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Old 20th April 2012, 09:08 AM   #201
Leumas
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 8,588
Originally Posted by Brian-M View Post
It's not a matter of conjecture. It's a matter of computability theory. If the task of interpreting these images was not a computable function it would theoretically impossible for anyone or anything to interpret them. Since humans can interpret them, then this must be a computable function, and therefore it is theoretically possible for a computer to do this.

Whether or not it would be practical to program a computer to do this is a different question entirely. Possibly it might take an absurd amount of processing power or time (which amounts to the same thing, as double the amount of time is equivalent to double the amount of processing power), or it might require programming in vast amounts of contextual knowledge and understanding that humans unconsciously acquire in childhood.

But the fact that the USA Military is involved in this is completely irrelevant to the discussion.


Last edited by Leumas; 20th April 2012 at 09:55 AM.
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