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by blixt 2960 days ago
I think that ship has sailed. The term "AI" for any behavior by a machine that changes based on input has been in use for at least over 60 years now. Whether it's the ghosts in Pacman, or a disembodied voice that tells you the weather and plays music when you ask it to.
1 comments
MarkMMullin 2960 days ago
We should do our best to get it back into port - part of the whole mess is that the name AI implies things about ML systems that simply aren't true - as a side note, we should also probably start using the word tensor more accurately, we've now enraged enough physics and math folks :-)
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blixt 2960 days ago
The entire English dictionary has evolved into its current state, and there's several words that used to have the opposite meaning just from stubborn ironic use by the masses. As much as I like to be correct about my use of words, I think AI has established itself as a term that will stick around for now.

Besides, I really don't think all the stigma comes from the term "artificial intelligence". You don't have to ever mention the term to a child interacting with Alexa, they will nevertheless greatly overestimate "her" ability. I think because of the anthropomorphic nature of their interactions, and the black box implementation that prevents you from knowing the boundaries of what is possible.

This something that video game characters have played on since their conception, to make humans imagine much more complex intents and thoughts behind their "stupid" hard coded behaviors. I'm okay with calling it AI even if it's not even close to on par with human intelligence. :)

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sullyj3 2959 days ago
How is the word tensor misused? I thought it was just an n-dimensional array of numbers?
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chas 2959 days ago
Similar to how linear transforms can be represented as 2-dimensional arrays of numbers (that is to say matrices)[0], tensors are a higher dimensional analogue with a rich theory in their own right and a representation as higher-dimensional arrays of numbers. Similarly, if you look at a tensor solely as an n-dimensional array of numbers, it ignores important differences in the mathematical behavior of objects with the same representation. To give an example: Different parts of a tensor can behave differently under change of basis. [1]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYB8IZa5AuE

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covariance_and_contravariance_...

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MarkMMullin 2951 days ago
I rest my case :-)
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