Jim Mason
Mar 5, 2021

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Yes, you are partly right, but inaccurate in two ways. First, you underestimate the importance of symbolic language, and, especially written language, in human developmental history. Our ancestors didn’t get very far with direct observation and gesture alone. Machines using just those means of communication would be no more than pack animals. And second, machines can be designed to communicate much faster and more accurately by electronic means. There is no need for them to evolve culturally as we humans have. What’s needed is improved communication between people and machines, including better understanding by machines of human concepts and language.

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Jim Mason
Jim Mason

Written by Jim Mason

I study language, cognition, and humans as social animals. You can support me by joining Medium at https://jmason37-80878.medium.com/membership

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