Re: A question for tomorrow
Posted by
Frank Wimberly-2 on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/A-question-for-tomorrow-tp7593073p7593078.html
On the way to Friam I said to Nick. Turing Machines don't know anything. They may store representations of knowledge. I further said that a photograph also represents knowledge. For example, the number of floors of a given building. Most people would be puzzled by the question, "What does a photo know?"
There were multiple parallel conversations after we arrived. I don't recall additional discussions about what Turing Machines know.
Nick, I can't believe you are asking such a question -- unless by "know" you mean something very different from the common understanding. No computer knows anything, although it may have lots of stored information. (Information is meant in the Shannon sense.)
For example, Oxford
defines knowledge as "
Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject." This is distinct from, for example, having access to an encyclopedia--or even having memorized the contents of one. Turing machines, and computers in general, do not have an understanding of anything--even though they may have lots of Shannon-style information (which we understand as) related to some subject.
(Like Glen, though, I am interested in the results, if any, of this morning's meeting.)
-- Russ Abbott
Professor, Computer Science
California State University, Los Angeles
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