AHSS*1090 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Ipod, Charlton Ogburn, Technology Transfer
Communication, Technology & Culture
Week 2: Defining/History of Technology
Turing Test
-Alan Turing cracks the “Enigma” code used by Germany during World War II
-He is also one of the first scientists to discuss the idea of a machine that can
simulate human abilities
-Pitting a computer against a human in an imitation game
-Computer and human are placed in separate rooms
-An interrogator can ask them anything
-For a computer to pass, it must fool at least 30% of the questioners over a 5
minute of keyboard conversations
Turing Test Controversy
-Great achievement - Kevin Warwick, who administered the test sees this as a
huge accomplishment in the field of artificial intelligence
-Not so much - Gary Marcus, a researcher at NYU, believes this is just a clever
piece of software
-Warwick believes we need a new test - He proposes that for a computer to
simulate human abilities, it would need to be able to watch any television
program or YouTube video and answer questions about its content
Artificial Intelligence
-Do you think computers will ever be able to replicate human thinking?
-Such as emotions
-How close does Siri come?
Challenges of Study
-Rapid technological advances
-Unprecedented social change
-Direction and type of effect
-Target group
-Changing uses
History of Technology
-Evolutionary model of technological development
-Tools build upon existing knowledge
-Development is incremental
-Inventors don’t work in isolation but draw upon what has been done earlier
-There is a gap in time between when an invention first develops a new
technology and when this technology is revealed and examined
-problem with understanding history of tech. is reliance on artifacts, doesn’t tell
the whole story
-We are able to think abstractly and adapt to an environment
-Contributions of science and non-science to our technology
Evolution of Technology
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Alan turing cracks the enigma code used by germany during world war ii. He is also one of the first scientists to discuss the idea of a machine that can simulate human abilities. Pitting a computer against a human in an imitation game. Computer and human are placed in separate rooms. For a computer to pass, it must fool at least 30% of the questioners over a 5 minute of keyboard conversations. Great achievement - kevin warwick, who administered the test sees this as a huge accomplishment in the field of artificial intelligence. Not so much - gary marcus, a researcher at nyu, believes this is just a clever piece of software. Warwick believes we need a new test - he proposes that for a computer to simulate human abilities, it would need to be able to watch any television program or youtube video and answer questions about its content.
