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"I've taken some stick for passages in Altered Carbon which people complained had sickened them, but then violence should be sickening."
- Richard Morgan
 |
| Machine Psychologist | ||
| A computer that understands and uses its knowledge of human psychology to benefit human users. |
This seems like a fairly early reference to the idea of a machine psychologist.
| "Dead though they are, the machines aren't ignorant of human psychology - far from it. They know very well that some students respond better to reward than punishment, and that others have to be driven by fear. The second kind is usually the less intelligent, and they know that, too; how could they not know it after so many generations of experience. You're lucky they've put you in the first category." |
| Technovelgy from Cities in Flight,
by James Blish. Published by Avon in 1957 Additional resources -
|
The machines referred to here are of course the city fathers, an early sfnal description of artificial intelligence.
The machines also diagnose specific problems:
Compare this device with
the robot psyche tester from Colony (1953) by Philip K. Dick,
Sigrid von Shrink from Gateway (1970) by Frederik Pohl,
the mechanotherapist from Bad Medicine (a 1956 Robert Sheckley story),
Dr. Smile, from Dick's 1964 novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
The sister, the City Fathers tell us now, is borderline psychotic, which is why she never made citizenship herself...
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Cities in Flight
More Ideas
and Technology by James Blish
Tech news articles related to Cities in Flight
Tech news articles related to works by James Blish
Machine Psychologist-related
news articles:
- MindMentor Computer-Based Psychotherapy
- 'Virtual Space Station' NASA Software Psychologist
- AI Identifies Suicidal Behavior With 93 Percent Accuracy
- Your Computer Therapist Will See You Now
- Fear of Dentists App, iPhone-based Therapist
| Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests |
| Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity |
| AI Worms That Spread |
| Great. Now AIs Have Access To Hacking Tools |
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
