4 ms·

Space exploration is a lot like artificial intelligence. It sounds really exciting until you learn more about it.

patio11 17y ago
I'll agree that sci-fi geeks have vastly inflated opinions of both fields. That said, advances from AI have contributed to your quality of life significantly. Space exploration has been one massive money pit since we got satellites working. AI: + Keeps your inbox free of spam. + Is more responsible for black Americans being able to get a home loan without being discriminated against than any act of Congress. + Saves you money on your car insurance. + Runs the factories that make your goods and the warehouses that ship them. + Loses video games against you every day without complaint, by being hopefully challenging enough to flatter your ego without actually being difficult. + Can do some surprisingly sophisticated things with language analysis these days, such as determine whether you're a man or woman by analysis of a sample of your writing. And the coolest thing about AI is that we've accomplished the above feats of magic so freaking routinely that people don't even think they're AI anymore. People will only admit something is AI when we can't do it. Space Exploration: + Artificial satellites. + Slush fund for defense contractors. + Tang.
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- mixmax 17y ago
  If space exploration includes the Apollo project (which I assume it does) you should add integrated circuits, CNC machining, freeze dried foods, LED's, aircraft anti icing systems, solar energy, water purification, the Internet, and probably many more I can't think of right now.
  - pyre 17y ago
    > The Internet Huh? I thought APRANet was a DARPA project, not a NASA project. > LED's The word 'NASA' is found nowhere on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED > integrated circuits Jack Kirby (He was working for Texas Instruments at the time and later won a Nobel Prize for it) > CNC Machining General Motors, General Electric, etc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnc_machining http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnc_machining) {edit} According to the Apollo project Wikipedia page, it looks like integrated circuits and CNC machining may have been driven by the project, though there is no mention on the respective pages (revisionist history on the Apollo page, or missing info on the other pages). {edit2} A better page for reference would be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Spinoff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Spinoff According to that page, NASA did not contribute to 'LEDs' as people would understand the term on HN (i.e. they did not invent the little lights that go blinky-blinky on consumer electronics). It seems to be talking about high-intensity LEDs for medical applications. In that vein, saying that the Apollo program gave us 'LEDs' is somewhat misleading (though maybe not on purpose). I notice that 'The Internet' is only mention as linked to some 'Internet-powered oven.'
    - mixmax 17y ago
      I pulled all of the examples from the NASA spinoff page that you linked, except for the Internet one which as we all know was initiated by DARPA. I thought that was under NASA, but can see now that this isn't so. Sorry about that, and thanks for clearing it up. I commented because I (probably for the first time ever...) disagreed with patio11's comment that AI has contributed much more to humanity than spaceflight.
      - patio11 17y ago
        I am skeptical of the spinoffs rationale for NASA. Let's say that we feel the burning, urgent need for freezedried food for humanity. OK, so let's just research freezedried food. That is pretty cheap, compared with having to blast a human into orbit in such a fashion that they don't die, and gains absolutely nothing from being associated with the space program. Ditto everything NASA has ever produced except satellites. That is the sole example where spaceflight qua spaceflight was actually valuable to us.
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- natep 17y ago
  Only one bullet for artificial satellites? They give us + GPS + 2-way communication + satellite TV/radio + maps + weather/climate measurements ...and probably more by just operating in orbit.
- gaius 17y ago
  The term AI is off-limits because you'll never get funded. See "AI Winter" for more.

I'll agree that sci-fi geeks have vastly inflated opinions of both fields. That said, advances from AI have contributed to your quality of life significantly. Space exploration has been one massive money pit since we got satellites working. AI: + Keeps your inbox free of spam. + Is more responsible for black Americans being able to get a home loan without being discriminated against than any act of Congress. + Saves you money on your car insurance. + Runs the factories that make your goods and the warehouses that ship them. + Loses video games against you every day without complaint, by being hopefully challenging enough to flatter your ego without actually being difficult. + Can do some surprisingly sophisticated things with language analysis these days, such as determine whether you're a man or woman by analysis of a sample of your writing. And the coolest thing about AI is that we've accomplished the above feats of magic so freaking routinely that people don't even think they're AI anymore. People will only admit something is AI when we can't do it. Space Exploration: + Artificial satellites. + Slush fund for defense contractors. + Tang.

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mixmax 17y ago
If space exploration includes the Apollo project (which I assume it does) you should add integrated circuits, CNC machining, freeze dried foods, LED's, aircraft anti icing systems, solar energy, water purification, the Internet, and probably many more I can't think of right now.
- pyre 17y ago
  > The Internet Huh? I thought APRANet was a DARPA project, not a NASA project. > LED's The word 'NASA' is found nowhere on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED > integrated circuits Jack Kirby (He was working for Texas Instruments at the time and later won a Nobel Prize for it) > CNC Machining General Motors, General Electric, etc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnc_machining http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnc_machining) {edit} According to the Apollo project Wikipedia page, it looks like integrated circuits and CNC machining may have been driven by the project, though there is no mention on the respective pages (revisionist history on the Apollo page, or missing info on the other pages). {edit2} A better page for reference would be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Spinoff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Spinoff According to that page, NASA did not contribute to 'LEDs' as people would understand the term on HN (i.e. they did not invent the little lights that go blinky-blinky on consumer electronics). It seems to be talking about high-intensity LEDs for medical applications. In that vein, saying that the Apollo program gave us 'LEDs' is somewhat misleading (though maybe not on purpose). I notice that 'The Internet' is only mention as linked to some 'Internet-powered oven.'
  - mixmax 17y ago
    I pulled all of the examples from the NASA spinoff page that you linked, except for the Internet one which as we all know was initiated by DARPA. I thought that was under NASA, but can see now that this isn't so. Sorry about that, and thanks for clearing it up. I commented because I (probably for the first time ever...) disagreed with patio11's comment that AI has contributed much more to humanity than spaceflight.
    - patio11 17y ago
      I am skeptical of the spinoffs rationale for NASA. Let's say that we feel the burning, urgent need for freezedried food for humanity. OK, so let's just research freezedried food. That is pretty cheap, compared with having to blast a human into orbit in such a fashion that they don't die, and gains absolutely nothing from being associated with the space program. Ditto everything NASA has ever produced except satellites. That is the sole example where spaceflight qua spaceflight was actually valuable to us.
      - deleted 17y ago
        [deleted]
natep 17y ago
Only one bullet for artificial satellites? They give us + GPS + 2-way communication + satellite TV/radio + maps + weather/climate measurements ...and probably more by just operating in orbit.
gaius 17y ago
The term AI is off-limits because you'll never get funded. See "AI Winter" for more.