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A more accurate quote sidesteps the whole question: > The question of whether Machines Can Think […] is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines
by Rendello 1mo ago
A more accurate quote sidesteps the whole question:
> The question of whether Machines Can Think […] is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines Can Swim.
– Edsger W. Dijkstra
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra#1980s https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra#1980s
- bitwize 1mo agoI've worked on AUVs, and in discussions with my colleagues we would often describe the machine as "swimming" out to some setpoint location, for instance. Since hearing that, discussions of a machine "thinking" or "believing" something didn't really bother me, even though Dijkstra was adamantly opposed to such language—because everyone in the conversation usually understood that the meaning was metaphorical, like the swimming submarine.