In article <sDfLLsjVtFDj-pn2-dK6DZE6411zu at ppp033.southern.co.nz>,
markj at southern.co.nz (Mark Jordan) wrote:
[Note follow-up in header]
>On Fri, 23 Jan 1998 09:46:15, savainl at earthlink.net (Louis Savain) wrote:
>>> In article <sDfLLsjVtFDj-pn2-sdTpughPXpyb at ppp033.southern.co.nz>,
>>markj at southern.co.nz (Mark Jordan) wrote:
>>>[...]
>> > I found the tone of
>> >the discussions there to be somewhat arrogant as well.
>>>> Well I regret that I have offended you. Could it be because I
>> unequivocally take the stance that the solution to the AI problem must
>> be simple at its core? I do realize that, in so doing, I seem to be
>> dismissing a large portion of AI research. Well, I do. There are too
>> many incompatible approaches to AI out there for me not to take side.
>> That there are so many is indicative of a fragmented science, a
>> science in disarray. My main criticism of AI scientists *in general*
>> (I do admire a sizable few, especially makers of autonomous learning
>> robots) is not they are not bright (they are some of the brightest
>> people on earth), or that they have not accomplished much. The
>> problem is that they worship complexity for its own sake. They expect
>> the solution to the common sense problem be hard and complicated and
>> they conduct their research accordingly. That, IMO, is a sure recipe
>> for failure.
>>No that's not it. I have no preconceived ideas about the
>"solution to the AI problem" and no vested interests in any
>particular hypothesis.
I think you do. No one is neutral in this field.
>Your criticisim of AI scientists is irrelevant. Concentrate
>on criticising their work not their intelligence.
I think you should read the above one more time. I do not criticize
the intelligence of AI scientists. On the contrary. I have spent a
good part of last year defending AI and AI scientists against the
attacks of a certain psychologist who insists on calling them
misguided.
>[...]
>I hope you will consider the criticisms of your *WORK* and see
>them as oppourtunities to improve, rather than discard them
>as personal attacks.
But you have not criticized any part of my work. You've criticized
me personally. But don't worry, I did not take offense.
Regards,
Louis Savain
President, Marengo Media, Inc.