It's all his fault (and if you believe that one, I'll tell ya another)

[trickykitty]

So after a lot of arm twisting from smokedamage, along with other people I know involved in a web page, blog, journal, etc. (which is pretty much everyone I know and consists merely of them saying "You should join" and me saying "Well, OK"), I have finally joined LiveJournal in an effort to set up a signon. What can I say except what I always say -- I'm easy {insert gutter-brain here}. This will facilitate the twice a year posting in which I may partake should the need arise. Of course, I'll probably start getting yelled at for NOT updating this thing now that I have it, which means it will probably be updated pretty often.


So quick info on me, I guess: I'm so simple it's ridiculous. Either I'm playing or I'm studying. Of course the definition for playing would be just about anything that I could otherwise say no to, but for some reason don't. Believe it or not, I'm one of the few people that you can actually have a better chance of reaching by calling my home phone (Yes, folks, that would be a real hardline still in existence in my apartment.) before actually trying to call my cell phone.

I'm a full-time student studying AI. That's Artificial Intelligence for those poor souls who aren't "in the know". I'm always amazed by how many people give me blank stares and truly don't know what AI stands for. To me it's like saying, "I drive a car," and the other person asking what a car is. Maybe I'm just ahead of my time. Or maybe I really am just a geek. Who knows. (And don't try to tell me because I'm in total denial about the whole thing anyway.)

My interest is in the cognitive/decision making processes which bring together all of the other areas in the AI field. I'm only learning how to program because my goal is to be able to create a road map for others to follow when THEY are programming. It's similar to a Systems Analyst in a large corporation. S/he has to be able to speak the lingo of both the administrative department (management speak) and the IT department (computer/geek speak). That person's job is to know a little about how each group works and be able to maintain the communication lines without becoming a specialist in either field alone (although they will admittedly lean more in one direction or the other). Oh, and I know very little about engineering and robotics - I'm more likely to shock myself just looking at an electrical wire. What I do know about EE comes from the two semesters when I was a physics major prior to changing course and realizing that there is a way through the Interdisciplinary Department to create my own degree plan for AI. My official degree will say BS in Interdisciplinary Studies. So I'm sure I'll get a lot of questions about that one. I'll probably end up desecrating my own diploma by writing "(Artificial Intelligence Research)" under it so people know what my degree is actually in.

My studies involve experimental cognitive psychology (particularly in the areas of learning, attention, memory and decision making), brain scanning (EEG, fMRI, fNIRS - I hope to never have to get near a PET or CAT, but we'll see), and neural networks. Side interests are language acquisition, child/computer development, computer vision, computer hearing, sensory/motor control, neuroscience, robotics (only to know in what manner the machines move), and theory of mind.

The cognitive neural networks is probably the one area that seems to be grabbing my attention the most. It involves creating mathematical models which are able to capture/produce the same kind of results that we see from the real-life experimental data. Right now the AI field is divided into smaller chunks based on the different areas mentioned above. I want to help in bridging the gap between all of these areas. In my mind they all merely smaller parts of a greater whole.

My ultimate goal regarding my studies is to be able to work on a project/robot which has very little startup programming when turned on but manages to learn over time just as a baby does. It will learn how to move its body (this will be platform dependent), how to communicate (presumably with humans, but ya never know), and how to think. By this definition, I hope to be involved in the creating of the first truly self-aware intelligent machine.

If you ask me if I'm afraid that the computers will take over the world, my answer will always be, "No...I'm afraid that you are."

Lastly, I know how to fly a Cesna 172R, aka Skyhawk. Although I got as far as taking my test for the VFR (I've flown solo, did all my landings, cross-country flying, and night flight hours), I decided that getting and maintaining the license would be cost prohibitive. So I ceased lessons right before taking the manual and practical exams. But I really miss flying and still enjoy conversations about flying, especially when they combine with the physics of it.

For that matter, I also know a bit about sailing from teaching it to little kids when I was in high school and the fact that it's amazingly similar in regard to physics with flying.

Other hobbies: piano playing (6 years of lessons in high school), bowling, billiards, swimming, tennis, and I have stories from junior/high school from playing bassoon and marimba in band.

Well, an hour before class, so I must be off to study. (Story of my life.)

Comments

[smokedamage.livejournal.com]

this home phone thing is almost completely unheard of. no one will really believe you, they'll think you are just a fanfic for a roleplaying game :)