NationStates Jolt Archive

In 1988, one Robin Burgener developed a simple neural net on his home computer. He programmed it with twenty questions regarding cats. He then took his program from computer to computer via floppy disk and tested it with his friends. They would pick a random object and then answer the twenty questions with a simple "yes" or "no". At the end, the computer would guess "cat" (that was the only object it knew) and the user would correct it. The more people that played, the more objects and information it learned.

Burgener improved the software over time, strengthening the neural framework and adding more questions. He did not, however, add any information about any object -- that is, he did not program it to have any additional knowledge. Everything the program learned came from interacting with the players on a yes-or-no basis.

In 1995, Burgener took his creation to the Internet. Now available to millions of people worldwide, the program, dubbed "20Q", grew at an exponential rate, learning thousands of new objects and expanding its knowledge base. The scalable neural net now has over 100 million connections, and has widened its abilities to include people, TV shows, and movies, alongside the more traditional 20 Questions game. Burgener himself has said that the 20Q AI has an accuracy rate of at least 85%, and that he's actually had to program it to make mistakes every once in awhile to keep the game fresh and interesting for the players. He has been so successful at this that a scaled-down version of 20Q has been ported to a handheld toy.

I've just spent some time on the website (http://www.20q.net/) myself, and I have to say... it is freakishly accurate. Pick the most obscure thing in the world, and this program will guess it, usually in about 16 questions. Even if you accidentally give some contradictory answers -- answers that don't mesh with what 20Q has learned from other players -- it will still get it right. Occasionally a few of the questions will be duds, and it will take the program up to 30 queries, including incorrect guesses. I've even stumped it a few times. Still, this is usually because I've given multiple incorrect answers, which is easy to do when the question doesn't really apply to the object you have in mind. I've found that you can avoid this problem by choosing "Unknown" for difficult questions -- that way, it doesn't count as one of the 20.

Try the game for yourself here (http://www.20q.net/). You can play in 21 different languages and choose from different themes, including People, TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Names, and Classic. Report your results back here -- I'd love to know how creeped out y'all are. :p

But its abilities are influenced by the people input.
For example; Is Harold Wilson still alive? I said no (he died May 1995), majority of others said probably.
Don't ask me why I chose Harold Wilson.

*Hold Rhaomi*

I played that.

it didn't guess plankton, ocean water, Hula...

The handheld toy is really amazing.

I stumped it with pancakes, dildo, and and microwavable pizza....:)

I stumped it with pancakes, dildo, and and microwavable pizza.

I tried "aircraft carrier" with the handheld, and it got it right.

I beat it on the first try with the Grand Ole Opry.

I used Tan, and I won on the first try. >____>


Are we only supposed to use American names? :confused:

it didnt guess calculator but that might be because of answers that it deemed contradicting to what most others chose.

on my second try it got it in 17 (calendar)

At this rate, you'll be able to take one of the handhelds (in a few years) into your exam room, and pass with flying colors.

It didn't get Jupiter.

I won with Leonard Nimoy

I lost with flat sheet.

weird.

It's surprisingly accurate. It's a pity it can't seem to deal with anything abstract, that technically doesn't "exist" in a physical sense, such as Love and Religion. None of them are animals, minerals, vegetables, get wet, neither are they green or black.

i won first try with Shy FX.

it claims it won by guessing 'bottle of fizzy drink', but i was looking at a can of irn bru. i wanted specifics, dammit.

also claims that 'bedspread' is a good enough guess for 'duvet'. pish :p

Some tips:

* pick general things, not specific ones (i.e., pick "planet" rather than "Jupiter", or "theater" instead of "Grand Ole Opry")

* most of the objects would probably be classified under "Other", as opposed to Animal (any moving organism), Vegetable (any plant), or Mineral (rocks and metals)

* when dealing with TV, Movies, People, etc., try to stay away from brand new stuff, as not enough people have given it the information it needs to guess those.

I was thinking of Michael Crawford. I found this interesting:

Are you attractive? You said Yes, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Doubtful.
Are you a sex symbol? You said No, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Probably.
Isn't that kind of a contradiction? At least slightly?:confused:

It didn;t GET Motion City Soundtrack but that was on the list of possibles and it claimed I had a contradictory answer in there...

I'm mildly scared.

Second shot... Genesis

It didn;t get it but then there's people who claim Genesis didn;t need electricity... You try playing something like Ripples on an acoustic... Not gonna happen. (OK so their most awesome song -Firth of Fifth- sounds best in acoustic but still annoying).

Try 3, see if it can win this time... Eddie Izzard

Nope, it bolloxed that as well.

*not massively impressed*

It didn;t GET Motion City Soundtrack but that was on the list of possibles and it claimed I had a contradictory answer in there...

I'm mildly scared.

Second shot... Genesis

It didn;t get it but then there's people who claim Genesis didn;t need electricity... You try playing something like Ripples on an acoustic... Not gonna happen. (OK so their most awesome song -Firth of Fifth- sounds best in acoustic but still annoying).

Try 3, see if it can win this time... Eddie Izzard

Nope, it bolloxed that as well.

*not massively impressed*
The specialized categories are newer and not as fine-tuned as the classic game. The Names category, by the way, is utter shite. It's some misguided attempt to associate names with characteristics, and is pretty much useless.

i won first try with Shy FX.

it claims it won by guessing 'bottle of fizzy drink', but i was looking at a can of irn bru. i wanted specifics, dammit.

also claims that 'bedspread' is a good enough guess for 'duvet'. pish :p

Sounds like a sore loser. Ought to get on well here.

I beat it with "sex"... although a lot of the questions became really, really awkward under that context, such as "Does it require specific skills to use?" Well, it certainly helps, although I'm sure you could figure it out...

Of course, that was using the handheld version.

I stumped the hell out of it with "pooper scooper". Which was one of the suggestions it made for me to use in the game, interestingly.

*holds Rhaomi*

It guessed "pickle" flawlessly - which, I have to admit, was a bit eery.

And it chastised me when it couldn't guess "knife" by pointing out all the things I had answered wrong, i.e. different from what other people had taught him.

To be told off by a computer game. Exactly what I needed. :rolleyes: :p

Stumped it with Ceres.

It's CPU is a neuronet processor, a learning computa :eek:

It got Platoon after the second try. *pats it on the head*

Speaking of which I'm pwning it with "End of Days."

Bah, it didn't even know that Bush (the mopey British guys) had released a greatest hits compilation.
Of course, I wouldn't either if I didn't have their wikipage open while I was playing the game, but I still managed to stump the Hell out of it.

I beat it with "sex"... although a lot of the questions became really, really awkward under that context, such as "Does it require specific skills to use?" Well, it certainly helps, although I'm sure you could figure it out...

Of course, that was using the handheld version.
Dirty, dirty... :p

Of course, the game isn't designed for abstract concepts or verbs, anyway. It's best to choose an actual, physical object.

Stumped it with Ceres.

Some tips:

* pick general things, not specific ones (i.e., pick "planet" rather than "Jupiter", or "theater" instead of "Grand Ole Opry")

Stumped it again with Bill Monroe.

"You are Bill Monroe" was it's only reply.

Now, I'll try Ralph Stanley.

You shouldn't be afraid though, the main reason being as it's a learning program...it's learning from idiots :p

*Holds Rhaomi*

Nearly had it with "spear", got to 29. It was originally going to be "halberd", but I though that was a bit specialised. And it got "Teddy Bear" perfectly at 17! Fortunately, I foiled the "British People" version with "Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington", this decisively proving human superiority in the field of military history and geekiness.

It really is an amazing device...

Of course, the game isn't designed for abstract concepts or verbs, anyway. It's best to choose an actual, physical object.

I was thinking of "love" and it guessed it pretty quickly. Of course, it asked me "Is it an abstract concept?" I stumped it with "ghost" though. It kept getting close with "banshee" and "zombie" but didn't quite get it.

You are Bo Jackson.
Do you throw a ball? You said No, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Yes.

Dumbasses.

I was thinking of Michael Crawford. I found this interesting:


Isn't that kind of a contradiction? At least slightly?:confused:


From wiki:
Qualities

Sometimes sex symbols can be people who are not portrayed as beautiful or handsome, but possess other qualities that make them sexually attractive. These people are often highly articulate, inviting, and alluring; they usually have extraordinary communication skills as we

From wiki:

Ok. Not being sexually attracted to anyone, I wasn't sure, although I should probably have known that he's a sex symbol to plenty of phantom fans, I guess. I said that he was attractive because he seems aesthetically attractive and I like his voice.

I was a complete ass and used an obscure name from the Book of Revelation. The poor 20Q was going through well over 30Q before giving up.

0.o
o.0

so far, there's only three people holding on to Rhaomi... we need more! :D

Dirty, dirty... :p

Of course, the game isn't designed for abstract concepts or verbs, anyway. It's best to choose an actual, physical object.

Not my fault it's stupid yet. Give it another few years in the "wild" and it could approach intelligence.

Also stumped it with magnetar.


You were thinking of a comet.
Does it burn? You said No, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Yes.
Is it water-based? You said Yes, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is No.
Does it come from something larger? You said No, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Yes.

What idiots.

Not my fault it's stupid yet. Give it another few years in the "wild" and it could approach intelligence.

Also stumped it with magnetar.
:confused:

You stumped me with magnetar... not to mention the dictionary...

I stumped it with Jesus :confused:

Apparently to people, jesus is a sex icon. :p

It's good, very good.

Ok I went for Tony Blair, it guessed it but look how the questions had nothing to do with politics, or even the UK. :eek: :eek: :eek: :confused:

16. Have you performed live since 2000? No.
15. Were you popular in the 80's? No.
14. Are you a recurring character? No.
Are you the middle child? Unknown.
13. Are you from Europe? Yes.
12. Were you involved in a scandal? Doubtful.
11. Did you die an untimely death? No.
Are you tall? Unknown.
10. Are you known as a hero? No.
9. Did you die before the year 1900? No.
8. Are you on a hit TV show? No.
7. Are you a billionaire? No.
6. Are you associated with science fiction? No.
5. Have you ever played on a team? No.
4. Did you ever compete in the Olympics? No.
Do you appeal to teenagers? Unknown.
3. Are you an actor? No.
Are you funny? Unknown.
2. Were you nominated for an Academy Award? No.
1. Are you on a well-known record label? No.

Stumped it with garnet - though it got close on Q30 with feldspar. Then I told it to give up.

:confused:

You stumped me with magnetar... not to mention the dictionary...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetar

It's a special kind of neutron star with a hugely intense magnetic field. Tear a man apart at 1000 kilometers out from the magnetism alone. Wipe out a credit card at the distance of the moon.

Ok I went for Tony Blair, it guessed it but look how the questions had nothing to do with politics, or even the UK. :eek: :eek: :eek: :confused:

16. Have you performed live since 2000? No.
15. Were you popular in the 80's? No.
14. Are you a recurring character? No.
Are you the middle child? Unknown.
13. Are you from Europe? Yes.
12. Were you involved in a scandal? Doubtful.
11. Did you die an untimely death? No.
Are you tall? Unknown.
10. Are you known as a hero? No.
9. Did you die before the year 1900? No.
8. Are you on a hit TV show? No.
7. Are you a billionaire? No.
6. Are you associated with science fiction? No.
5. Have you ever played on a team? No.
4. Did you ever compete in the Olympics? No.
Do you appeal to teenagers? Unknown.
3. Are you an actor? No.
Are you funny? Unknown.
2. Were you nominated for an Academy Award? No.
1. Are you on a well-known record label? No.
What's really odd is that most of the answers were "no"... How could that narrow it down that much?

Hey, wait a second - wasn't there this game where Darth Vader would guess what you were thinking about?

That's using the same engine if I'm not mistaken!

And it guessed "Zebra" right with the 16th question.

I'm annoyed by the stupidity of people who have played before me. They taught it that Marian Anderson is still alive, but she's been dead for almost 15 years. Plus various other mistakes.

I beat it with thong. It kept guessing trainer and moccasin.

Meh.
It neither guessed Orlando Bloom nor the colour red. I'm not that impressed.

I beat it with thong. It kept guessing trainer and moccasin.

i beat it with the movie Stalingrad

I stumped it with "shield"...the thing has been taught that they are only one color, that color not being brown or black. :rolleyes:

It guessed "nuclear weapon" after 28 guesses.

It did not guess "weta", as it has not been taught about them.

It guessed "contact lenses" after only 17 guesses.

And finally...I stumped it with "prostitute" :p

I beat it... and I was thinking of the internet:D

I'm going to put that in now, so it'll be able to guess it now, I think.

i won first try with Shy FX.

it claims it won by guessing 'bottle of fizzy drink', but i was looking at a can of irn bru. i wanted specifics, dammit.

also claims that 'bedspread' is a good enough guess for 'duvet'. pish :p

If only you could take exams using the same principle this thing does: "I got the answer right, it's your fault it seems wrong!" :p

Useless, broken thing. Couldn't even guess The Blitz.

Wir spalten das Atom und machen daraus Strom
Von jeder Lebensform erschaffen wir 'nen Klon
Perfekte Nachfahren entstehen durch die Veränderung am Gen
Groß und schön und wohlgeformt, vollveredelt und genormt

Den Müll versenken wir im Meer, alte Bomben hinterher
Und was wir sonst nicht haben wollen vergraben wir in alten Stollen
All unser Streben unser Sinn ist maximaler Reingewinn
Denn alles dreht sich nur ums Geld, keine Achtung vor der Welt

Der Mensch ist ein vernunftbegabtes Wesen
So kann man es in vielen Büchern lesen
Doch leider ist was man aus diesen Schriften lernt
Von der Wahrheit heute meilenweit entfernt

Halt mich fest, so fest wie du nur kannst
Öffne ich die Augen dann bekomme ich Angst
Angst vorm Größenwahn vorm Geist unserer Zeit
Vor der Überschätzung unserer Fähigkeit

It took the program 30 question to correctly guess "ball-point pen". I'm not worried.

I tried cadaver with the handheld one.

It got it right. Scary, man.

It's on the internet and doesn't know what pornography is?

It's on the internet and doesn't know what pornography is?
It's a pious program.

I decided to try Travis Hafner (Cleveland Indians DH) on 20Q. It took until 30, and only then when it offered me a gigantic list.

Then the contradictions it told me were wrong.

For example, it claimed that he had a nickname. He does not. It claimed that he was in infielder, he's a Designated Hitter, and several other ridiculous contradictions.

I decided to try Travis Hafner (Cleveland Indians DH) on 20Q. It took until 30, and only then when it offered me a gigantic list.

Then the contradictions it told me were wrong.

For example, it claimed that he had a nickname. He does not. It claimed that he was in infielder, he's a Designated Hitter, and several other ridiculous contradictions.

Yeah, unfortunately people are stupid. Like those claiming comets aren't water based.

Man, the music one is useless when it comes to classical composers. Berlioz stumped it, Puccini stumped it, Cage stumped it, Hildegard von Bingen utterly stumped it, and it only managed to get Wagner on question 30. Humph.

It didn't get Bruce Lee. The reason?

Is grip important for you? You said Sometimes, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is No.
Are you white? You said No, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Probably.
Do you use a glove? You said Sometimes, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is No.
Do you need special equipment to play? You said Sometimes, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is No.

- Choke holds, limb captures, joint locks all require carefully placed grips. Same with the use of weapons.
- Who told 20Q that Bruce Lee was "probably" white?
- I'm looking at a photo of Bruce Lee in special, padded sparring gloves (with open fingers so he could also practise all the special grips somebody said he didn't care about).
- How are nunchakus, long staff and all the rest, not "special equipment"?

So I've changed my opinion. 20Q isn't too bad but some of the people that play it are idiots. :mp5:

PS - who told 20Q this:
Were you popular in the 70's? You said Yes, 20Q was taught by other players that the answer is Doubtful.
That's just taking the mickey.

My friend has one of these things, its pretty accurate. It got "lightning" in 13 questions.

It got Hitler on the 20th question.

Of course, previous respondents had said that Hitler was a.) Not short (I mean, 5'8? That's short. Five inches shorter than me. I could beat the shit out of that little prick), and b.) That he wasn't married to someone famous. When Hitler married her in that bunker, Eva Braun was pretty fuckin' famous.

It also didn't get Super AIDS. That's sad.

It got Hitler on the 20th question.

... I could beat the shit out of that little prick) ...

So why didn't you? What were you thinking? You'd have saved us all a lot of aggro over all these years. But no, you let him live. Now THAT'S sad.

:D

I stumped it with pancakes, dildo, and and microwavable pizza....:)

Isn't that a typical date with you?
What happened to your imagination, anyway? ;)
Besides, you could stump most NSrs with that combination anyway. Willingly, given.

I didn't get Sean Connery either. But shit who can?

I didn't get Sean Connery either. But shit who can?
1. Are you funny? Sometimes.
2. Are you a comedian? No.
3. Are you an actress? No.
4. Are you an actor? Yes.
5. Do you have gray hair? Yes.
6. Are you based on a comic book? No.
7. Does your name start with the letter J? No.
8. Are you known for your sense of humor? Yes.
9. Are you often featured in the tabloids? No.
10. Do you have dark hair? No.
11. Are you still on the air? Yes.
12. Are you attractive? Yes.
13. Are you on television? Yes.
14. Does your name start with the letter A? No.
15. Are you in a romantic comedy? No.
16. Are you American? No.
17. Were you ever depicted in a movie? No.
18. Have you performed live since 2000? No.

Q19. I am guessing that it is Sean Connery?

:eek:

I won with Josh Homme, although it guessed Dave Grohl, which I said was close. He was under the "Is it one of these?" options at the end, though.

edit - I got it on Electric Wizard too. Ha! :D Me - 2, machine - 0

No, it failed.