[FRIAM] A question for tomorrow

[Marcus Daniels]

Turing machines can perform an algorithm like an auto-encoding deep neural net, where a picture of a tree could be categorized as a tree in some internal node.  Likewise activating that internal node might generate an image of a tree (when the Turing machine dreams).

From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> on behalf of Frank Wimberly <wimberly3 at gmail.com>
Reply-To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
Date: Friday, April 26, 2019 at 8:19 PM
To: "Russ.Abbott at gmail.com" <Russ.Abbott at gmail.com>, The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] A question for tomorrow

On the way to Friam I said to Nick.  Turing Machines don't know anything.  They may store representations of knowledge.  I further said that a photograph also represents knowledge.  For example, the number of floors of a given building.  Most people would be puzzled by the question, "What does a photo know?"

There were multiple parallel conversations after we arrived.  I don't recall additional discussions about what Turing Machines know.
-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

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On Fri, Apr 26, 2019, 8:06 PM Russ Abbott <russ.abbott at gmail.com<mailto:russ.abbott at gmail.com>> wrote:
Nick, I can't believe you are asking such a question -- unless by "know" you mean something very different from the common understanding. No computer knows anything, although it may have lots of stored information. (Information is meant in the Shannon sense.)

For example, Oxford defines<https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/knowledge> knowledge as "Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject." This is distinct from, for example, having access to an encyclopedia--or even having memorized the contents of one. Turing machines, and computers in general, do not have an understanding of anything--even though they may have lots of Shannon-style information (which we understand as) related to some subject.

(Like Glen, though, I am interested in the results, if any, of this morning's meeting.)

-- Russ Abbott
Professor, Computer Science
California State University, Los Angeles


On Fri, Apr 26, 2019 at 2:38 PM uǝlƃ ☣ <gepropella at gmail.com<mailto:gepropella at gmail.com>> wrote:
What was the result of this morning's conversation?

On 4/25/19 10:50 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> What does a Turing Machine know?


--
☣ uǝlƃ

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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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