Encore: Thinking Machines | Passing For Human | 5

American Innovations

Wondery

Steven Johnson, History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids, Science

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Can a computer pass for human? And more importantly, can a computer beat a human at Jeopardy? It’s all fun and games until we start putting life-changing decisions in the hands of machines.

Note: This episode originally aired in September 2018.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American innovations, add free on Amazon music, download
0:06.0	the app today.
0:07.0	It's 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning in the mid-1960s at the offices of Bolt, Burrannock,
0:21.8	and Newman, an early computer company in the Boston area.
0:26.2	One of the company vice presidents has arrived early to do a demonstration of some new software
0:31.7	running on a PDP1, a state-of-the-art micro computer.
0:37.0	When the VP sits down at the terminal, he finds a note taped to the monitor.
0:42.2	Type all messages into this teletype and end them with a period.
0:46.7	The VP assumes that the computer has been connected to the home computer of a programmer
0:51.6	named Daniel Bobrow, who often logs onto the PDP1 from his home office.
0:56.9	He thinks, typing into the machine, will be effectively starting what we would now call
1:01.4	a text chat with his colleague, Bobrow.
1:04.5	Do you think I can use the computer this morning?
1:10.2	Sure enough, Bobrow answers.
1:13.4	Why do you ask?
1:15.0	I might be able to make some additional telecom sales.
1:22.1	Why aren't you so sure?
1:23.9	My prospective customers have never seen a demonstration of the system.
1:29.8	Does this mean very much to you?
1:32.4	Of course it does.
1:34.5	You seem very positive about that.
1:37.6	Bobrow's answers seem odd, and the VP is losing patients fast.
	...

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