★ LITTÉRATURE ★ ENGLISH ★ Amstrads and Artificial Intelligence|Amstrad Action) ★ |
| Amstrads And Artificial Intelligence | Littérature English |
Not being very interested in all the newspaper hype about artificial intelligence, my initial reaction was to snub this book. However after sitting down for several hours, with the intention of merely scanning the pages, I found myself deeply engrossed in the subject matter. Patrick Hall certainly has a knack for keeping the text lively and flowing. I caught myself gigglmg at various stages amusing results can happen when using computers for this purpose. The book starts each chapter with a brief history of AI during a certain period in its development. Following this is a program for the reader to type in - it usually has some relevance to the text before hand. Starting from the beginning, Mr Hall introduces us to AI with a program that composes music - and which more generally is capable of simple creativity. This is illustrated by Ode. a simple program that generates verse in rhyming couplets - the output can be a little short of hilarious. Each program is clearly written, with every subroutine distinctly labelled. The 'commentary' on the routines is quite unbelievable: practically every line is dealt with separately, giving detailed descriptions on what task they perform. During the Second World War, computers were used for breaking codes; eventually from these humble beginnings rose the translators. These programs attempted to translate one language to another. Unfortunately all kinds of problems crept in here, as demonstrated by a program that translates German into uproarious English. Many such topics are discussed in Amstrads and Artificial Intelligence, with practical programs that are substantial productions of landmarks in AI. Some are actual recreations of great developments witin this field. If you fancy a good relaxing read on a topic on the frontier of today's technology, without anything too technical, then this is a must. I just wish there had been more to the book - my desire for knowledge had not been quenched. The history side of things was rather rushed, with program listings and explanation taking up seventy per cent of the text.
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