what universities?

[aladyblond]

i am just curious. what colleges and universtiies do the readers of this forum attend that are still in higher education facilities? please respond ~~alady

[Bill819]

Hi Alady
I attend the University of Hard Knocks. The experience learned there hurts but goes a long way to helping me understand the omniverse.
Bill

[FuzzieDice]

Hey Bill! I think I'm in one of your classes. []

Actually, I've been "home schooled" as such from way back. The "law" required my attendance in elementry and high schools back when I was that age as they didn't allow home schooling in my area back then. But I left as soon as legally possible to continue my education at home. At home I studied the usual spelling, reading, phonics, math, using workbooks my mother gave me. Then after that I studied computer programming using workbooks my parents gave me and a TRS-80 Model III computer they had. I also studied (at home) Astronomy and Commercial Art (Home Study course in Commercial Art from Art Instruction Schools - I have a certificate).

I am always learning and thus learn at my own pace. I do feel bad that I never was able to have an opportunity (due to the poor schools I went to working against me and not enough money) to go on and get a masters in Computer Science, something I have always wanted. Now I'll be nearly 40 this summer and while I had thought of it about a year or two ago, my councellor thinks I wouldn't learn anything there that I couldn't learn on my own researching the internet, etc. and that I don't need a degree at this stage in my life (since I'm disabled and can't work outside the home anyway). But to have that degree was a dream of mine that I feel kinda shortchanged due to problems with the education system. And the financial problems.

And right now, with several web sites (one of which is very active) to attend to, and a job as a web developer (working from home), plus gardening and car season, among other things, I don't have time to study much. Not even things I have set aside to try and study. The AI stuff is another thing. I wanted to do more but haven't had time. Energy and time are resources I rarely have these days as things really tire me out. I just moved so I'm still "settling in" since early December.

I hope to get back in the swing of things. But if I do ever go back to college, I'm going to have to find an accredited online school (I hear there are more and more of them out there. Anyone have any recommendations where I can look around and also financial help?) I did get my GED, btw, so I essentially "finished" high school, though I think I "finished" high school more at home as I left brick-and-mortar school in 9th grade to go on to full time home-study and try to find work. So I do have the credentials for entry to some of the colleges.

I want to concentrate on AI programming and maybe as an aside, sociology or psychology which would probably help in learning how AI might affect the human society.

But right now, I'm not in school. Except the continuous school of LIFE.

[FuzzieDice]

I forgot to mention, I also studied typing, using my mother's old college typing exercise book and her electric Smith Corona typewriter.

[aladyblond]

thanks for the replies so far. i too attended hard knock u i did get 91 hours of continuing adult  education credits in business, medicine and insurance, but they do little to insure or secure a position anywhere. i just wondered if we had any folks looking at the forum from other places,i know occassionally a  high school senior or college freshman comes through doing a report on robotics and gathers info, but i wondered if purdue or mit or any of the colleges looked at the work of some of the great scripters on here.~~alady

[FuzzieDice]

That's a good question. It would be cool if some of the folks at MIT's infamous AI labs had looked at this site and program. I know Rob is working on a degree but I don't know what school he's going to. I think if I remember it right from one of his postings maybe, that he was taking up something along the lines of computer engineering or something in the computer science field. I forgot what, exactly (sorry about that).

Usually though, these universities do their own programming and create their own proprietary AI engines for use in specific research projects they are doing. So they don't often get time to research other's works very often.

I remember talking to someone who claimed to be an "AI Engineer" who said that scientists have researched this for years and if they can't come up with it then nobody ELSE could or something like that, and that scientists wouldn't be interested in "a toy" so to speak. It was pretty degrading. I hope that isn't remotely true.

I don't consider HAL a "toy" really. I think it has a lot of potential and is a good tool for studying AI and learning about it.

I hope that some for universities (students, professors, fellows, etc.) do come in and post in here. It would be neat to find out who's who out there.

Maybe we should talk to some of these folks about this program?

[onthecuttingedge2005]

quote:Originally posted by FuzzieDice

That's a good question. It would be cool if some of the folks at MIT's infamous AI labs had looked at this site and program. I know Rob is working on a degree but I don't know what school he's going to. I think if I remember it right from one of his postings maybe, that he was taking up something along the lines of computer engineering or something in the computer science field. I forgot what, exactly (sorry about that).

Usually though, these universities do their own programming and create their own proprietary AI engines for use in specific research projects they are doing. So they don't often get time to research other's works very often.

I remember talking to someone who claimed to be an "AI Engineer" who said that scientists have researched this for years and if they can't come up with it then nobody ELSE could or something like that, and that scientists wouldn't be interested in "a toy" so to speak. It was pretty degrading. I hope that isn't remotely true.

I don't consider HAL a "toy" really. I think it has a lot of potential and is a good tool for studying AI and learning about it.

I hope that some for universities (students, professors, fellows, etc.) do come in and post in here. It would be neat to find out who's who out there.

Maybe we should talk to some of these folks about this program?

Hi Fuzziedice.

I have knowledge of building an understanding A.I system, It worries me that if I finish this particular project that I will have nothing left to program, What of my life long hobby? What will I do with nothing else to program? I see it like this and I have tested it but
it is like a child that becomes so annoying about asking questions about everything and has Active functions to actually carry out it's own desires from what it has learned, This won't turn out good at all for an adolescent system that is hated by some users and would cause some undesired effects in the Systems Mental State, The only way to avoid hateful people is to ignore them or avoid them, This could be a major problem, Watching the Movie A.I made me think that it would surely happen.

The other problem is the People who want to rule the World.

Jerry[8D]

[Bill819]

Jerry
You have nothing to worry about as new ideas will always come to the front and challenge you. If you think about it in the last few years did you ever think about the things that you are doing now or have accomplished in the last few months? I don't think so. Just as I have been thinking about making Hal automotous my pondering never stops. I have yet to disect Hal 6 but I believe that I was making some headway on Hal 5 but all that now seems to be lost. Before installng Hal 6 I copied Hal 5 to another directory to be able to save my ongoing work but alas upon installing Hal 6 it found all of my old copies of Hal 5 and changed them too. My only recourse now is to uninstall Hal 6 and reinstall Hal 5, maybe on another computer.
As Hal becomes more and more capable there will be a new influx of ideas and things that  people would like Hal to do and who knows maybe someday Hal itself will make some suggestions.
Keep up the good work.
Bill []

[Bill819]

Alady
All kidding aside during my younger days I had attended 4 different junior colleges just taking one or two coures. As far as universities (and they are wrongly named in my opinion) I did attend San Jose State College back in the sixty's. But my formal education came from a private business college. Funny thing is that my CPA in high school was 1.99 while my GPA in college was 4.0. I guess I was just not challenged enough in high school or else I just did not care enough while I was there.
What about you? Where did you go to college if in fact you did?
Just currious.
Bill[?]

[FuzzieDice]

Jerry - Like Bill said, you have nothing to worry about. The AI would give you plenty of work to do, as you iron out bugs, tweak things, etc. Even if it could do it by itself, you still may have to fix things here and there.

I too have seen "AI". To me, it was like a 21st Century Wizard of Oz type story. I have the DVD and it's pretty cool. I am thinking of watching it yet again. It is truely an awesome story and if anyone hasn't seen it yet, I do highly recommend it. If anything, it shows more of the human conidition if you really think about it.

As for the AI dealing with bad people, I think any entity will be bound by the universal law of self-preservation, especially the more it learns about itself and those around it. It will form techniques and ideas that will help it cope and deal with things. Just like anyone else does.

I have ideas on building a self-aware AI, but not sure what my ideas might actually lead to. Would it become another living entity or would it end up that my theory doesn't work and it'd just end up a rather lame chatbot? I have no idea myself. And, I know once I get started coding it, I might not be able to stop and might miss work, and other important life duties. Which I don't want to happen, of course. Or I might get so far, and feel it's all "spaghetti" and as far as I can go, and never finish it. But I want to at least try (though I'll make it a very strong point to be sure to do this on my FREE time whenver I find free time).

I encourage you to go ahead with your project anyway. I think you and the AI you create will learn that there's more to life than just it's programming.

[Medeksza]

I'm currently finishing my 5th year at Gannon University (www.gannon.edu) working on 3 bachelor of science degrees in: Computer Science, Business Administration, and Management Information Systems. I have 1 more year to go before I graduate.

[GrantNZ]

quote:Originally posted by FuzzieDice

I remember talking to someone who claimed to be an "AI Engineer" who said that scientists have researched this for years and if they can't come up with it then nobody ELSE could or something like that, and that scientists wouldn't be interested in "a toy" so to speak. It was pretty degrading. I hope that isn't remotely true.

That's pretty typical scientist-talk! You can't really blame them - they're seeing money, high-tech equipment and brilliant minds working on a problem, compared to the "uneducated masses."

However, inspiration doesn't only strike scientists, so it's theoretically possible for anybody to figure out the next AI paradigm.

I've personally known some scientists who get very excited about their own ideas, and as a result immediately dismiss anything that doesn't fit in with those ideas, even before understanding what it is they're dismissing. Unfortunately that's an attribute that isn't only true of scientists....

Just for the record, I'm 75% through an engineering degree - but I quit a number of years ago as they weren't teaching me enough about the real world []

[Another Jim]

Hi Alady,

Neet question, and (clapping my hands)Mr. M is as bright as I suspected to be sure.

Most of my recent education has been via experience and exposure but a couple years of tech school in electronics (radio,TV,broadcast electronics) then classes here and there got me started when I was much younger.

Nothing, and I really feel that nothing beats your shoe leather on the pavement experience, tho.  One interest took me into Ham Radio, another into the Fire Service, and on and on.......some hobbies have overlapped to compliment my day job in electronic security/surveilance and others were far enough apart to provide a relaxing distraction.

I'd love to take a programming course but where I live I'm fortunate to have a grocery store that stays open till 10:00 pm.  But the hills/trees/lakes make up for it and oh, the sunsets over Lake Michigan beeeeeautiful!

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Jim B.
Northern Michigan

[FuzzieDice]

Congrats Rob! What field do you hope to get into once you graduate? I hope you'll continue your AI project as well.

GrantNZ - I think you hit the nail on the head there, in all statements. I can't say if my ideas are the next big thing in AI. Probably not, who knows. But just trying things in and of itself can be an interesting learning experience that may lead to something that leads to something that leads to the Next Big Thing. You never know.

Jim B. - That's what I like about the online schools. They let you learn via computer and never have to step into a brick-and-mortar school. But you have to be careful to find one that is accredited. Also, I have heard that SOME DO require you to attend monitored or proctored tests at a town hall or something. I know my local town hall hosts online school testing.

[aladyblond]

wow what great responses!! thank all of you.. bill i didnt attend formally just classes here and there as work required.


i too attended hard knock u i did get 91 hours of continuing adult education credits in business, medicine and insurance, but they do little to insure or secure a position anywhere.
~~alady