1,112 research outputs found
Post-Turing Methodology: Breaking the Wall on the Way to Artificial General Intelligence
This article offers comprehensive criticism of the Turing test and develops quality criteria for new artificial general intelligence (AGI) assessment tests. It is shown that the prerequisites A. Turing drew upon when reducing personality and human consciousness to âsuitable branches of thoughtâ re-flected the engineering level of his time. In fact, the Turing âimitation gameâ employed only symbolic communication and ignored the physical world. This paper suggests that by restricting thinking ability to symbolic systems alone Turing unknowingly constructed âthe wallâ that excludes any possi-bility of transition from a complex observable phenomenon to an abstract image or concept. It is, therefore, sensible to factor in new requirements for AI (artificial intelligence) maturity assessment when approaching the Tu-ring test. Such AI must support all forms of communication with a human being, and it should be able to comprehend abstract images and specify con-cepts as well as participate in social practices
Can biological quantum networks solve NP-hard problems?
There is a widespread view that the human brain is so complex that it cannot
be efficiently simulated by universal Turing machines. During the last decades
the question has therefore been raised whether we need to consider quantum
effects to explain the imagined cognitive power of a conscious mind.
This paper presents a personal view of several fields of philosophy and
computational neurobiology in an attempt to suggest a realistic picture of how
the brain might work as a basis for perception, consciousness and cognition.
The purpose is to be able to identify and evaluate instances where quantum
effects might play a significant role in cognitive processes.
Not surprisingly, the conclusion is that quantum-enhanced cognition and
intelligence are very unlikely to be found in biological brains. Quantum
effects may certainly influence the functionality of various components and
signalling pathways at the molecular level in the brain network, like ion
ports, synapses, sensors, and enzymes. This might evidently influence the
functionality of some nodes and perhaps even the overall intelligence of the
brain network, but hardly give it any dramatically enhanced functionality. So,
the conclusion is that biological quantum networks can only approximately solve
small instances of NP-hard problems.
On the other hand, artificial intelligence and machine learning implemented
in complex dynamical systems based on genuine quantum networks can certainly be
expected to show enhanced performance and quantum advantage compared with
classical networks. Nevertheless, even quantum networks can only be expected to
efficiently solve NP-hard problems approximately. In the end it is a question
of precision - Nature is approximate.Comment: 38 page
Simulating Electron Transport and Synchrotron Emission in Radio Galaxies: Shock Acceleration and Synchrotron Aging in Axis-Symmetric Flows
We introduce a simple and economical but effective method for including
relativistic electron transport in multi-dimensional simulations of radio
galaxies. The method is designed to follow explicitly diffusive acceleration at
shocks, and, in smooth flows 2nd order Fermi acceleration plus adiabatic and
synchrotron cooling. We are able to follow both the spatial and energy
distributions of the electrons, so that direct synchrotron emission properties
can be modeled in time-dependent flows for the first time.
Here we present first results in the form of some axis-symmetric MHD
simulations of Mach 20 light jet flows. These show clearly the importance of
nonsteady terminal shocks that develop in such flows even when the jet inflow
is steady. As a result of this and other consequences of the fundamentally
driven character of jets, we find complex patterns of emissivities and
synchrotron spectra, including steep spectral gradients in hot spots, islands
of distinct spectra electrons within the lobes and spectral gradients coming
from the dynamical histories of a given flow element rather than from
synchrotron aging of the embedded electrons. In addition, spectral aging in the
lobes tends to proceed more slowly than one would estimate from regions of high
emissivity.Comment: 30 pages of Latex generated text plus 7 figures in gif format.
Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. High resolution
postscript figures available through anonymous ftp at
ftp://ftp.msi.umn.edu/pub/users/twj/RGje
A Memetic Analysis of a Phrase by Beethoven: Calvinian Perspectives on Similarity and Lexicon-Abstraction
This article discusses some general issues arising from the study of similarity in music, both human-conducted and computer-aided, and then progresses to a consideration of similarity relationships between patterns in a phrase by Beethoven, from the first movement of the Piano Sonata in A flat major op. 110 (1821), and various potential memetic precursors. This analysis is followed by a consideration of how the kinds of similarity identified in the Beethoven phrase might be understood in psychological/conceptual and then neurobiological terms, the latter by means of William Calvinâs Hexagonal Cloning Theory. This theory offers a mechanism for the operation of David Copeâs concept of the lexicon, conceived here as a museme allele-class. I conclude by attempting to correlate and map the various spaces within which memetic replication occurs
First Results from MASIV: The Micro-Arcsecond Scintillation-Induced Variability Survey
We are undertaking a large-scale, Micro-Arcsecond Scintillation-Induced
Variability (MASIV) survey of the northern sky, Dec > 0 deg, at 4.9 GHz with
the VLA. Our objective is to construct a sample of 100 to 150 scintillating
extragalactic sources with which to examine both the microarcsecond structure
and the parent populations of these sources, and to probe the turbulent
interstellar medium responsible for the scintillation. We report on our first
epoch of observations which revealed variability on timescales ranging from
hours to days in 85 of 710 compact flat-spectrum sources. The number of highly
variable sources, those with RMS flux density variations greater than 4% of the
mean, increases with decreasing source flux density but rapid, large amplitude
variables such as J1819+3845 are very rare. When compared with a model for the
scintillation due to irregularities in a 500 pc thick electron layer, our
preliminary results indicate maximum brightness temperatures ~10E+12 K, similar
to those obtained from VLBI surveys even though interstellar scintillation is
not subject to the same angular resolution limit.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the Astronomical Journa
âIâm in a very good frame of mindâ: A qualitative exploration of the experience of standing frame use in people with progressive multiple sclerosis
This is the final version. Available on open access from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this recordData sharing:
The SUMS study protocol and statistical analysis plan are publicly available at
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/sums. Individual participant data that underlie
the results will be made available (after de-identification) on a controlled access
basis, subject to suitable data sharing agreements. Requests for data sharing should
be made to the Chief Investigator (CI; J Freeman) in the first instance.The study aim was to explore the experiences of people with progressive multiple
sclerosis (MS) and their standing assistants during their participation in SUMS, a
randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a home-based, self-managed standing frame
programme.
Design
A qualitative approach, using audio diary methodology was used to collect data
contemporaneously. Diary data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using
thematic analysis.
Setting
Participants were recruited from eight health-care organisations in two regions of the
United Kingdom. The intervention was home-based.
Participants
As part of the RCT, 140 participants were randomly allocated to either usual care or
usual care plus a standing frame programme. Using a sampling matrix 12 people
with progressive MS (six female, aged 35â71 years, Expanded Disability Status
Scale 6.5-8.0) and eight standing assistants (four female) kept audio diaries of their
experiences.
Intervention
The standing frame programme involved two face-to-face home-based
physiotherapy sessions to set up the standing frame programme, supplemented by
educational material designed to optimise self-efficacy. Participants were
encouraged to stand for at least 30 minutes, three times a week for the 36 week
study period.
Results
Four main themes were identified: âFeeling like the old meâ; âNoticing a differenceâ; âI
want to do it rightâ and âYou have a good day, you have a bad dayâ.
Conclusions
Supported standing helped people with progressive MS feel more like their old
selves and provided a sense of normality and enjoyment. People noticed
improvements in physical and psychological symptoms, which were often associated
with increased participation in activities they valued. Provision of support from a
physiotherapist and recognition of the variable nature of the condition were
highlighted as factors to consider when establishing a standing programme.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR
The theory of brain-sign: a physical alternative to consciousness
Consciousness and the mind are prescientific concepts that begin with Greek theorizing. They suppose human rationality and reasoning placed in the human head by (in Christian terms) God, who structured the universe he created with the same kind of underlying characteristics. Descartes' development of the model included scientific objectivity by placing the mind outside the physical universe. In its failure under evidential scrutiny and without physical explanation, this model is destined for terminal decline. Instead, a genuine biological and physical function for the brain phenomenon can be developed. This is the theory of brain-sign. It accepts the causality of the brain as its physical characteristics, already under scientific scrutiny. What is needed is a new neurophysiological mapping language that specifies the relation of the structure and operation of the brain to organismic action in the world. Still what is lacking is an account of how neurophysiologies in different organisms communicate on dynamic, i.e. unpredictable, tasks. It is this evolved capacity that has emerged as brain-sign. Thus rather than mentality being an inner epistemological parallel world suddenly appearing in the head, brain-sign, as the neural sign of the causal status of the brain, facilitates the communicative medium of otherwise isolated organisms. The biogenesis of the phenomenon emerges directly from the account of the physical brain, and functions as a monistic feature of organisms in the physical world. This new paradigm offers disciplinary compatibility, and genuine development in behavioral and brain sciences
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