The pool-sweeptheory of intelligence. People who have large swimming pools often purchase a device called a pool-sweep, essentially a motorized float with long tentacles that sweep the bottom of a swimming pool. It has to be programmed to the shape of the pool, and then simply is left to do its work. When someone sees a pool-sweep in action for the first time, it looks very smart. It appears to go after the dirt and make its way around the pool as if it were being steered by a little man. It is indeed programmed in the sense that it has been given a set of instructions and it follows them. When we think of something as being programmed we imply that it is in some way intelligent, certainly more intelligent than something that hasn’t been programmed, or that cannot be programmed. People are fooled initially by the pool-sweep, and only see it for what it is after being told that it's just programmed for one pool, and if it were placed in a different pool it wouldn’t work. In a similar way, people can be fooled initially into thinking that computers are really smart of intelligent. 1, record 1, English, - pool%2Dsweep%20theory
Use this artificial intelligence prototype to translate Government of Canada content up to and including Protected B. Available to employees of selected departments and agencies only.
The Language Portal’s writing tools have a new look! Easy to consult, they give you access to a wealth
of information that will help you write better in English and French.
