Knowledge is Flower Power, Reading is Fudge You Mental

Hofstadter Warns Against Expert Systems Trap

Pg 36.

 

The key to all intelligence is just knowledge, knowledge, and ever more knowledge.

 

                Our man D.H. has already defined pattern-finding as potentially the core of intelligence. The expert systems trap, is the idea that the acquisition and access of knowledge is the core of intelligence.  Expert systems were designed to access a redundant knowledge base identical to a knowledge base that an expert in some field would possess. The systems available on computers, would allow users access to an expert whose time and resources are almost unlimited.

                It seems to me there are at least two strategies for replicating the intelligence found within the human species. The first strategy is to store every pattern ever discovered or devised for every problem ever encountered. This is likened not just to an expert system, but to the expert system. The second strategy is to create a general purpose pattern-finding system. This system should be able to find a few patterns. The system should also be able to replicate itself over a period of a few hundred-thousand years, from one to roughly 7 billion systems, each one slightly different from the other. Each one of these systems finding a few patterns, would, with much redundancy; encompass the entirety of human intelligence.

                Now does Hofstadter want to program intelligence or human intelligence?

 

If it’s human intelligence he’s after which of the two strategies makes the most sense?

 

If it’s intelligence he’s after, then does he needs a super pattern finding system that can find every pattern that the entirety of our regular systems can find?

               

 If you want to model a little bit of human knowledge, the general pattern-finding system is a fine horse to put your money on, but if you want to encompass the intelligent results of the entire human species, well my two bits are on the expert system trap.