Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #00409
To: beam@corp.sgi.com
From: Richard James Zeigler rzeigle@tiger.lsuiss.ocs.lsu.edu
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 22:49:57 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [alt-beam] Re:questions
I have been off the list for a while so this may be out of line but......
BEAM is a philosophy and like all philosophy it is open to interpretation.
BEAM is not a technological process, it is a different approach towards
robotic problem solving. Just that simple...after all it is just four
simple words.
Next....
Real World Application
I agree that BEAM will not yeild the kind of robot with complex behavior
that MOST people think of when they think of robots. Most people think of
Robbie The Robot and HAL...the stuff of science fiction. I believe that
all of us agree that this is not real world stuff. Nor, do I thing that
the currently "accepted" mainstream techniques will gives us true AI. I
think this because science is pushing the envelope on the usefullness of
the transistor. Kind of like the old vacum tubes, still usefull but
limited. Just as vacum tubes are a poor choice for use in laptop
computers, I think that current tech will be a poor choice for AI.
But, I digress. I get the impression that some feel that since BEAM
is only good
for "art and expensive toys", that it is less valid than other ways of
thinking. As a sculptor myself, I can not possibly imagine a more worthy
real world application than art and entertainment. These are two endevors
that enrich the lives of every human being. I won't presume to speak for
any on else but, I think the last thing we need is more machines to make
more stuff so that people can buy even more mass produced junk that they
don't need. Industrial robotics may be a valid RWA in some cases but i
feel that it certainly lacks the soul that art has. Even if a robot were
built that could perform the menial work involved in say, the lost wax
casting process, I don't think that there is an artist out there that
would buy one.
I just read all of that back and I have realized that I went off on a rant
so, I will stop here before this turns into a 200 page manifesto :) (I
can hear the sigh of relief)
RZ
Pine 3.95 is the best e-mail client ever made!
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