Re:Tell YC: Answers from John McCarthy
by wanorris on Saturday May 10, 2008 @12:36PM
(#186359)
Hypothetically speaking, if we develop a sufficient understanding of analogue information processing, couldn't we build either (a) some kind of analog co-processor that operates in this manner and interfaces with the computer, or even (b) a sufficiently precise digital simulation of a system that can use analogue processes?
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Maybe we can. I hope we'll invest in finding out, and soon. Then again, John McCarthy doesn't seem to agree, as this answer suggests:
Q. Is there anything in principle that would prevent a computer from thinking as a human would?
A. No
IOW, there's still no recognition today, on the side of the purveyors of "classical" AI, that anything except digital processing might be needed for a computer to think "as a human would". So the big money is likely to continue being thrown at attempts to emulate animal brains using purely digital means. And I suspect that these funds might largely be better spent elsewhere.