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Will a computer ever write War and Peace or compose the 9th Symphony too? How about solve an unsolved math proof? No reason it can't be automated, right?

leesec 7y ago
All these things are literally on the AI horizon.
- gooseus 7y ago
  Indeed, it's that lake we can see and certainly reach if only we can make it just a little farther into the AI desert.
- Qwertystop 7y ago
  No matter how fast you run for the horizon, it stays well out of reach.
- ionised 7y ago
  I'd say these things are also 'way in the future'.
- compiler-guy 7y ago
  People were saying this in the seventies before the long AI winter. It's always just around the corner, and has been since the dawn of AI. Maybe we will get there some day (I never say never), but cautious realism has never been the AI field's strong suit.
- magic_beans 7y ago
  And how long exactly is that horizon?
- snowwrestler 7y ago
  There's an emotional component to art, and I don't see nearly as much work on artificial emotions as I do on task-oriented artificial intelligence. A lot of people are working to create a car smart enough to drive humans anywhere. How many people are working to create a car smart enough to refuse to drive because it's feeling inspired to write music instead?
  - ajuc 7y ago
    Faking emotions is much easier than faking rational thought. People interpret any behavior as emotion-based, even with obviously non-sentient objects.
- JorgeGT 7y ago
  Old Soviet joke: Radio Yerevan was asked: We are told that communism is already seen at the horizon. Then, what is a horizon? Answer: A horizon is an imaginary line which moves away each time you approach it.
nharada 7y ago
> solve an unsolved math proof Yes actually, although there are some philosophical objections to computer assisted proofs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem#Proof_by_computer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem#Proof_by_co...
- mhermher 7y ago
  That's just grunt work that still had to be stitched together by a human.
  - ben_w 7y ago
    But it was previously unsolved, which is your exact objection to the other example I gave.
ben_w 7y ago
Amongst the other 22 million results Google gave me for “ai beethoven” was this about one of their doodles: https://interestingengineering.com/the-first-ai-powered-google-doodle-is-an-hommage-to-bach https://interestingengineering.com/the-first-ai-powered-goog... While “ai mathematical proof” gave me “Google AI system proves over 1200 mathematical theorems”: https://mathscholar.org/2019/04/google-ai-system-proves-over-1200-mathematical-theorems/ https://mathscholar.org/2019/04/google-ai-system-proves-over... So… yes, that’s fine?
- mhermher 7y ago
  None of those 1200 were previously unsolved, btw, as I mentioned above.

leesec 7y ago

All these things are literally on the AI horizon.

gooseus 7y ago
Indeed, it's that lake we can see and certainly reach if only we can make it just a little farther into the AI desert.
Qwertystop 7y ago
No matter how fast you run for the horizon, it stays well out of reach.
ionised 7y ago
I'd say these things are also 'way in the future'.
compiler-guy 7y ago
People were saying this in the seventies before the long AI winter. It's always just around the corner, and has been since the dawn of AI. Maybe we will get there some day (I never say never), but cautious realism has never been the AI field's strong suit.
magic_beans 7y ago
And how long exactly is that horizon?
snowwrestler 7y ago
There's an emotional component to art, and I don't see nearly as much work on artificial emotions as I do on task-oriented artificial intelligence. A lot of people are working to create a car smart enough to drive humans anywhere. How many people are working to create a car smart enough to refuse to drive because it's feeling inspired to write music instead?
- ajuc 7y ago
  Faking emotions is much easier than faking rational thought. People interpret any behavior as emotion-based, even with obviously non-sentient objects.
JorgeGT 7y ago
Old Soviet joke: Radio Yerevan was asked: We are told that communism is already seen at the horizon. Then, what is a horizon? Answer: A horizon is an imaginary line which moves away each time you approach it.

nharada 7y ago

> solve an unsolved math proof Yes actually, although there are some philosophical objections to computer assisted proofs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem#Proof_by_computer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem#Proof_by_co...

mhermher 7y ago
That's just grunt work that still had to be stitched together by a human.
- ben_w 7y ago
  But it was previously unsolved, which is your exact objection to the other example I gave.

ben_w 7y ago

Amongst the other 22 million results Google gave me for “ai beethoven” was this about one of their doodles: https://interestingengineering.com/the-first-ai-powered-google-doodle-is-an-hommage-to-bach https://interestingengineering.com/the-first-ai-powered-goog... While “ai mathematical proof” gave me “Google AI system proves over 1200 mathematical theorems”: https://mathscholar.org/2019/04/google-ai-system-proves-over-1200-mathematical-theorems/ https://mathscholar.org/2019/04/google-ai-system-proves-over... So… yes, that’s fine?

mhermher 7y ago
None of those 1200 were previously unsolved, btw, as I mentioned above.