PHIL: Is it ethical to create special purpose sentients?

Delvieron@aol.com
Tue, 2 Mar 1999 23:29:49 EST

Billy,

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my hypothetical. I think perhaps I used the wrong term. I should not have called my program an expert system program, as you seem to indicate that this involves a specific type of programming as opposed to its purpose. What I really wanted was a hypothetical program that could give "expert" advice on its subject, and learn from experience. I also had its hypothetical designer add on some of the programs capabilities later on, such as giving it a broader knowledge base to give context to its decisions. Could you perhaps suggest some programming techniques that might in future produce the type of AI I have suggested, or is this not a realistic possibility?

I was interested to hear that some big project has been working on developing such an expert system for a decade. Do you have any more information on this project? Thanks for your input.

Glen Finney