Thursday, November 28, 2002, 9:20:47 PM, Alan Grimes wrote: AG> To develop an AI based on this approach one first sets about to AG> construct a problem domain for the AI to work on. For general AI one AG> requires an open problem space such as a box of Legos. Today's computers AG> already come with a broad selection of software that would be suitable AG> for this purpose. The problem then becomes how to make it so that the AI AG> can see and use these applications just as the human user does? One AG> would like to create a virtual desktop which is mirrored to the physical AG> console and then have the AI take its input from what it displays. On AG> this desktop the AI can run games and other instructional software as AG> well as communicate with the human operator.
AG> The development of such a system is still very chalenging as nobody AG> writes software to run in the configuration I just described. This AG> problem is not insurmountable, it will only require a great deal of AG> money. I take it you're speaking of "AI-soft as user" being difficult and expensive; if so I disagree. "Virtualization" software such as VMWare or Bochs can emulate a full PC, letting you run any x86 OS on top of e.g. Linux. Bochs is open source, so intercepting and rerouting the display calls and generating mouse and keyboard messages OS-wide should be pretty straightforward. I think the same can be done in Windows (putting "syshooks" in the message queue?); no doubt something similar could be done in Linux (intercepting X calls and input events). The 'perception' problem is a more difficult one; depending on which level you intercept messages (GDI calls vs. desktop bitmaps, for instance) you can get around this to varying degrees. I take it the "interesting" part of the problem isn't decoding e.g. that a dialog box is being displayed but rather, what the dialog's options mean and which one to choose. [In an earlier thread I mentioned I think there is potential for AI development in the usability problem space, i.e. learning/trainable software that "intermediates" between the user and the OS in order to function somewhat as an assistant, of which such message interception would be a component.] A word of advice: you'll be taken more seriously if you don't exploit *every* opportunity to take rhetorical potshots at MS, regardless of their validity or lack thereof. -- Cliff ------- To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?[EMAIL PROTECTED]
