Patented computer software may replace human authors

[BooksForABuck]

Back a million years ago when my Vic-20 was still a current machine, I typed in a basic program (from Compute! Magazine--a few of my fellow old-timers will remember them) that turned the Vic into a music composer. It composed new music that sounded like Bach (it sounded pretty good to me). Even with advances in computer technology since, I haven't heard of any computer-created symphonies taking the world by storm and I KNOW that will be easier than composing the Great American Novel.

Even if computers will, someday, be able to write great fiction, I'm pretty sure a guy who thinks romance novels are all about body parts isn't going to be the one who programs them.

Rob Preece
Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by BooksForABuck

Back a million years ago when my Vic-20 was still a current machine, I typed in a basic program (from Compute! Magazine--a few of my fellow old-timers will remember them) that turned the Vic into a music composer. It composed new music that sounded like Bach (it sounded pretty good to me). Even with advances in computer technology since, I haven't heard of any computer-created symphonies taking the world by storm and I KNOW that will be easier than composing the Great American Novel.

Even if computers will, someday, be able to write great fiction, I'm pretty sure a guy who thinks romance novels are all about body parts isn't going to be the one who programs them.

Rob Preece
Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com

Actually, even older, was a program called Eliza or Doctor that did psychoanalysis for free. It is built into emacs in lisp and was available on early home computers in the 70's in basic. The first copy I saw as on a Datapoint 2000 terminal. Lots of people claimed to be helped or at least impressed.

Dale

[tompe]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Actually, even older, was a program called Eliza or Doctor that did psychoanalysis for free. It is built into emacs in lisp and was available on early home computers in the 70's in basic. The first copy I saw as on a Datapoint 2000 terminal. Lots of people claimed to be helped or at least impressed.

When I need to generate random text in Emacs I usually do "M-x psychoanalyze-pinhead" which I think is Doctor applied to Pinhead statements.

And you get text like:

I am the psychotherapist. Please, describe your problems. Each time
you are finished talking, type RET twice.

Yow! I'm having a quadraphonic sensation of two winos
alone in a steel mill!

Why do you say that?

Is this TERMINAL fun?

What makes you believe is this terminal fun?

It's the RINSE CYCLE!! They've ALL IGNORED the RINSE CYCLE!!

Maybe your plans have something to do with this.

This TOPS OFF my partygoing experience! Someone I DON'T LIKE
is talking to me about a HEART-WARMING European film..

I don't understand.

I'm having a tax-deductible experience! I need an energy crunch!!

[tompe]

Originally Posted by thydere

Having worked in the artificial department at my University for some time, I'd be very interested in how exactly his logic based synthesizer works.

I assume you meant artificial intelligence department. I am working in an AI department and I think that "artificial department" is kind of a good alternative name...

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by tompe

When I need to generate random text in Emacs I usually do "M-x psychoanalyze-pinhead" which I think is Doctor applied to Pinhead statements.

And you get text like:

It does look like doctor. Of course you can easily try doctor yourself. (M-x doctor) It is really a simple program but it does do rudimentary input sentence analysis and sentence generation with almost no resource requirements. Take a look at the source.

dale

[axel77]

Eliza is a funny phenomeon. Originally it was ment by its creators to demonstrate that psychoanalysis is crap, and a simple application can do as well as a "well-trained" psychologist.

Interesting was the reaction of some people, who told they felt themselves understood by that application, and it actually helped them... So at last it was actually a case in point for psychotherapy. In the way, it actually helps somewant just "listens" and if its a computer program, that asks for futher input while only marginally understanding what you write...

BTW.: whatever this guy is doing, what really gets me off in this news is the word "patentet", so what exactly did he pantent? Artifical Intelligence? Or what. Hardly gets explained...

[alphasun]

I was interested to discover Prof. Parker's work, because I have written a novel, Whispering Crates, about a computer programme that writes novels – in fact, most of the text is by the program.