"Isaac Asimov - Feeling of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

\pard\li70\sl35\slmult0 manoeuvre and countermanceuvre, with discontent rising stead-\par
\pard\li80 ily on Earth. Possibly it was rising on Deneb, too.\par
\pard\li285\sl15\slmult0 And now Congressman Brant, head of the important Com-\par
\pard\li75\sl15\slmult0 mittee on Military Appropriations, was cheerfully and smooth-\par
\pard\li85\sl20\slmult0 ly spending his half-hour appointment spouting nonsense.\par
\pard\li295\sl10\slmult0 "Computing without a computer," said the president im-\par
\pard\li80\sl15\slmult0 patiently, "is a contradiction in terms."\par
\pard\li295\sl15\slmult0 "Computing," said the Congressman, "is only a system for\par
\pard\li95\sl15\slmult0 handling data. A machine might do it, or the human brain\par
\pard\li85\sl20\slmult0 might. Let me give you an example." And, using the new\par
\pard\li100\sl15\slmult0 skills he had learned, he worked out sums and products\par
\pard\li95\sl15\slmult0 until the president, despite himself, grew interested.\par
\pard\li300\sl15\slmult0 "Does this always work?"\par
"Every time, Mr. President. It is foolproof."\par
\pard\li310\sl20\slmult0 "Is it hard to learn?"\par
\pard\li310\sl15\slmult0 "It took me a week to get the real hang of it. I think you\par
\pard\li95\sl15\slmult0 would do better."\par
\pard\li310\sl15\slmult0 "Well," said the president, considering, "it's an interesting\par
\pard parlour game, but what is the use of it?"\fs24\par
\pard\li200\fs18 "What is the use of a newborn baby, Mr. President? At\par
\pard\sl30\slmult0 the moment there is no use, but don't you see that this\par
\pard\sl5\slmult0 points the way towards liberation from the machine. Consider,\par
\pard\li5\sl15\slmult0 Mr. President," the Congressman rose and his deep voice\par
\pard\li20\sl5\slmult0 automatically took on some of the cadences he used in public\par
\pard\li15\sl25\slmult0 debate, "that the Denebian war is a war of computer against\par
\pard\li5\sl35\slmult0 computer. Their computers forge an impenetrable field of\par
\pard\li5 counter-missiles against our missiles, and ours forge one\par
\pard\li10\sl25\slmult0 against theirs. If we advance the efficiency of our comput-\par
\pard\li15\sl50\slmult0 ers, so do they theirs, and for five years a precarious and\par
\pard\li5 profitless balance has existed.\par
\pard\li215\sl20\slmult0 "Now we have in our hands a method for going beyond\par
\pard\li10\sl25\slmult0 the computer, leapt rogging it, passing through it. We will\par
\pard\li15\sl5\slmult0 combine the mechanics of computation with human thought;\par
\pard\li10\sl65\slmult0 we will have the equivalent of intelligent computers; billions\par
\pard\li20 of them. I can't prediet what the consequences will be in\par
\pard\li20\sl10\slmult0 detail but they will be incalculable. And if Deneb beats us to\par
\pard\li15\sl20\slmult0 the punch, they may be unimaginably catastrophic."\par
\pard\li210\sl10\slmult0 The president said, troubled, "What would you have me\par
\pard\li25\sl20\slmult0 do?"\par
\pard\li230\sl20\slmult0 "Put the power of the administration behind the establish-\par
\pard\li25\sl30\slmult0 ment of a secret project on human computation. Call it\par
\pard\li35 Project Number, if you like. I can vouch for my committee,\par
\pard\li30\sl20\slmult0 but I will need the administration behind me."\par
\pard\li230\sl20\slmult0 "But how far can human computation go?"\par
\pard\li235\sl10\slmult0 "There is no limit. According to Programmer Shuman, who\par
\pard\li20\sl25\slmult0 first introduced me to this discovery"\par
\pard\li220\sl15\slmult0 "I've heard of Shuman, of course."\par
\pard\li215\sl15\slmult0 "Yes. Well, \b Dr.\b0 Shuman tells me that in theory there is\par
\pard\li10\sl15\slmult0 nothing the computer can do that the human mind cannot\par
\pard\li15\sl25\slmult0 do. The computer merely takes a finite amount of data and\par