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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Computer Personal"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
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(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW RELATIONSHIP IN YOUR LIFE? HOW ABOUT THE ONE WITH YOUR COMPUTER? ONE OF THE CURRENT THRUSTS IN COMPUTER-SCIENCE IS TOWARD "MEANINGFUL INTERACTION" WITH THE MACHINE--SO THAT IT KIND OF TAKES CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM FROM YOU, THINKS IT THROUGH, AND CHANGES ITS WAYS, BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE TOLD IT. OREGON STATE RESEARCHERS WANT YOUR COMPUTER TO GET TO KNOW YOU BETTER: YOUR QUIRKS, IDIOSYNCRASIES, WANTS, NEEDS, AND DESIRES. THEY'RE WORKING IN THE AREAS OF MACHINE-LEARNING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, TO HELP COMPUTERS OF THE FUTURE BE MORE "INTUITIVE". RIGHT NOW--WITH EVEN THE MOST-ADVANCED LEARNING-SYSTEMS--WE CAN TELL OUR COMPUTERS ONLY WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG--AND PROGRAM THEM TO CHANGE. THAT'S KIND OF A "BECAUSE I SAID SO" APPROACH. THESE RESEARCHERS ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO BE ABLE TO TELL COMPUTERS "WHY"--SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, THE NEXT TIME. SCIENTISTS CALL THIS "RICH GUIDANCE". BUT, REMEMBER: WE'RE HUMAN--AND, THEREFORE, ARE FALLIBLE. IN THIS TYPE OF INTERACTION, AT TIMES THE COMPUTER IS LIKELY TO WANT TO CORRECT YOU--IF IT THINKS THAT YOU'RE WRONG. IN ONE STUDY, A FOURTH OF THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THAT THE COMPUTER WAS DOING SOMETHING WRONG WERE ACTUALLY MISTAKEN--AND THE COMPUTER WAS RIGHT. AT THAT POINT, IF THE BICKERING CONTINUES, YOU TWO MAY HAVE TO SEE A COUNSELOR. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
