Watson is definitely not AGI, but if you read the original research papers on the Jeopardy win, it does appear to have some pretty advanced Statistical NLP models (and that was 3 years ago). I believe last month they announced the formation of the IBM Watson Group that will have $1B in funding, which supports a lot of research, even if a good portion of that is in commercialization of the product:
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/42867.wss The more important question to me though is the business model. Google is almost purely a consumer based product with the vast majority of it's profits coming from advertising (95%?), search being secondary ;). IBM Watson's business model seems to be almost exclusively Enterprise, with beginning projects in Healthcare and whatever else they're doing. Which business model will really push these narrow-AI approaches toward greater generality, driving AGI-ish research, and greater development? Yes, these huge companies can buy other more AGI related start-ups and research firms, but if the business model doesn't drive towards greater generality then does it really matter? It doesn't seem like it'd get developed. So, which model is better and which is the better approach? -Chris > On Mar 20, 2014, at 8:34 PM, Ben Goertzel <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Neither Watson nor Google is currently addressing the core issues of AGI. > But they are building infrastructure, and supporting algorithms, that could > provide platforms for them to address these in future... Whether they will > or not, remains to be seen. Maybe they will wait for some smaller firms to > make real progress on AGI and then buy these firms.... > > Google bought Deep Mind before DM had enough time to make any AGI > breakthroughs. It remains to be seen whether Google will be a good > environment for them to conduct truly AGI-focused research... > > -- Ben G > > >> On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 6:24 AM, Chris Nolan <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> Speaking of AI applications, I'm curious what people think of recent >> directions in NLP and QA systems being explored? Say IBM Watson vs Google? >> Which do people think has the better potential to expand and is the right >> direction to go in comercializing AI systems? When I say expand, I mean the >> potential for creating more generality in current AI systems (with the >> understanding that it's not true AGI work). >> >> >> >> On Wednesday, March 19, 2014 2:15 PM, John Rose <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> It could move in and take over our functions, our jobs, and perform them >> with such drastically less resource consumption and see us as beings that >> have competed with almost every other species and destroyed the very nature >> of this planet. AGI could compete with us as an invasive species would but >> in a way to make the planet restore to its previous health before humans >> were here. >> >> I don't see it totally happening that way. I see it more as AGI embeds >> itself into our systems of civilization, our governments, corporations, and >> slowly renders us over time as being not that important entities, less and >> less as spiritual beings, more and more as lower level animals with less >> rights, sort of like p-zombies, the individual having diminished importance, >> we become herded as sheeple. Kind of like what is happening now as we >> acquiesce. >> >> I don't say it will or has to go that way. The future isn't predetermined. >> In fact, AGI has the capability to liberate the individual. >> >> There are real things to fear though. It's been relatively calm the past few >> decades but at any moment you could have some new disease break out, an >> extreme natural disaster, a global famine, an ice age, fear is good. >> >> John >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: just camel [mailto:[email protected]] >> Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2014 10:21 AM >> To: AGI >> Subject: Re: [agi] Practical Applications for AGI >> >> Why would it be competitive? There just is no reason. It's a highly >> anthropomorphic and contemporary notion of us. Just because we think that a >> competitive culture is a fruitful thing to have does not make competition >> universal. In fact there have been civilizations that existed (despite >> having much less of an abundance) without competition for much longer than >> us and way more sustainable. >> >> The problem is that people like Yudkowsky and Bostrom might have an IQ of >> over 9000 but they are also spiritually trapped in this belief system of >> fear and scarcity and thus will come up with 1000 biased and illogical >> scenarios in which AGI will terminate humanity (instead of pointing out that >> the by far biggest existential risk for humanity stems from our monetary >> system and neoliberal capitalism). Yet there are thousands of people with a >> superior consciousness (less inherent >> entropy) who are not as indoctrinated by our culture and it makes no sense >> to believe that any superintelligent agent would adopt the irrational, >> fearful, destructive, de-evolutionary and unsustainable polluted mindset of >> the average westener? >> >> >> On 03/19/2014 01:22 PM, John Rose wrote: >> > Only prob it might relegate us as biological waste byproducts >> > unnecessary for its competitive survival. >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------- >> AGI >> Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now >> RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/248029-3b178a58 >> Modify Your Subscription: >> https://www.listbox.com/member/?&; >> Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com >> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------- >> AGI >> Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now >> RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/20347893-f72b365c >> >> Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?&; >> Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com >> >> >> AGI | Archives | Modify Your Subscription > > > > -- > Ben Goertzel, PhD > http://goertzel.org > > "In an insane world, the sane man must appear to be insane". -- Capt. James > T. Kirk > > "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery / None but ourselves can free our > minds" -- Robert Nesta Marley > AGI | Archives | Modify Your Subscription ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-f452e424 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-58d57657 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
