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The LangaList
2000-04-27 A Free Email Newsletter from Fred
Langa
(2000-April-27)
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
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The last few "Monitor"
columns at Byte.Com have been building blocks, one on another. First, we
discussed computer speech and natural language recognition, including
information on various "virtual personalities" synthetic personas, and
software robots. (See http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20000222S0002)
Next, we discussed various efforts---some very near-term---to enable computers
to gauge and react appropriately to human affect or emotion. (See http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20000321S0002
) What it's all been leading to is
this: Is there a point where mimicry of human thought, speech, understanding,
and emotions become indistinguishable from the real thing? And if you can no
longer discern any difference between, say, a human communicating to you via an
Instant Message (to avoid issues of physical appearance or voice), or a computer
program communicating with you via an Instant Message, is it OK to say that
there is in fact no difference? Can we say that the computer is human, at least
functionally, if not in fact? Sun Microsystems' Bill Joy says
no, but the alternative absolutely terrifies him: He wrote in Wired that
intelligent machines---robots---will not *be* human; they will *replace* humans.
It sounds like science fiction, but it's not: He believes the intelligent robots
of the not-too-distant future threaten the very survival of the human race. Once
an intelligent robot becomes able to manufacture copies of itself, Joy thinks
humankind will become superfluous. The robots will direct their own evolution,
and humankind will be left in the dust of history. (See http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html
) Joy's article is a for-real, dead-serious discussion of the exact same
scenarios played out in endless science-fiction treatments--- The Forbin
project, the Terminator series, etc. etc. etc. But again, it's *not* science
fiction: The issue is real, and Joy is utterly serious. Reader Mike Doyle had a similar
reaction to the last few Monitor columns, especially where I asked the
rhetorical question about when a computer might actually become
"human." Mike wrote: There is a bit of a
problem here: A computer, by definition, can never become "human."
Even something that can be confused with a human does not make it one. In most
western societies, we currently see an eroding of basic human rights
(euthanasia, abortion) while at the same time, many animal-rights activists are
successfully forcing laws through that make it illegal to treat animals in
brutal [ways]. In my mind, we now have a situation where animals have more
rights than some humans. And if this type of fuzzy logic about AI
programs/computers persists, we may see a situation where computers are
"granted" similar "rights." Defining "what is
human?" is indeed a slippery business. Historically, human cultures have
had trouble recognizing even *each other's* humanness: At one time or another
almost all cultures and races have regarded other races or cultures as inferior
or even subhuman. Beliefs that, somehow, some human races and cultures have a
"lesser humanity" than others have been used repeatedly as
justifications for wars, mass exterminations and slavery. With so narrow a mindset that we
humans sometimes stumble in dealing with others of our own kind, how on Earth
will we deal with something so different as the human-caliber machine
intelligences that almost surely *will* be developed over the next few decades?
Will turning off an intelligent computer be tantamount to murder? Or will we
define things to that these intelligent, thinking creatures have no legal
rights; making them a new slave race that we can do with as we please? The waters get very deep very
fast in this kind of discussion, and it sounds like science fiction. But again,
it's *not*. These are real issues we will face soon. And it's the subject of my newest
Monitor column at Byte.Com. Come check it out at http://www.byte.com
! (Alternative link if you have
trouble with the above: http://www.byte.com/index/monitor
) Click to
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Wow! I just found http://www.bartleby.com,
and it's replaced a bunch of separate sites I used to have bookmarked. The site gives you free and easy
access to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition; Roget's II: The New
Thesaurus, Third Edition; Simpson's Contemporary Quotations; and The American
Heritage® Book of English Usage, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Strunk's
Elements of Style; six poetry anthologies, including the Oxford Book of English
Verse; Emily Post's Etiquette; the Cambridge History of English and American
Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes; Frazer's the Golden Bough
(1922) and Thomas Bulfinch's Mythology (1913). And (believe it or not) there's
more, too--- too much to list. It's a whole small reference library at your
fingertips! Next time you need to look
something up, check it out! Click to
email this item to a friend Over on the WinMag.Com site (http://content.techweb.com/winmag/),
the current "Explorer" discussion centers on Netscape 6, and the tests
I ran on the new preview version of this browser. For example, I spent several
hours trying to get N6 to finish even one run of BT2K's full test suite, but the
beta browser was just too buggy. I'm used to beta bugs, but I confess to some
frustration with the frequency of N6's crashes: This software is already over
two years late, and probably will cross the "three years late" mark
before the final version ships. In my humble opinion, at this late date, the
software shouldn't be behaving like a first-draft alpha version. I did get parts of the BT2K full
test to run in piecemeal fashion: N6 supports most of the basics just fine, with
a few notable exceptions. For example, despite the fact that 94% of the world's
PCs run Windows, Netscape still has no support of the .BMP graphics format--- a
Microsoft Windows standard. How is that anything other than petty on Netscape's
part? ("We don't care if it's universal---if it's from Microsoft, we won't
support it!" Sheesh.) More seriously, N6 has problems
with multimedia, "alt tags," table backgrounds, and general web
standards such as CSS, DHTML, XML and related technologies---despite all the
verbiage on the Netscape site about how N6 is the most standards-compliant
browser on the planet. Maybe future betas will improve
things. They better, and a lot, because as-is, N6 seems a weak contender in the
browser wars. Maybe you disagree. In any case,
please come get the full details, and then join in the discussion via the link
on the front page of http://content.techweb.com/winmag/. Click to
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If you have RealPlayer (most
major browsers support it), you can hear a three-way discussion among Scot
Finnie, Paul Schindler (both of WinMag) and myself on the pros and cons of using
Instant Messaging as a serious communication tool. Scot and I don't often
disagree, but we come down on different sides of this particular issue. You can listen in via http://media.cmpnet.com/radio/winmag/war_0418.ram.
The first part of the show is on Online Security; the Instant Messaging portion
is in the second half. Check it out! Click to
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choose another monthly winner of a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail
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winning, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a
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gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a book! (Full details also available
via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 The more times you
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try to win $10,000(really!), try this link (full details also available here): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank
you, and good luck! Click to
email this item to a friend Hundreds of sites now have
"Loaded The Code." Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't
matter what size.) Please click on over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm,
and maybe you can join the growing crowd! And check out http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm,
which is a permanent repository for "code loader" pages. It's kinda
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Last issue's "Just for
Grins" humor item carried a number of bizarre and funny items on "How
To Deal With Telemarketers." )See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-04-20.htm#8)
I was quite surprised at the volume of mail it generated, so although this is
slightly off-topic, I thought it was worth revisiting. Reader Karen Hart was the first
of many who wrote in this vein: I agree that the article
you printed about telemarketers was funny- but not necessarily the way to deal
with the situation. I am not a telemarketer
but I am a Sales representative calling on our Dealers. When I receive a
Telemarketer at home, I do remember that although it is an inconvenience when
they call, they are "real" people trying to make a living. I am kind
to them by just saying a "simple" no thank you, and then I hang up.
That is the most effective way to keep the call short without being rude.
Remember the Golden Rule! Indeed, the item was just a joke,
not a serious suggestion. In fact *nothing* in the Just for Grins is *ever*
meant seriously. In real-life, I usually treat all
callers with respect initially--- but some telemarketers are way over the top;
they lose the right to respectful treatment because they refuse to respect me.
After all, merely having a telephone does not mean I must give
time and attention to anyone who happens to punch my digits; my phone is for my
convenience, not that of telemarketers. One telemarketer I dealt with recently
called twice a week for a month---trying to wear me down, I guess. I'm usually
polite, but man, there are times when a caller needs a swift kick in the pants. Reader Walter Donovan suggests
several for-real ways to deal with telemarketers: Humane: "Please put
me on your don't-call list and never call me again. Thank you." By federal
law, they are required to do just that. And they know *exactly* what you mean.
This works especially well with big, obnoxious companies like AT&T, because
they have a lot to lose in penalties. Humane, with teeth:
Using the freeware program Enigma, cite the federal anti-telemarketing code
(Title 47, code of Federal regulations, part 64, subpart L), take them through
Enigma's questions, and enter their responses in the little Enigma database.
They'll never call again. Ever. Get Enigma at Helpful: In Florida, for
five bucks a year, you can put your name on the Florida's
"don't-bug-me" list. It cuts down on the calls. Thanks to all who wrote in,
including Scott Leibrand---whose *NOT* serious item appears in the next section. Click to
email this item to a friend OK, just to be clear---this is a
joke, ok? 8-) It's in the spirit of some "shock radio"
humor skits, some of which can be very funny, and some of which---well, you
know. If you're humor-impaired or in a bad mood, you better stop reading here.
<g> Reader Scott Leibrand
writes: If you want to hear
someone who actually tried some similar [approaches] on some real live
telemarketers, check out Tom Mabe's page at http://www.4revenge.com
. He's put together a CD of some great "conversations" with real
telemarketers (recorded with a $37 answering machine), and you can even listen
to samples (in .mp3 format) at http://www.4revenge.com/album.html
. The carpet one is the best - shortly after this one, the telemarketers called
the cops. You can probably imagine their response when they showed up and Tom
played them the tape. Click to
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See you next issue! Best, (Please recommend
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(Please see full disclaimer here: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm.)
Abbreviated version: The tips and other information given in the newsletter are
researched and are believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee
that all the information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the
time. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind.
Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for
any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application
of any information presented here. This newsletter is a free service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2000 Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.1)
Redefining "Human"
http://www.langa.com/sendit4.htm
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Look Up Almost *Anything,* For Free
http://www.langa.com/sendit4.htm
return to top of page3)
More On Torture Testing Netscape 6.0
http://www.langa.com/sendit4.htm
return to top of page
4) Web Audio Report: Instant Messaging
http://www.langa.com/sendit4.htm
return to top of page5)
Last Chance For April's FREE Book Drawing
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
return to top of page6)
They Loaded The Code
http://hometown.aol.com/fojimo/fave2/index2.htm
http://www.jsensei.com/
http://www.cap-tech.com/
http://djsplace.homepage.com/
http://www.accnorwalk.com/~ikraus/
http://www.waxahachiemall.com/
http://members.home.com/ewt4/
http://www.thecoachapproach.com/index.htm
http://home.freeuk.net/tobs/
http://www.geocities.com/rgrosenwald/
http://homepages.go.com/~philsfun00/colorborder.html
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
return to top of page7)
A Serious Aside (NOT For Grins!)
http://www.verinet.com/~geoff/Enigma
http://www.langa.com/sendit4.htm
return to top of page8)
Just For Grins
http://www.langa.com/sendit4.htm
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over 1,000,000 times a month!
Fred
(fred@langa.com)
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