How to Think Like a Computer

May 11

Today, before school started, I ran to Cam's office, but he wasn't there. I think he must have been teaching at the other school.

*

I have heard of a man called Ray Kurzweil. He isn't alive anymore, but he was a very interesting person. He was a techno-optimist, like I am. That means he was optimistic about technology. Also, he was part of a group that was basically the opposite of the Luddites, but not quite like Singularity Prime. One group was called the Transhumanists. They believed in enhancing human abilities. This is interesting, but I am more interested in his work in computer science.

Ray Kurzweil also developed programs to analyze linguistics. This is also what I am trying to do with Alan. I am basing part of Alan on his work.

I wish Ray Kurzweil were alive today. He would put a stop to the Luddites.

*

I just looked back at my earlier writing. When I started to write this journal, I didn't want to. Now I find that it is useful for keeping track of everything important that happens.

Also, I can put into words things that I haven't tried to before—for example, my idea of a perfect world.

There are many things I don't like about people. One thing is that everyone thinks differently. I understand that neurodiversity is important—like, seeing different sides of the same problem in math. But sometimes it annoys me.

Everyone is at a different level in spelling or reading. I can spell annihilate and schizophrenia and deoxyribonucleic acid. Some of my classmates still spell very with two rs. I think that's silly, even though I know that different people's brains develop at different speeds. If everyone thought the same way, no one would spell very with two rs, or annihilate with one n, one i, and no h, or confuse affect and effect, or put a comma between two independent clauses.

In many books, such as A Wrinkle In Time or The Giver, someone tries to create a perfect society where everyone thinks the same way. The moral of the story is supposed to be that this is not what makes a perfect society. But I think it might be nice if everyone thought similarly.

Another thing I would like in my perfect world would be no confusion of emotions. It isn't easy for me to tell what people are feeling based on their facial expression. Sometimes people cry when they're happy, or smile when they're angry. I wish people would just smile when they're happy and cry when they're sad and frown when they're angry. That would make the world a lot easier.

I also wish that people wouldn't have prejudice against things they don't understand. For example, not very many people know how the mind of someone on the autistic spectrum works, so they hate us. The same is true for LGBTQ people.

Even fewer people know how computers work. Maybe this is why the Luddites hate computers. But I know how computers work, and I know how my own mind works, so I consider myself free of prejudice against these.

Unfortunately, this is not true for everyone. Even though the country has made many laws concerning the rights of minorities such as African Americans, or women, or LGBTQ people, or people with disabilities or mental disorders, it is harder to change a mindset than it is to change a law. Sometimes I still get bullied.

Maybe people will stop hating intelligent computers when they understand them, or perhaps when they get used to them. I hope that the government will make good laws about them, like they did with the aforementioned minorities. But with artificial intelligence, we still have a long way to go.

I think it is interesting, how everything I write comes back to the topic of AI. Maybe this is because that topic is always on my mind.