X-Message-Number: 8624 Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 17:29:28 -0400 From: Rafi Haftka <> Subject: Catching up with computers Can humans attain the intelligence of future computers? I have followed some of the recent postings on whether computers can become conscious and truly intelligent. Because I think that this is highly likely, a more interesting question is whether we can catch up with computers once they attained consciousness. Contemplating this question may be useful even if you do not believe that computers can become conscious intelligent entities, because the boundaries between humans and computers may become fuzzier in the future than they are today. Consider the following scenario for a first step: In a few (probably less than 20) years, it may become possible to connect a digital camera and a computer to the optic nerve of people with eye damage, so as to simulate the signals sent from the eye to that nerve. Besides restoring sight, this will give users the ability to archive everything they see in computer memories, for easy access in the future. Possibly, at the end of each day, a user would edit the day's images, and prepare snapshot files or future reference. For example, if a movie was seen on that day, a couple of memorable scenes and the credits for the movie could be filed in that snapshot archive. As a next step, the user may use a voice recognition system to flash the snapshot file to their optic nerve whenever they pronounced the name of the movie, thus assuring instant `recall' of the highlights of the movie. Of course, a user may take advantage of snapshot files prepared by others for selected topics. For example, pronouncing the name of a movie will elicit a snapshot prepared by a movie reviewer. With this arrangement, formerly blind people may be better off than sighted but unwired humans. I am sure everybody can dream up sequels to this step that would lead to bionic humans, where bionic refers not to improved muscles, but to improved mental powers. Long life, Rafi Haftka ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Raphael(Rafi) T. Haftka < > University of Florida Phone: (352)-392-9595 Department of Aerospace Engineering, Fax: (352)-392-7303 Mechanics and Engineering Science http://www.aero.ufl.edu/~haftka/ Gainesville, FL 32611-6250 Please note new area code. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check the web page of the International Society of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO) at http://www.aero.ufl.edu/~issmo/ for details about the MicroAV competition! Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=8624