Jaron writes that "the whole enterprise of Artificial Intelligence is based on an intellectual mistake." Until such time that computers at least match human intelligence in every dimension, it will always remain possible for skeptics to say the glass is half empty. Every new achievement of AI can be dismissed by pointing out yet other goals have not yet been accomplished. Indeed, this is the frustration of the AI practitioner, that once an AI goal is achieved, it is no longer considered AI and becomes just a useful technique. AI is inherently the set of problems we have not yet solved.

RAY KURZWEIL: ONE HALF OF AN ARGUMENT
A Response to Jaron Lanier's ONE HALF A MANIFESTO and POSTSCRIPT REGARDING RAY KURZWEIL [8.4.01]

RAY KURZWEIL: ONE HALF OF AN ARGUMENT
[7.29.01]

In Jaron Lanier's Postscript, which he wrote after he and I spoke in succession at a technology event, Lanier points out that we agree on many things, which indeed we do. So I'll start in that vein as well. First of all, I share the world's esteem for Jaron's pioneering work in virtual reality, including his innovative contemporary work on the "Teleimmersion" initiative, and, of course, in coining the term "virtual reality." I probably have higher regard for virtual reality than Jaron does, but that comes back to our distinct views of the future.

As an aside I'm not entirely happy with the phrase "virtual reality" as it implies that it's not a real place to be. I consider a telephone conversation as being together in auditory virtual reality, yet we regard these to be real conversations. I have a similar problem with the term "artificial intelligence."