Saturday, March 17, 2018

Artificial intelligence and me

Elder Son spoke at a conference a while ago about artificial intelligence (AI) and he just sent me the video link. Husband watched it and tried to explain it to me.

'It's about teaching machines to make links between words and to ... blah blah blah.' (I got a bit lost or I may have stopped listening.)
'For example,' Husband continued, 'tell the machine to link quill and ink and what do you get?'
'Writing.'
'No. Pen.'
'It could be writing.'
'No, you'd have to add action to the instructions as well. Try this one instead. Link banana and vegetable.'
'Fruit salad.'
Husband stared at me. 'No. Yam.'
'It could be fruit salad.'
'How?'
'Because banana is a fruit and salad is a vegetable.'
Husband stared at me again and shook his head. My logic is faultless.

I think it will be a long time before they make a machine capable of thinking like me.

8 comments:

ole Phat Stu said...

Banana is a berry and Yam a root. So I dont See the connection.

mrsnesbitt said...

yes, I know the feeling. Sometimes I ask a question - in my opinion a simple question but the 2 hour scientific lecture I receive leaves me non the wiser and often more confused!

Liz Hinds said...

So it's not just me then!

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Link banana and vegetable.
No, I've sat and thought about this while I was eating supper and still can't think why I'd want to. My great-granny's curries, perhaps. You know, one of those 'old India hands' ones with raisins and apples in. (If you've ever eaten one you will never forget it and not fondly...)

nick said...

There was a funny story recently about a robot that was programmed to flip burgers. It had to be taken out of service because it could't flip burgers as fast as a human being.

nick said...

Are there any robots with a sense of humour? I'm sure it would be very hard to replicate something so very individual and idiosyncratic.

Liz Hinds said...

Oh yes, Sonata, my Uncle George was ex-India and Auntie Maud made those curries.

Nick, some things you just need a human for!

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

I am totally flummoxed .. How does "YAM" Link a banana and Vegetable ?? I would ditch these machines hahaha .. No , I am being serious .. What is the link ?

I did have to google about a "Banana being a Berry"

They are derived from a single flower with more than one ovary, making them an aggregate fruit. True berries are simple fruits stemming from one flower with one ovary and typically have several seeds. Tomatoes fall into this group, as do pomegranates, kiwis and—believe it or not—bananas.