CYC as Big Brother?

From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Wed Feb 12 2003 - 22:31:06 MST

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    We have often discussed Doug Lenat's AI project, Cyc, an attempt to
    incorporate "common sense" into computers by building an immense database
    of general purpose knowledge. I was surprised to read in this CNN
    article, http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/12/total.information.ap/index.html,
    that Cycorp is getting involved in the infamous TIA program:

    "Meanwhile, contractors and researchers told The Associated Press that
    they have already been developing pieces of TIA. For example, Doug Lenat,
    president of Texas-based Cycorp, said his researchers had already built
    a system to identify phone-calling patterns as they might exist among
    potential terrorists overseas."

    TIA is the Total Information Awareness program, which has been
    widely discussed and criticized on the web. The CNN article is
    kind of strange especially after reading in the NY Times today,
    http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/12/politics/12PRIV.html, that Congress
    has agreed to new restrictions on the project: TIA cannot be used
    against Americans and that no more research can be done without extensive
    consultation with Congress. (Note - you can buy your TIA logo gear here,
    http://www.cafeshops.com/totalawareness)

    Personally I have always been skeptical of Cyc, so I don't know whether
    to be alarmed or relieved at the prospect of this technology being used
    for the TIA project. On the one hand, if it doesn't work, that might
    help keep TIA from going forward. On the other hand, they might proceed
    anyway with a malfunctioning AI that spews out all kinds of false alarms
    and random data. It could lead to situations like in Terry Gilliam's
    satirical movie Brazil where innocents are dragged away by storm troopers
    after a computer malfunction.

    Hal



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