I think that our minds have many systems that, at least at the higher levels, have different data representations. These systems in our minds seem to communicate with each other in words. The words aren't totally appropriate in all domains (like Math) but they do to communicate the big ideas. Could Math be done using English only and no Math symbols? Possibly, but I don't think many Mathematicians would want to try it.
I think that using a common English language interface between the larger models is totally feasible and using object inheritance, the interface code wouldn't have to be rewritten by many modules at all. In general, device drivers that work on one version of an OS still work on the next one. An exception might be when the OS went from 32 to 64 bit operation or from WIN95 to NT. Each device driver has a pretty well defined interface and much change can occur within that driver without any change to user code at all. I wouldn't call this "reinvented all the time" at all. Relational databases, the clipboard, and the Web all have totally different data representations. They are all well known and used but totally different none the less. In some cases, each of fuzzy logic, Bayesian logic, statistical methods, vector arithmetic, neural networks, predicate logic, heuristics etc seem to be the best solution but it is easy to come up with many examples where each either can't work or won't be workable on current hardware. What if you could have a system made up of all of these methods where the data representation suited the domain and communication was done between the modules by using simple English? Like the Math example above, you won't necessarily be able to communicate all the detail between each module but why do that when each module can be it's own "expert". Wouldn't such a system make a lot more sense then always trying to fit a square peg into a round hole? -- David Clark ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Wallace To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 1:33 PM Subject: Re: [agi] Logical representation On 3/14/07, David Clark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: "an AI system consisting of many modules has to have one canonical format for representing content" WHY? Because for A to talk to B, they have to use a language/format/representation that both of them understand. By far the most efficient way to achieve this is to decide on a single representation. If you do it on an ad hoc basis, N modules will require you to either write O(N^2) translation routines (not feasible) or abandon general interoperability (thereby also abandoning general intelligence). In a modern operating system that consists of a huge number of component parts, there is no one data representation. And the parts mostly don't talk to each other, indeed computer scientists have for decades lamented the extent to which everything has to be reinvented all the time because we can't effectively reuse existing components. The exceptions to this e.g. relational databases, the clipboard, the Web, do indeed involve agreeing on a single data representation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?list_id=303 ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?list_id=303
