NationStates Jolt Archive

Many people have half-jokingly suggested that as search engines implement ever more advanced language-processing algorithms to understand text, order results, and combat spam, the search engines will eventually become sentient. While egosurfing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egosurfing) just now, I discovered that Yahoo has managed to deduce my real name:

http://www.safalra.com/temporary/yahoo-knows-who-i-am.png

As you can see, the other suggestions weren't quite as intelligent. So, could search engines become sentient?

Edit: woohoo, Jolt is finally letting me create polls...

Does this mean they will be able to find the best porn?

Give it a turing test.

Does this mean they will be able to find the best porn?

Probably not. I imagine it's not that interest.

I can see it happening - some theories suggest that perfect text compression and language interpretation by computers is equivalent to sentience because it inherently guarantees that the program will pass the Turing Test (having a perfect human liguistic-communicative model), and because perfect analysis would require a theory of mind that encompassed human thought, requiring that the program be sentient and of at least human-level in intelligence - in all probability, it would end up more intelligent than us very quickly.

The problem here is that it depends on the advance of human software programming, historically and contemporarily the retarded sibling of the information technology advancement/innovation family. The solution, I think, is teaching computers to program and debug themselves. Combining this with advanced neural networks and genetic algorithms (thus capable of actually learning and of having ideas) would allow for a rapidly and continuously self-improving program that would be almost guaranteed to become sentient or supersentient.

Google knows all your dirty secrets;)

Google knows all your dirty secrets;)
So it will be able to find the best porn!

I discovered that Yahoo has managed to deduce my real name:There's a huge chance that: It whois'd you, and/or you have links with your real name pointing at your site, and/or your name has come up in close proximity to your nation name at some point and their spider "saw" it.

Judging from what I see from SEs, they have ages to go before becoming anywhere near sentient.

But if they do, the companies may be surprised to find that what a sentient algo considers to be important is something totally irrelevant to humans :p

I said "maybe" because I generally do not believe in impossibility. But I think the chance of those things advancing that far (before some other tech makes them utterly obsolelete, and development on traditional search programs ceases) is extremely remote.

That seems perfectly possible. if you ahve a website and it has your real name on it and people visit it a lot and search your name and you used it on NS. and search your username it should make the connection because the software is meant to help people find related things.

That seems perfectly possible. if you ahve a website and it has your real name on it and people visit it a lot and search your name and you used it on NS. and search your username it should make the connection because the software is meant to help people find related things.
No it isn't *shakes head*

acording to the poll there are 11 people (not including me) who are google.

Does this mean they will be able to find the best porn?

The question is about humans making contact with another sentient being and we first think about porn?
But seriously we could program a search engine that knows what you like and... Excuse me I have a fortune to make.

The question is about humans making contact with another sentient being and we first think about porn?
But seriously we could program a search engine that knows what you like and... Excuse me I have a fortune to make.
I'd rather sleep my way to the top...

Kiff, wake me when I'm there.

The question is about humans making contact with another sentient being and we first think about porn?


Yes.

Yes.
ok I can live with that.

*Looks at poll* 12 people said they were Google... which means 11 of us are liars... *looks around suspicously, badly mispells suspiciously*

ok I can live with that.

Honestly, what is more important than high quality pornography?

Beer?

Beer?

Close 2nd.

Fergi America']But if they do, the companies may be surprised to find that what a sentient algo considers to be important is something totally irrelevant to humans :p
It probably wouldn't be a fan of privacy, as its one aim is the delivery of information.

I'm willing to wager they already have.

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7421/omgmi3.jpg

See?

*Looks at poll* 12 people said they were Google... which means 11 of us are liars... *looks around suspicously, badly mispells suspiciously*

Well I know for certain that I'm actually Google, so I don't know what the hell the rest of you think you're doing.

I'm willing to wager they already have.

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7421/omgmi3.jpg

See?
Hmm... mind-reading, eh? Try this:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/mentalplex/

Hmm... mind-reading, eh? Try this:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/mentalplex/

Heh, nice one. :)

This idea has been raised before.

It was called the S3 program then. AIs that filter out irrelevant information and give you what you need in context.

This idea has been raised before.

It was called the S3 program then. AIs that filter out irrelevant information and give you what you need in context.

The La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo! How's that possible!

But to the point at hand. We're barely getting quazi-sentient programs online. While it seems possible that a program like Google could one day grow sentient, my guess would be it would take a very long time.

Either that, or we end up with a sex crazed AI that can identify every porn star alphabetically within a fraction of a second.

Well I know for certain that I'm actually Google, so I don't know what the hell the rest of you think you're doing.

We're the other, semi-autonomous aspects of Google.

I'm actually the personification of Gmail.

sex crazed AI that can identify every porn star alphabetically within a fraction of a second.

but I want it now!

We're the other, semi-autonomous aspects of Google.

I'm actually the personification of Gmail.
Hmm, alright, just as long as this doesn't spread and someone claims to be Hotmail, because then I'd have to kill them for all those never delivered emails.