ABRUPTO

15:54 (JPP)

APRENDENDO COM BRUTUS 1 SOBRE A VAIDADE HUMANA

"Dave Striver loved the university. He loved its ivy-covered clocktowers, its ancient and sturdy brick, and its sun-splashed verdant greens and eager youth. He also loved the fact that the university is free of the stark unforgiving trials of the business world -- only this isn't a fact: academia has its own tests, and some are as merciless as any in the marketplace. A prime example is the dissertation defense: to earn the PhD, to become a doctor, one must pass an oral examination on one's dissertation.

Dave wanted desperately to be a doctor. But he needed the signatures of three people on the first page of his dissertation, the priceless inscriptions which, together, would certify that he had passed his defense. One of the signatures had to come from Professor Hart.

Well before the defense, Striver gave Hart a penultimate copy of his thesis. Hart read it and told Striver that it was absolutely first-rate, and that he would gladly sign it at the defense. They even shook hands in Hart's book-lined office. Dave noticed that Hart's eyes were bright and trustful, and his bearing paternal.

At the defense, Dave thought that he eloquently summarized Chapter 3 of his dissertation. There were two questions, one from Professor Rodman and one from Dr. Teer; Dave answered both, apparently to everyone's satisfaction. There were no further objections.

Professor Rodman signed. He slid the tome to Teer; she too signed, and then slid it in front of Hart. Hart didn't move.

``Ed?" Rodman said.

Hart still sat motionless. Dave felt slightly dizzy.

``Edward, are you going to sign?"

Later, Hart sat alone in his office, in his big leather chair, underneath his framed PhD diploma."

Este texto não foi escrito por um humano, mas sim por uma máquina, um computador do projecto Brutus 1. O tema foi a "traição". Os seus autores consideram que "AI is moving us toward a real-life version of the movie Blade Runner, in which, behaviorally speaking, humans and androids are pretty much indistinguishable."

Sobre o Brutus 1 aqui.

Sobre o problema da computação do "comportamento" este artigo complexo, difícil e com uma matemática acima dos meus conhecimentos, mas, mesmo assim, muito, muito interessante.