Sunday, April 27, 2008

Turing Test

What defines something as “human” or “human-like” is a great philosophic debate that many have tried to resolve through different theories and tests. The Turing Test is designed to test a computer’s “intelligence” through language. In the test, if an alternate party cannot detect whether they are talking to a human or computer, than the computer is “intelligent”, or human-like. But to achieve this, a computer must understand the subtleties of spoken language through text, and not the formulas of numbers and theoretical sentence structures (which are not always proper)
The Turing Test is a thought experiment proposed by Alan Turing to determine whether a computer is intelligent. The computer would also have to be prepared to respond to a wide range of topics, since any topic is fair-game in the Turing Test. But it is not simply about storing facts, but linking them together. It is these transitions that often require the most creativity, and it is creativity that ultimately separates man from all other natural organisms, as well as machines. Today’s machines are unable to master this or emotions, because these are things one gains through interactions in the 3-dimensional world.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Electronic Voting

Elections can be a complicated process, lasting for months, costing billions of dollars just so the voice of every American can be heard. But with the establishment of electronic voting for over 10% of America’s vote, in hopes to provide some convenience to the process, the voices of individuals have been silenced through lost votes hackable software and election riggings. One example of this is found in the documentary Hacking Democracy, Harri Hursti is able to easily hack into the Diebold voting machines, the most widely used electronic voting system, proving that the votes on the memory card can be changed undetectably. These machines also are at high risk for computer viruses that can modify collected voted. Anyone with access to these machines (aka the voting public) can inflict these changes and corrupt the system. These errors can only be remedied by changing the systems hardware to increase security.

To remedy this, I would propose a paper ballot or record to verify the data and votes collected by electronic voting machines, because we cannot deny that electronic voting is the way of the future with the continuous growth of the Digital age. These paper documents can be electronically audited, saving the state time and man power that is often wasted in these situations like in Florida in 2000. This electronic voting would require human supervision and some manual checks, but despite the cost to the state, these steps are vital to insure that every vote and voice is heard because that is the basis of democracy and what sets us apart from other nations. For how can we claim that the elections in places like Iraq or Kenya are invalid when votes in our own country are not counted? If democracy truly is the back-bone of Washington (which is sometimes debatable) the voting system of today must be made secure for the votes of tomorrow.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Mash-Ups

As if my internet addiction wasn't bad enough, I have now been introduced to programmableweb.com where I can find hundreds of useful sight I did not even know about. In this brief, in-class search I found 3 that were practical for my daily life or explored points of interest in my life.

www.doctorwholoactions.org.uk brings out the inner nerd in me. A weekly ritual of me and my roommates, Dr. Who is one of several shows we religiously watch on the BBC and Sci Fi channel (along with other tacky soap operas) and this sight will prove to be very novel and fun as I plan my trip to London in a few months. I can use the Google Map application on there website and find out exactly where one of my favorite episodes was filmed, and possibly visit there.

But because I am a poor college student going to London, I will also find londonforfree.net very useful. Using Google Maps to provide comprehensive walking tours with specific themes, hopefully I can experience all the history, etc. of the city without paying for it.

But outside of using these mashups for travel, I can use sites like www.broadway2day.com for my everyday passion (and Job) by using Google Maps to display the precise locations of theatres in New York, what show is playing there, tickets and other important information.