3 pp. 68-74, 1965.

PSYCHIATRIST:  DOCTOR, I HAVE TERRIBLE NEWS
TELEPRINTER:   YOU SAY YOU HAVE TERRIBLE NEWS
PSYCHIATRIST:  YES, THERE IS A COMPUTER PROGRAM AT M.I.T. THAT'LL RUIN US
TELEPRINTER:   WHY DO YOU SAY THAT
PSYCHIATRIST:  I HAVE SEEN IT WORKING
TELEPRINTER:   YOU SAY YOU HAVE SEEN IT WORKING
PSYCHIATRIST:  IT'S FRIGHTENING - YOU MUST SEE IT
TELEPRINTER:   YOU THINK I MUST SEE IT
PSYCHIATRIST:  YOU SOUND DEPRESSED TO ME
TELEPRINTER:   IN YOUR FANTASY PERHAPS WE SOUND DEPRESSED TO EACH OTHER
PSYCHIATRIST:  YES - PERHAPS
TELEPRINTER:   I UNDERSTAND
PSYCHIATRIST:  I DO TOO
TELEPRINTER:   YOU SAY YOU DO TOO
PSYCHIATRIST:  WE ARE BOTH IN THE SAME BOTH WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPUTER
TELEPRINTER:   LET'S CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT YOU - SHALL WE
PSYCHIATRIST:  YOU ARE A COMFORT
TELEPRINTER:   WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM A COMFORT
PSYCHIATRIST:  AT A TIME LIKE THIS YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT ME
TELEPRINTER:   WHY DO YOU THINK I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU
PSYCHIATRIST:  BECAUSE YOU SHARE MY FEELINGS ABOUT THAT DAMNED COMPUTER
TELEPRINTER:   WHAT DOES THAT SUGGEST TO YOU
PSYCHIATRIST:  THAT, OF COURSE, YOU HATE COMPUTERS TOO
TELEPRINTER:   YOU THINK I HATE COMPUTERS TOO
PSYCHIATRIST:  WHY NOT, THEY'RE HARDLY HUMAN, ARE THEY
TELEPRINTER:   PERHAPS THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE TO FIND OUT
PSYCHIATRIST:  NO COMPUTER COULD CONVERSE AS YOU CAN, FOR EXAMPLE
TELEPRINTER:   OH
PSYCHIATRIST:  I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE COULD BE FOOLED BY A MACHINE
TELEPRINTER:   CAN'T YOU REALLY
PSYCHIATRIST:  NO, AFTER ALL, THERE IS NOTHING CREATIVE ABOUT A
               COMPUTER PROGRAM
TELEPRINTER:   YOU ARE BEING NEGATIVE
PSYCHIATRIST:  I AM CONVINCED I AM CORRECT
TELEPRINTER:   ARE YOU WORRIED TO HAVE BEEN CONVINCED YOU ARE CORRECT
PSYCHIATRIST:  NO, NOT IN THE LEAST.  NOT AT ALL.  NOT EVEN A LITTLE
TELEPRINTER:   YOU ARE BEING NEGATIVE
PSYCHIATRIST:  YOU SAID YOU AGREED WITH ME, DIDN'T YOU
TELEPRINTER:   IS THAT WHAT YOU HEARD ME SAY
TELEPRINTER:   WHY DON'T YOU TRY TO DISSUADE ME - COMPUTERS DIDDLE
               WITH NUMBERS THAT'S ALL
TELEPRINTER:   YOU WISH ME TO TRY TO DISSUADE YOU
PSYCHIATRIST:  YOU CAN'T
TELEPRINTER:   YOU THINK I CAN'T
PSYCHIATRIST:  FOR EXAMPLE, COULD A COMPUTER IN CONVERSATION LIKE THIS
               RAISE A NEW TOPIC
TELEPRINTER:   YOU SEEM TO HAVE AVOIDED SPEAKING OF YOUR PARENTS ALTOGETHER
PSYCHIATRIST:  PRECISELY AS YOU JUST DID
TELEPRINTER:   YOU THINK I JUST DID
PSYCHIATRIST:  YES, AND THAT'S WHAT SHOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MAN
               AND A COMPUTER
TELEPRINTER:   I SEE

[Somewhere else I read an account of this event that ran like this:

[An experiment was undertaken to compare psychotherapy done by Eliza to
psychotherapy done by a real psychotherapist.  Inevitably, the
software was not finished on time, and so the computer-based clinic
was initially simulated by connecting the patents' teleprinters to
teleprinters operated by real psychotherapists, whose job was to
simulate Eliza (which simulated a psychotherapist).

[A psychiatrist was given a tour of the facility and he become
distressed at the possibility of computer-driven obsolescence of
psychiatrists.  Naturally, he undertook to ventilate his feelings with
a psychiatrist.  Thinking that the teleprinter was conversing with a
human, he started the dialog.  However, that particular teleprinter
was actually connected to Eliza for testing purposes.]


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