You're right, it's possible, but don't underestimate the problems of having multiple interaction channels. It's not a "almost a freebie" (to heavily paraphrase your and Phil's comments).
Multiple streams of interaction across broadly varying contexts would require some forms of independent memory for them, or you'll get cause and effect all jumbled up as an event from stream A comes directly after stream B. If the memory system doesn't understand this distinction, the search space to figure out correlations and causations will be extremely huge. Our brains can support multiple simultaneous streams of interaction without a major performance hit as long as the streams are more or less orthogonal (e.g. walk while talking). But there are quite good reasons why we can't follow two conversations at the same time. Now yes an AI can handle multiple streams, but you are going to pay for it somehow, either with multiple independent memory systems for each stream which must later be integrated, or by a hugely increased processing cost for analyzing and consolidating a single memory system. My advice is to learn to crawl before you try running. -Brad > > Yeah -- the design supports "multiple interaction channels".... This idea > comes up naturally when one thinks about having an AI > > * chat with different folks all around the Web, at the same time > * look through sensors located at different places in the world > * control robots undersea as well as in outer space, etc > > Why shouldn't one mind do all these things, after all? Why should cognition > and memory need to be restricted to a single locale in space, a single > integrated set of sensors/actuators? > > I guess that the subjective experiences AI's with multiple interaction > channels may be quite diverse. > > Maybe there will be a threshold of interactivity between the interaction > channels and their cognitive-support units, at which there is a phase > transition from "multiple subjective consciousnesses" to "single subjective > consciousness." > > This is yet another way that digital intelligence will likely be very, very > different from human intelligence. > > -- Ben > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Philip Sutton > Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 9:07 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [agi] Early AGI training - multiple communications channels / > multi-tasking > > > Hi Ben, > > It just occurred to me that very early in a Novamente's training you > might want to give it more than one set of coordinated communication > channels so that the Novamente can learn to communicate with more > than one external intelligence at a time. > > My guess is that this would lead to a a multilobed consciousness - > where each communication channel (2 way, possibly multiple senses) > would have it's own mini-consciousness and the Novamente would > have a metaconsciousness that knits all its mental parts together as a > whole self. > > I don't think we should assume a single communications channel mode > for Novamentes just because that's how we think of biological minds > communicating. > > Maybe it's a bit like teaching a person to play the piano with two > hands??? Or how people learn to use whole-body motor skills for > sport. But with a sharper and higher level of independent consciouness > attached to each communication channel/conversation. > > We learn to play with each hand and with both hands together. > > Cheers, Philip > > ------- > To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your > subscription, > please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > ------- > To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, > please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ------- To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
