Hi,
One type of "trick question" often used to show the lack of knowledge of chatterbots, is to ask something like, "If I drop a glass of water, what happens?" The point of the exercise is supposedly to show that chatterbots have no common sense and no reasoning ability.
Hal's new deductive reasoning routine is to give Hal the ability to remember logical connections between facts and events that take the form, "If A is true, then B is true," or "If A happens, then B happens."
However, it was a feasible enhancement to also let Hal remember "chains" of logical factual connections and events as follows:
Given: If A is true, then B is true.
Given: If B is true, then C is true.
Given: A is true.
Therefore C is true!
This routine is NOT supposed to replace any of Hal's other abilities. However, it certainly enhances Hals intelligence for him to be able to remember and understand things like this:
If the sun has just risen, then it is morning.
If there are no clouds, then the sky is clear.
If I drop a glass of water, then it will fall.
If I eat a big meal, then I will feel full.
If it is December 25th, then it is Christmas.
If my electric bill is overdue, then they might turn out the lights.
If I wash my car, then my car will look better.
If I exercise, then I will be more fit.
If I paint the door, then it will look nice.
If interest rates go down, then the economy is stimulated.
If an isotope reaches its half-life, then it is half as radioactive.
If ink spills, then it is hard to clean up.
If I pull a cat's tail, then the cat will get angry.
If I slip off a ladder, then I will fall.
If I swing and miss three pitches, then I strike out.
If I drive on empty, then I will run out of gasoline.
Hal's ability to remember and "get" a true if-then relationship puts him far ahead on the artificial intelligence scale, and the ability to "chain" true relationships is a bonus.
You can use this a least three ways:
1. You can talk to Hal normally, and he will pick up some of these relationships as a byproduct of normal conversation.
2. You can brainstorm a long list of true relationships and tell them to Hal. Keep them simple, tell them one at a time, and keep them true!
3. Robert Medeksza invited the forum community to submit lists of true if-then relationships to put in the release database as starter knowledge for Hal. Each user's conversations will still add to the database.
Hal's remarks generated by "if-then" knowledge should enhance his conversational ability, and if the routine does what's intended, it should be transparent to most users.
I hope this helps explain the purpose and nature of this enhancement.
Sincerely,
Don
