

Spacecraft to be controlled by artificial intelligence - RiderOfGiraffes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8320245/Spacecraft-to-be-controlled-by-artificial-intelligence.html

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nyellin
The article is interesting, but it is also an example of sensationalist
journalism. All spacecraft and even regular aircraft use computers to make
critical flight decisions faster than humans can. That is not artificial
intelligence, and neither is what the article describes.

Edit: I made my comment less harsh. You clearly thought the article was
interesting (and in a way, it is) so I apologize for my original comment's
tone.

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noonespecial
_All spacecraft and even regular aircraft use computers to make critical
flight decisions faster than humans can. That is not artificial intelligence,
and neither is what the article describes._

It actually is considered "artificial intelligence" according to a strict
definition of the term. This would be a kind of weak AI called an "expert
system".

The article is about extending this system beyond traditional expert systems
by allowing greater environmental feedback to influence future automatic
decision making. Still firmly in the weak AI sphere, but exciting nonetheless.

Many journalists are guilty of leaping right into the Hal 9000 strong AI angle
and then sensationalizing the dangers of strong AI run amok. I thought this
article did a good job of not going too overboard, although Hal got the
obligatory mention.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_AI_vs._weak_AI>

