Artificial Intelligence: Arrogance or Ignorance?
The URLs given below are mostly those which happened to cross my line of vision at about the time I was writing this essay.

Eliza

  • One implementation of Eliza, the first chatterbot, (another), a description of Eliza and Parry Alice is another (see this PDF for more on her and Eliza)
  • Jo Twist, Chatbot bids to fool humans, BBC, 2003 September 22 (a program designed to talk like a human takes on international competition to be the most human of all) ; also German chatty bot is "most human" loc cit, October 20
  • Jim McClellan, Human possibilities, The Guardian, 2003 October 23 (the annual prize for the world's most human-seeming chatbot has been won by Jabberwock but it will be some time before anyone wins the ultimate prize)

    Other URLs

  • Anyone for whom my mention of a predestinate groove rang a mild bell might wish to look here or here
  • Hi-tech babble baffles many, BBC, 2003 July 8 (most people are flummoxed by the jargon surrounding new technology)
  • Digging into the brain, BBC, 2003 September 9 (UK researchers are about to begin a project that will attempt to establish precisely how and when the human mind evolved)
  • Moral monkeys, The Economist, 2003 September 18 (some monkeys seem to have a highly developed sense of fairness)
  • David Whitehouse, Monkeys show sense of justice, BBC, 2003 September 19 (monkeys will protest if they see another monkey getting a better reward for the same task)
  • Modelling complexity, The Economist, October 9 (artificial "agents" can model complex systems)
  • The future, The Economist, October 9 (the coming integration of IT and biotechnology will have a profound effect on the way we think and live)
  • Smart software watches the skies, BBC, 2003 October 15 (intelligent software is helping astronomers keep pace with the unpredictabile nature of the Universe)
  • Cyber women test what's real, BBC, 2003 October 22 (advances in technology have made it possible to create life-like virtual women as an exhibition in London shows)
  • Doomsday Guide (a collection of URLs on AI)