Executive Secretary In Every Computer 320
An anonymous reader writes "BusinessWeek Online just ran an interview with a researcher from Sandia National labs whose team has developed an alternative approach to artificial intelligence. They have come up with a software program that models a computer user's behavior and gives the user advice, corrects his errors or saves files according to the user's own logic. The idea is for computers to learn how to use with users -- instead of vice versa. The software has already been tested with air traffic controllers."
I like chicken, I like liver! (Score:2, Insightful)
Great if I can force specific things on it.... (Score:5, Insightful)
The biggest problem is the user that saves things willy-nilly, relies on editing a spreadsheet in an email and never saves it specifically, etc....
Unless it can be told to force certian behaivoir upon the user to be in line with corperate requirements.... I dont see it as useful and more of another PITA app that makes my life more difficult as a Net/sys admin
Scary ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course, the annoyance would start when you change your way of doing something, or the computer pre-empts an action which you don't intend to do - You'd have to spend time fixing such problems and wait while the computer re-trains itself.
Sure enough, the article doesn't mention these problems, and how they would be avoided or overcome.
Re:What are you doing, Dave? (Score:3, Insightful)
If the technology reaches that stage, then sadly, a legislator somewhere will most likely have insisted it has so-called safeguards to (a) stop it file sharing, (b) 'protect the children' or(c) to 'help' any war on terror still going on at that time.
The upshot being your software's safeguards recognise you are a sick and twisted soul and the program informs on you (can you imagine Outlook flashing up a box saying "I'm sorry, Dave, but I have decided to report your activities to the police because you are a terrorist"?).
Total Information Awareness by the back door, eh? And then you could even have some country decides to use the software safeguards to predict whether a user is a political dissident...
Maybe you can't stop the march of technology (as he says in the article), but you could direct it with a little more forethought.
Air traffic controllers? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Great if I can force specific things on it.... (Score:2, Insightful)
The next time they start it, the same document they were last working on is loaded. If they want to work on a different one, they just click a button and select it from a list.
Underneath, the App/OS can conspire to actually save the files to your all importent e: drive, but that doesn't mean the user needs to care.
Re:I like chicken, I like liver! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:think lewinsky (Score:3, Insightful)
These days, *handwriting* is becoming a clerical skill. Some places have already stopped teaching kids handwriting in lower grades, and rely on computers instead. Heck, some "new adults" have problems filling out a cheque, because it requires a line of handwriting!
Also, the new generation is generally unable to do simple math, and *requires* the cash register AI to tell not only how much cash to return to the customer, but which coins. If they don't have this luxury, they struggle.
(I often buy breakfast at McDonalds, for $3.70. More often than not, I get three dimes in return instead of a quarter and a nickel.)
My prediction is that the trend will continue, and the more advanced everyday AI becomes, the more people will rely on AI instead of skills and reasoning. Today's kids might not know what 12x12 is, but tomorrow's kids will have problems with a doorknob, as they'll be used to doors opening by AI.
Regards,
--
*Art
shutting off? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I apparently already have this function.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:redirect "my documents" (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, my Mom lost a lot of work she had put into making revisions to a document sent to her by a coworker. She called me up and explained how she had done
But Boss, I REMEMBER you said... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Great if I can force specific things on it.... (Score:2, Insightful)
What I want from a digital assistant (Score:1, Insightful)
It should track my appointments and I should just be able to tell it, please schedual an appointment with bob n. and it will work with my schedual and bob's digital assistant to work out a time to meet.
It should cross reference all my files in an index so that things can be found in a dozen ways.
It should answer all my calls and send most people into voice mail.
Just before a meeting with someone I should get full details about that person on my screen so that I can take 20 seconds and get upto speed on them. After the meeting I should be able to make a few notes or add a few to do's and store it in context with the meeting.
It should present me with a to-do list every morning and produce a weekly report of everything that I have accomplished.
It should know the distinction between work and home and screen callers accordingly. I.E. Good luck for a business associate to call me on the weekend, unless I have them also marked as a personal friend.
And all this should be available from any computer that has a connection to the internet.
Oh yeah, and it should make sure any computer I sit down at has all the desktop preferences matching my needs as possible, same background, same screen saver settings, same password protection on screen saver, same tool bar location, same apps in same place on tool bar, no matter if I am on an apple box, a unix workstation, a linux box or a windows box.