[extropy-chat] Google's search for meaning

[Zero Powers]

Eliezer, I know you're in the midst of a cross-country relocation (I
hope its going smoothly), but I came across the following and I'm
interested in your take.  I know (I think) that your approach focuses
on developing a seedling AI by the intelligent design of a software
"mentality" kernel, right?

What do you think the chances are of creating intelligence by coaxing
computers to infer meaning from the interrelatedness of the "bits" of
human culture (words) based on Google-type web searches?

Zero

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Google's search for meaning
NewScientist.com News January 26, 2005
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Computers can now deduce the
meaning of words from the frequency
of nearby words in Google searches.
The finding could bring forward the
day that true artificial
intelligence is developed. Paul
Vitanyi and Rudi Cilibrasi of the
National Institute for Mathematics
and Computer Science in Amsterdam
have developed a statistical
indicator based on a...
http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedirect.html?newsID=4209&m=7817