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[bakntime]

Re: AIM

[joebrent]

[MikeB]

Wild speculation about the AI man

[aheffel]

Um...I'm talking to Beth again, right now.
(Sunday @ 10:10 PM EST)

[ChainedLightning]

She went off of "away from computer mode", and responded to me that's she's around but her friend is still there, too... she isn't responding much more than that.. maybe she will say he's gone soon and respond some more.

[aheffel]

apologies for posting this here...I'm sure there's a better place for it...
What's the URL for the Beth's log on little-boxes?

[ChainedLightning]

http://www.little-boxes.net/log.html

[aheffel]

sorry for being so hopeless sounding...I found it.
conversation with Beth so far:

AHeffel: Hi Beth, just wondered how everything turned out with "Your Friend."
bethlmcconnell: )
bethlmcconnell: It's going well
AHeffel: oh, are you still with him?
bethlmcconnell: Yes, he is here.
AHeffel: Any more translocation? or have you moved onto new experiments?
bethlmcconnell: no more translocation
bethlmcconnell: you can read about what we did today in my log on my website.
AHeffel: I was headed there when I saw that you were online, so I decided to IM you first. I'll read it now.
AHeffel: (Don't answer this question if it's already answered in your log)
Any new insights into your friend's nature or origin.

(Notice that she doesn't answer this question, but also didn't address it in the log)

AHeffel: Do you have to go back to work tomorrow?

And that brings us to the "present," 10:28PM EST

[niobexrev]

EDIT I'm reposting mine. She said more, and I thought it was a little important.

[colin]

ok here's my drop in the ocean of posts (and its not even mine):
these questions are from chancesend:

Session Start (AIM - matrixsolver0000:bethlmcconnell): Mon Nov 17 14:03:37 2003
matrixsolver0000: hi
matrixsolver0000: How about questioning his knowledge of the world? Ask him if he knows the population of the world. Ask him if he knows the size of the world. Ask him if he knows what the origin of the world is. Ask him what the year is. Basic things that are usually common knowledge. Perhaps by getting him thinking about basic facts, he will uncover lost memory sections.
bethlmcconnell: that's a good idea
(this one is mine, you can tell by the bad typing)matrixsolver0000: he also talks alot about percption. its a big jump in logic but maybe he's altering your percption . maybe is like some advanced VR simulation. ask him if can alter your perception.
bethlmcconnell: I think that perception has a lot to do with it
bethlmcconnell: however the fire incident seemed to prove otherwise
matrixsolver0000: Can he alter/distort your physical appearance? How about Laika? Can he change Laika into another breed of dog?
matrixsolver0000: also, Does he have control over sound? Can he change the sound of the forest into perhaps the sound of a city? Can he make music be heard? Can he transmit a conversation from another part of the world and allow you to hear it?

bethlmcconnell: I will test sound
bethlmcconnell: I did not have that on my list. that's a good suggestion.
matrixsolver0000: Can he control your movements? Such as, can he make your arm move? Can he control Laika's movements? Ask him to tell you how he is going to move Laika before he does it, to verify if he has control or not.
matrixsolver0000: still there?
*** Auto-response from bethlmcconnell: I am currently away from the computer.
Session Close (bethlmcconnell): Mon Nov 17 15:19:22 2003


Session Start (AIM - matrixsolver0000:bethlmcconnell): Mon Nov 17 15:30:23 2003
bethlmcconnell: sorry, I'm in the process of shutting down
bethlmcconnell: so I'm here but not really
matrixsolver0000: ok
bethlmcconnell: that's interesting
bethlmcconnell: I'd never thought about that idea
bethlmcconnell: I will test it.
matrixsolver0000: cool, hope its useful
bethlmcconnell: Yes, I like that idea.
bethlmcconnell: I will test it tonight and let you know in my log what happens.
matrixsolver0000: when will you next update the log?
bethlmcconnell: Probably tonight or first thing in the morning (if I crash before I get it uploaded)
matrixsolver0000: cool, i'll be waiting, cya tommorow? maybe?
bethlmcconnell: yes, probably tomorrow.

[mainro]

Here's mine:

l2omain: hello again Miss McConnell, did you find the purpose of "your friend" ?
l2omain: I found that today on the web: The purpose of Artificial Life is to extend the set of known biological entities beyond the set of actual natural biological entities. This extension can be performed by a technique called synthesis. Synthesis is the process of "putting the constituent pieces of matter together in new and different ways".
l2omain: But this is only theory. Your friend had a few problems when you met him, his memory and communication systems were damaged. Maybe he was going to be "deleted" by his creators because he had no purpose anymore... does he remember what he was doing before you met him ?
bethlmcconnell: he does not remember
l2omain: Too bad... even if I never saw him, I feel some kind of empathy for this stranger in a strange land.
bethlmcconnell: yes, it is too bad
bethlmcconnell: it would be frustrating to know that you had a purpose, a reason, but to not know what it is
bethlmcconnell: but really, that's about as human as you can get
bethlmcconnell: so it's easy to feel for him.
bethlmcconnell: perhaps that's why I want to help him. By helping him find his purpose, I don't have to look for mine.
bethlmcconnell: Or something like that
l2omain: Do you believe in fate ? maybe your purpose is to help him
l2omain: Does your friend have some special learning skills ? It look like someone put some artificial intelligence in a human body, so maybe it's for him to learn or experience things the way humans do (sorry if I make mistakes, I'm french and it's 5 in the morning where I live.) Have you run tests with him about learning, reading books or trying to solve puzzles ?
Réponse automatique de bethlmcconnell.: I am currently away from the computer.

bethlmcconnell: I'm not really away. I'm just getting ready to log off
bethlmcconnell: and figured that I should mark myself as away
bethlmcconnell: 5 am! ugh!
bethlmcconnell: no, I've not run tests like that, but that is probably a good idea.
bethlmcconnell: I'm getting ready to head off for the night. I should be around tomorrow morning. Maybe we'll be able to chat more then.
l2omain: If you have time for a last question before you leave, would he like to choose himself a name ?
l2omain: Have a good night Miss McConnell. See you tomorrow maybe.

[aware]

allrighty, I have one too

Quick summary: she reacted positively to two of my suggestions - testing whether he can affect her dog's behaviour and testing whether he can create things. She does not want to experiment on herself.

aware: Hi Beth
bethlmcconnell: Hi.
aware: I'm following your log with interest
bethlmcconnell: Oh really?
aware: It seems to me that there is a regularity in your friend's abilities: He affects reality by taking things away or turning them off (wind, heat, smell, friction)
aware: I wonder whether he can create things too
aware: like, could he materialize frog eggs, or maybe a bone for your dog?
aware: just a thought
aware: It would also be interesting to see if there are limits to his ability to affect physical properties of reality - we know that he can alter/eliminate friction, what about gravity? magnetism? electricity?
aware: As far as the weather goes, is he limited to playing with the wind? or can he make it rain? Snow? Can he change night to day?
aware: Finally, I'm wondering how far his control over your perceptions and (excuse me for saying so) your mind goes. Don't know whether you're up to this, but it might be worth a test to see if he can change your emotions (make you happy for no reason), or your relationships (cause you to like or dislike someone).
bethlmcconnell: I'm hesitant to have him test things on me.
aware: I can see why
bethlmcconnell: I'm also interested in what other things he has some sort of control over
aware: how about testing your dog?
bethlmcconnell: I was using the wind today because I knew that it worked
aware: right.
bethlmcconnell: and so I could remove that variable
bethlmcconnell: Yes, I've offered her up as a testing subject
aware: and?
aware: that's exciting!
bethlmcconnell: yes, I haven't used her yet
bethlmcconnell: but if I need a live subject, it will be her before me.
aware: .. we know the effect wears off, so it's unlikely to be dangerous
aware: maybe he could try making her hate her favorite toy?
bethlmcconnell: that would be great! right now her favorite toys are my shoes (i just cannot seem to break her of that habit)
aware: lol
aware: what do you think of my observation that he may only be able to stop things from happening, not create new ones?
aware: not sure if there's a counterexample, I might be overlooking some things that have happened
bethlmcconnell: I think that's a good observation
bethlmcconnell: I should test his ability to create things
aware: will you test it?
bethlmcconnell: I am currently away from the computer.
bethlmcconnell: I will!
aware: great!
bethlmcconnell: sorry about the away msg, I'm meaning to shut down
bethlmcconnell: and get back to him
aware: I'm looking forward to hearing the results
aware: ok good luck
bethlmcconnell: but I really like that idea
bethlmcconnell: I'll let you know what happens with it!
aware: thanks!

[niobexrev]

K, I reposted mine, it's a since she came back on and said more and it is kind of important I guess. Hint: be looking for some new info in her next log.

[mulder]

a couple of irrelevant stuff... but she's suposed to be real uhg? so lets get real, and do some Tarantino-Type-of-Conversation... talk about real world stuff...

(I am indeed going to shot a short film, I'll post a trailer here as soon as I have one )


This time is AM here... I live in Brazil, and gotta wake up in a few hours!!

Special QUOTE to the Cause and Effect stuff... it's trully what life is about... if you want some more info check out www.sgi.org

[dmax]