1. 1 Chapter 2 Uses and Limitations

2. 2 Chapter 2 Contents l The Chinese Room l HAL – Fantasy or Reality? l AI in the 21 st Century

3. 3 The Chinese Room l A thought experiment used to argue against strong AI. l A non-Chinese speaker is in a room with a set of cards with Chinese characters, and a set of instructions in English. l Questions in Chinese are fed into the room, and by following the instructions, the human is able to produce answers. l The room appears to understand Chinese – it can answer questions in the language – but the human inside cannot.

4. 4 HAL – Fantasy or Reality l HAL – the computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. nPlays chess with humans (and wins). nReads people’s lips. nEngages in conversation with humans. l Computers can play chess, and beat most players. l Reading lips is very hard to automate. l The conversational skills of the best systems today are very weak.

5. 5 AI in the 21 st Century l AI is everywhere. l Fuzzy logic is used in elevators, washing machines and cars. l Intelligent agents are used in many software applications. l Robots explore other worlds, and toy robots play with children (and some adults). l Expert systems diagnose diseases and recommend remedies. l Computer games use AI.