timtyler comments on Anthropomorphic AI and Sandboxed Virtual Universes - Less Wrong

-3 Post author: jacob_cannell 03 September 2010 07:02PM

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Comment author: timtyler 05 September 2010 09:08:06PM *  -1 points [-]

There is mounting convergent independent lines of evidence suggesting (but not yet proving) that the brain's learning algorithm is in the optimal complexity class, and thus further improvements will just be small constant improvements.

This just sounds like nonsense to me. We have lots of evidence of how sub-optimal and screwed-up the brain is - what a terrible kluge it is. It is dreadful at learning. It needs to be told everything three times. It can't even remember simple things like names and telephone numbers properly. It takes decades before it can solve simple physics problems - despite mountains of sense data, plus the education system. It is simply awful.

Comment author: jacob_cannell 05 September 2010 09:46:32PM *  -2 points [-]

learning != memorization

A simple computer database has perfect memorization but zero learning ability. Learning is not the memorization of details, but rather the memory of complex abstract structural patterns.

I also find it extremely difficult to take your telephone number example seriously, when we have the oral tradition of the torah as evidence of vastly higher memory capacity.

But thats a side issue. We also have the example of savant memory. Evolution has some genetic tweaks that can vastly increase our storage potential for accurate memory, but it clearly has a cost of lowered effective IQ.

It's not that evolution couldn't easily increase our memory, its that accurate memory for details is simply of minor importance (compared for pattern abstraction and IQ).