Topic 7 - Automata

Questions 

Question 1 - Check this link to my ‘intelligent’ cybertwin which I also mentioned in the Powerpoint. You may like to create your own cybertwin as well. The more you 'train' your twin, the better the responses will be. While it is just a fun exercise, Think of the opportunities. Imagine if we had a cybertwin that could answer your questions about the course. Or perhaps a shopping assistant?

I do not really like the idea of a cyber twin, I like to experience my own life.

Question 2 - Write one paragraph describing the Turing test and another paragraph describing an argument against the Turing Test, known as the about the Chinese room.

The Turing test was created by Alan Turing and its purpose is to see if a computer program can trick a person into believing that the program is a person as well. Alan Turing's reasoning was that if the person talking to the computer thinks that he/she is talking to another person then that program must be just as intelligent as a human.

The Chinese room is an argument against the Turing Test proposed by John Searle and the conclusion of this argument is that just because a program make it seem like it understand what a person is "saying" to it does not mean that it really understands what is being said.

I googled the Turing test and attempted to chat to the program, when I asked random questions for instance how are you, the program answered generic answers and I would have believed that the program is in fact a person. A few statements such as, "You did not understand that did you" gave me the impression that either I am speaking to someone who is cheeky or someone who does not understand what I am saying. So at this point I would probably be thinking that this might be a person I am chatting with. But strangely enough when I started asking logic questions it all went up in smoke. For instance "what is 1 plus 1" resulted in a reply of "huh" and then I tried '1 + 1' which resulted in 'yep'. I like the idea of artificial intelligence, I am not sure it is viable.

Question 3 - Can virtual agents succeed in delivering high-quality customer service over the Web? Think of examples which support or disprove the question or just offer an opinion based on your personal experience. Write you answer on your blog page or express an opinion on this voice discussion board (it's simple to join). 

Definitely not. After playing around with the cyber twin and the Turing test I have come to the conclusion that I would become annoyed very quickly if I try and explain an issue I am having with a product and the program does not understand.