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>Instead of the Turing test, perhaps we need an elf ranger test? No. The author is trying to be funny, but the Turing test already encompasses this. The rest o

>Instead of the Turing test, perhaps we need an elf ranger test? No. The author is trying to be funny, but the Turing test already encompasses this. The rest of the article is meandering. Edit: And the whole intro of "These computer scientists play chess and go, so they wrote bots to do it. They should instead write a bot that plays the game I like instead, then it would be 'real' AI". Come on. The hypocrisy is palpable.

mcv 9y ago
I disagree. Playing a vague, open-ended collaborative game like D&D is a far more complex challenge for AI than something as bounded and calculable as chess or go. Computers are great at rapid calculation, but to be intelligent in a human sense, you need to be able to deal with vague associations and unclear boundaries. You see similar problems with self-driving cars. They may know the rules, the physics and the street signs, but they apparently still have trouble deciding whether a shadow is an object or not, whether a plastic bag blowing across the street is something you can ignore or not, that a ball rolling onto the street can mean that a child will soon run after it, etc. We can think outside the box, AI can't. Not yet, at least.
- ggggtez 9y ago
  The Turing test is not "chess or go". It's the ability to converse with a human about anything, including art, poetry, and yes, that almost certainly includes D&D. Unless you think D&D is easier than discussing poetry, then your point is moot. I'd argue that if you want to solve the ability to tell a story, D&D is a terrible stepping stone. The arguments in this article are weak (You need to play in person, and physically roll the dice? ReallY?). No serious scientist thinks that's necessary.
  - mcv 9y ago
    I took the comment about the Turing test as a joke. I doubt anyone would think it's about chess or go. Yes, being able to pass the Turing test would include being able to play D&D and participate in many other social activities. But D&D doesn't have to be at the bottom of the list of things to focus on to pass the Turing test. In fact, I don't consider passing the Turing test all that interesting as a goal. But being able to deal with complex, open-ended, social situations, would be an interesting goal for AI. AI does very well in limited situations, when there's a clear box to think inside of. But there are many situations, including self-driving cars, or playing a game like D&D, where there's no real limit to the things that are relevant to the activity.

mcv 9y ago

I disagree. Playing a vague, open-ended collaborative game like D&D is a far more complex challenge for AI than something as bounded and calculable as chess or go. Computers are great at rapid calculation, but to be intelligent in a human sense, you need to be able to deal with vague associations and unclear boundaries. You see similar problems with self-driving cars. They may know the rules, the physics and the street signs, but they apparently still have trouble deciding whether a shadow is an object or not, whether a plastic bag blowing across the street is something you can ignore or not, that a ball rolling onto the street can mean that a child will soon run after it, etc. We can think outside the box, AI can't. Not yet, at least.

ggggtez 9y ago
The Turing test is not "chess or go". It's the ability to converse with a human about anything, including art, poetry, and yes, that almost certainly includes D&D. Unless you think D&D is easier than discussing poetry, then your point is moot. I'd argue that if you want to solve the ability to tell a story, D&D is a terrible stepping stone. The arguments in this article are weak (You need to play in person, and physically roll the dice? ReallY?). No serious scientist thinks that's necessary.
- mcv 9y ago
  I took the comment about the Turing test as a joke. I doubt anyone would think it's about chess or go. Yes, being able to pass the Turing test would include being able to play D&D and participate in many other social activities. But D&D doesn't have to be at the bottom of the list of things to focus on to pass the Turing test. In fact, I don't consider passing the Turing test all that interesting as a goal. But being able to deal with complex, open-ended, social situations, would be an interesting goal for AI. AI does very well in limited situations, when there's a clear box to think inside of. But there are many situations, including self-driving cars, or playing a game like D&D, where there's no real limit to the things that are relevant to the activity.