"Arkadi and Boris Strugatski. Spontaneous Reflex (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

Interplanetary transport. It is different from any other cybernetic machine,
no matter how complex. Its meant for working in conditions that cannot be
predicted by any, even the most ingenious, programmer. On Venus, for
example. Who knows what conditions exist there? Maybe its all covered by an
ocean. Or desert, maybe. Or jungle. We cannot send people there at the
moment - it is too dangerous. Instead well send Utms, tens of Utms. But how
is one to program them? The problem is that it is impossible to teach a
machine to think abstractly using current state of the art AI.
"What do you mean?"
"The machine does not understand the concept of a dog. It understands
only the specifics of a particular dog. If it encounters a fourth dog which
is not similar to the previous three it has met, then it wont know what to
do. Roughly speaking, if Utm is programmed to react in a certain way, when
seeing specifically a mutt, then it cannot react in that same way when
seeing a greyhound. Trivial example, of course, but I take it you understand
what I mean. This is precisely where the main difference between the
smartest machine and the most stupid person lays - inability to make use of
abstract ideas. Well, Piskunov tried to compensate for this shortcoming by
creating a learning system. Utms brain was given a reflexive chain meant to
autonomously fill out empty memory cells. Piskunov reckoned that once
saturated with impressions Utm would be able to choose the best course of
action for each new situation without human intervention. That is the most
refined model of consciousness in the world. However, we got an
unanticipated result. Theoretically Piskunov allowed for this, but
practically... In a word, the new reflexive arc created tens of secondary
reflexes not anticipated by the programmers. Piskunov dubbed them
spontaneous reflexes. With their emergence Utm stopped working according to
the program and started behaving.
"And what do we do now?"
"Well take a different path," Nikolai Petrovich stretched and yawned.
"We will perfect the analyzing abilities of the brain and the receptor
system."
"What about the spontaneous reflex? Isn't anybody interested in that?"
"Huh! Piskunov already thought something up... In a word, Utms will be
the first ones on unexplored planets and in the uncharted ocean depths.
People wont have to be put at risk... Look, Kostenko, lets go to sleep, huh?
Start working here and you will find out everything, you have my word on
that!"