ARTIFICIAL LIFE
DEVELOPMENTS
· Computers are
beginning to get a Life
The study of artificial life, or ‘a Life’ to its devotees, may eventually develop machines that can ‘think’ for themselves. A common type of a Life computer program is one such as Polyworld, a virtual environment where computerized bugs exist –some say evolve –within a 3-D plane. The bugs are programmed to carry out certain tasks to hind food or a mate –and within those parameters are left free to develop their own survival methods. While this sort of program may seem little more than a game, it has significant applications for more advanced technologies, perhaps leading towards machines that can fully reproduce human thought processes.
· The world’s first truly
intelligent robotic kitten
The first artificial brain is being built by Advanced Telecommunications Research (AIR)in Kyoto, Japan, in collaboration with former electrical engineer Mikhail Korjin of Colorado, USA, and Hugo de Garis. The CAM-Brain Machine will be used to create an intelligent robotic kitten by 2000. It is believed that if this project is completed successfully it will open the way for the process of evolving a million neural net modules to create artificial brains.
· The role of fuzzy logic
in tomorrow’s systems
Many artificial intelligence networks make use of fuzzy logic systems, which enable computers to analyse imprecise situations where things are not somewhere in between. Fuzzy logic has already been incorporated into domestic electrical devices, such as washing machines, where the machine can sense how much soap to use depending on how dirty the dishes are. It is also being used in more complex situations, such as stock markets, Japanese scientists are even working on systems that will one day be able to write novels.
APPLICATIONS
· Computers that can
pick you out of a crowd
A computer system that can recognize individual faces is under development at MIT in the US. The facial recognition software also being developed to determine the meaning of sounds and gestures. The system, which works by drawing a picture of the subject’s face and then matching this to images in a database, could be used for security systems access, police files, therapy and entertainment.
· Getting pleasure out
of a virtual environment
Artificially smart systems could mean that one day it will be possible to become a character in a virtual world. Bruce Blumberg of the MIT Media Lab is developing a system called Virtual Dog, in which people, standing in front of a large screen, would see simulated video images of themselves on the screen. When the real person moves, so does the on-screen creation.
· “Open the pod bay
door, please Hal”
An Intelligent computer system has been built for use on board the NASA Discovery Space Shuttle, and for the space stations to be used in the next millennium. The system is called mars, and will be built by the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute in Melbourne.
