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OT from the headline, but I take issue with the author's claim that Bob Dylan's work doesn't relate to the theme "love fades". Dylan has had a vast career beyo

OT from the headline, but I take issue with the author's claim that Bob Dylan's work doesn't relate to the theme "love fades". Dylan has had a vast career beyond his protest song days, and I'd argue that one of his best albums, "Blood on the Tracks" would be accurately summed up as "love fades".

jpttsn 8y ago
I agree; OP is one of those articles, that start to make a reasonable point only to frame it with a highly debatable specific example.
- randcraw 8y ago
  Dylan didn't win the Nobel for his songs about faded love, and he won't be remembered for them especially. Schank is 72 years old. He came to know Dylan when when his protest lyrics gave voice to 20-somethings like Schank in the 60's. Like the rest of us, Schank likely remembers Dylan less for his retrospective years thereafter.
  - xamuel 8y ago
    What you've called Dylan's "retrospective" years include an earth-shattering comeback with three top-charting albums in a row starting with 1997's "Time Out Of Mind" (which, incidentally, has quite a few 'love fades' lyrics). Dylan himself has singled out "Time Out Of Mind" as the only one of his own records that he himself goes back and listens to.
rustybelt 8y ago
Thank you. I don't know much about AI, but I like to think I know a little about Bob Dylan. The bittersweet love song is a Bob Dylan staple that lasted well beyond his protest phase. I think Watson actually a pretty good job of identifying it as a theme. From "Girl from North Country" to "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" to "It Aint Me Babe" to "Tangled Up in Blue" to all the way into the 90's with "Make You Feel My Love", it's a theme that spans his entire body of work.
vertexFarm 8y ago
I also think that even with advanced cognitive computing it would be difficult for a computer to interpret those songs meaningfully without having lived through those times. I don't think a competent human could interpret those songs without huge reams of context. Which is probably the point the author is making about counting words vs. cognition. This isn't a slight against Dylan, he's amazing, but perhaps it's an unfair example to judge an AI by how it figures out those lyrics. There's some very intentionally abstract content, some inspired by cut-up poetry of the beat movement which literally uses randomized words to induce pareidolia and free-association. Even with cognition, you can't correctly interpret those ideas--you form your own unique and subjective perception of them. Would we even be able to tell if we invented a computer with proper appreciation for absurdity? But on the subject of IBM: yes, they are making sensationalist ads.

jpttsn 8y ago

I agree; OP is one of those articles, that start to make a reasonable point only to frame it with a highly debatable specific example.

randcraw 8y ago
Dylan didn't win the Nobel for his songs about faded love, and he won't be remembered for them especially. Schank is 72 years old. He came to know Dylan when when his protest lyrics gave voice to 20-somethings like Schank in the 60's. Like the rest of us, Schank likely remembers Dylan less for his retrospective years thereafter.
- xamuel 8y ago
  What you've called Dylan's "retrospective" years include an earth-shattering comeback with three top-charting albums in a row starting with 1997's "Time Out Of Mind" (which, incidentally, has quite a few 'love fades' lyrics). Dylan himself has singled out "Time Out Of Mind" as the only one of his own records that he himself goes back and listens to.

rustybelt 8y ago

Thank you. I don't know much about AI, but I like to think I know a little about Bob Dylan. The bittersweet love song is a Bob Dylan staple that lasted well beyond his protest phase. I think Watson actually a pretty good job of identifying it as a theme. From "Girl from North Country" to "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" to "It Aint Me Babe" to "Tangled Up in Blue" to all the way into the 90's with "Make You Feel My Love", it's a theme that spans his entire body of work.

vertexFarm 8y ago

I also think that even with advanced cognitive computing it would be difficult for a computer to interpret those songs meaningfully without having lived through those times. I don't think a competent human could interpret those songs without huge reams of context. Which is probably the point the author is making about counting words vs. cognition. This isn't a slight against Dylan, he's amazing, but perhaps it's an unfair example to judge an AI by how it figures out those lyrics. There's some very intentionally abstract content, some inspired by cut-up poetry of the beat movement which literally uses randomized words to induce pareidolia and free-association. Even with cognition, you can't correctly interpret those ideas--you form your own unique and subjective perception of them. Would we even be able to tell if we invented a computer with proper appreciation for absurdity? But on the subject of IBM: yes, they are making sensationalist ads.