Chinese Room Argument

Chinese Room Argument Searles Chinese Room argumentfails because the room proves nothing Abstract Searle argues that without understanding, computers can never really have mental states. Searles argument that computers can never have understanding depends onhow he portrays the Chinese room. If we pick apart the rooms imitation process, we find that there is a computer-simulation defect and as a result the room would never pass the Turing test. We could of course let the man fix the defect. He would need to remember and change what he does as a result of what he experiences and this, I claim, is precisely what it needs to achieve intentionality. Intentionality, as Searle states, is what distinguishes mental states from physical ones. Given that there is intentionality in the room, it then becomes clear that understanding appears. Searle may counter-claim that the room itself can fix its own defects; but as the room has no semantic understanding and only syntactic translation, we can infer that the room mustve anticipated every question with a predetermined instruction. If a finite room has the capacity to predict every possible question in the universe as well as know the events of the future, then the room is ineffable. If there is understanding, or the room is simply ineffable, then the room proves nothing and Searles argument fails. Essay Searles famous Chinese Room Argument has been the target of great interest and debate in the philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence and cognitive science since its introduction in Searles 1980 article ‘Minds, Brains and Programs. It is no overstatement to assert that the article has been the centre of attention for philosophers and computer scientists for quite some time. Preston and Bishop (2002) is a perfect example of exclusivity into the ongoing debate regarding the Chinese Room, because the significance and importance of the Chinese Room is meant to be obvious. The Chinese Room is supposed to scuttle the thought of strong AI: which implies that computers have mental states. The Chinese Room arises out of the following, now familiar, story: Searle asks us to imagine that a man is seated in a sealed room with 2 doors: one allowing input from one source outside the room (in the form of a slot) and one allowing output to the source outside the room (also in the form of a slot). The input from the outside source are Chinese squiggles that have been printed on card, but to the man in the room they are nothing more than incomprehensible gibberish(since he does not know the first thing about Chinese). The man is told that upon receiving the input squiggles, he must open a heavily-indexed reference book, wherein he must scrupulously track down the squiggle he received and find the matching squiggle of another sort. Once the man finds the matching squiggle, he must record it on an output piece of card and send it back through the output doors slot. Unknowingly the man has just performed some sort of translation that is altogether opaque to his understanding. To the outside source, the Chinese room as a whole, is a sort of system and is being treated as a subject of a Turing test. The interested parties of the outside source are typing in questions in Chinese and receiving answers in Chinese. If the Chinese room is of good quality, then it should be possible to convince the interested parties that the room, or something inside it, is intelligent, thus suggested that the room, or something inside it, could pass the Turing. Searle suggests that this is an error, as the man in the room does not have any conscious states that exhibit and sort of understanding of the questions that he receives. To him it is all just squiggles. It seems, therefore, that the Turing test is not a reliable way of ascertaining true thought, and moreover that any machine exhibiting such a formal architecture, no matter how complex, could never be called intelligent in the way that we mean. Certainly it might simulate intelligence impressively, but Searle suggests th at this is precisely the problem, since it means only that we have an automata that is extremely good at fooling our test. Therefore, the Chinese Room argument appears to contain the following argument: 1. The room occupant knows no Chinese. 2. The room occupant knows English. 3. The room occupant is given sets of written strings of Chinese, {Ci, Cj,†¦, Cn} 4. The room occupant is given formal instructions in English that correlate pairs of sets of Chinese strings, hCi, Cji. 5. The room occupant is given formal instructions in English to output some particular Ci given a particular Cj. 6. The room occupants skill at syntactically manipulating the strings of Chinese is behaviourally indistinguishable from that of a fully competent speaker of Chinese. 7. If 1-6 are jointly possible, then syntax is not sufficient for mental content. 8. 1-6 are jointly possible. 9. Therefore, syntax is not sufficient for mental content. Searles contention is that no matter what may happen, the man in the room will never understand any of the Chinese. Searle takes this to broadly mean that formal architectures, such as our great look-up book, can never produce understanding, because real thought requires semantics—meaning—whereas the book gives us only syntax, or relation. Unfortunately, what the Chinese Room argument really implies about mental states and strong AI has always been a matter of great controversy. Much of the controversy and debate today comes from how Searle is challenged. The two most obvious ways to challenge Searle can be understood to be versions of what is known as the systems reply to the Chinese Room argument. The first is to challenge premise (8) of Searles argument by asserting that (1-6) are inconsistent due to premise (1) being incorrect -concluding that, in some sense, the man in the room actually knows Chinese in some important sense when we carefully consider all the details of Searles argument. The second is to challenge premise (7) of Searles argument by asserting that (1-6) are consistent but that the room understands Chinese even if the occupant does not. Searle intelligently built the Chinese Room so that those who try to pick-apart his argument with a systems response get tangled up in a web of truth in regard to strong AI or more specifically, what is understanding. A systems response simply asserts that the man in the room knows Chinese because the mans formal manipulations, or the operations of the man and the room as a whole, are structurally identical to a native Chinese speakers formal manipulations. Searles counter-argument is that if the man memorized the program, then the program has become part of the man—but for the program, which understands Chinese, the man is still simply providing the hardware on which it runs. One might attempt to apply a subtle version of the system, commonly called a virtual mind reply. Yet virtual mind replies, like system replies, do not prove that strong AI is true either: they provide no evidence that the system (or the virtual mind) understands Chinese, other than the hypothetical premise that it passes the Turing Test. Searles argument remains, for neither the systems or virtual minds succeed at challenging Searles argument. That is because both replies have tried to find understanding in the room. Thats a mistake, its playing into Searles hands, as understanding simply isnt there. Understanding is not missing because computers cant have it. Its missing because the claim that Searles claim that the Chinese room can simulate what computers can do is false. The rooms computer-imitation is so flawed that the claim that the Chinese room can produce the appearance of understanding Chinese is also false. We can easily show that there is a defect in the room when we pick apart the computer-imitation (or the rooms process), with a conversation that might take place: Dominic: Hello there. Before we begin our conversation, Id just like to point out that from here on in Im going to use the word ‘hot to mean good looking. Chinese Room: No problem, I speak slang now and then too. Dominic: I heard your cars cooling system was overheating. Did you think that your cars engine was getting too hot? Chinese Room: No the temperature was fine. Dominic: Talking about cars, did you see the yellow Ferrari parked outside your house yesterday! Dont you think Ferraris are hot cars? Chinese Room: Yes, Ferraris are commonly hot due to their high-performance engine components. The reason the room cant handle this sort of thing is that it cannot write anything that the man in the room can read. According to Searle, it can only write Chinese characters which Searle cannot read. Which is why it cannot remember things like the â€Å"hot† car. If we gave the room the right machinery so that the man in the room has the ability to change the script (similarly compared to a computer changing its own program), then the man would, essentially, be changing the rooms behaviour in response to events. Admittedly, giving the room the right machinery so the man could do this is more complicated than having a giant heavily-indexed book do all the processing, but it would remove the computer-simulation defect. Furthermore, it certainly would make intentionality possible. And it is intentionality that, according to Searle (1980) and Brentano (1874/1973), distinguishes mental states from physical ones. And, if the room had the machinery, or the fundamentals, to produc e intentionality, then the room could be made to understand. According to Searle (1980), intentionality exists in internal states if they are â€Å"directed at or about objects and states of affairs in the world†. This means, to me, that internal states can change appropriately when they are â€Å"directed at† changes. For example, if I always thought that the Chinese room was painted â€Å"green† and I found out that the room was actually painted â€Å"white†, then the Chinese rooms would think that my intentionality is lacking because my â€Å"thoughts of the room† change upon learning of a colour change. Yet, the rooms â€Å"thoughts about me† also lack intentionality because they cannot change when I tell the room that Im temporarily using â€Å"hot† differently. There are other mental states that have intentionality for similar reasons. For example, what gives my belief that â€Å"All elephants are grey† intentionality is that, after I see a few black elephants, my belief can change appropriately, to maybe â€Å"All elephants are grey or black†. Yet not all changes produced by experience are sufficiently complex or flexible enough to count toward intentionality. parent knows. http://degreesofclarity.com/writing/chineseroom/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-room/

Supply Chain Process for Apple & Zara

Customers place orders and purchase phones through authorized dealers/ retailers. 2. Dealers/retailers such as Singlet, epicenter etc runs low in stock and require replenishment from distributors. 3. Various distribution centers runs low in inventories, this triggers manufacturer (Foxing) for more ‘phones to be manufactured and shipped. 4. Manufacturer Foxing starts production schedule planning, procurement of raw materials are done prior to manufacturing actively. Figure 1. 2 To competitive strategy consists of all functions that exist in Apple's phone value Hahn.Below shows an example of how an ‘phone's value chain will look like. Components Design Build SO / Lull APS Branding Marketing Sales Billing Network Figure 1. 3 Primarily Outsourced Primarily Apple Looking at the above figure 1. 3, strategy of apple is to outsource functions such as network, billing, components and build. In this case, contracting manufacturer that handles the build function will be Foxing in Ch ina. Apple by engaging contract manufacturers such as Foxing, utilizes their economies of scale with high volume and low manufacturing cost as a result of low labor cost in China.The supply chain strategy here involves long-term partnership with contract manufacturer Foxing, apple enjoys various advantages which includes cost savings, improving operations and gaining of outside technologies and expertise. All these advantages helps Apple to remain competitive in the mobile phone manufacturing market in providing consumers with a product of high level technology at an affordable price. Figure 1. 4 The above figure 1. 4 illustrates the component level outsourcing of Apple phone, the plan here is using the contract manufacturer to procure raw components that areApple specific suppliers. These components from different countries, however the supply chain strategy from apple is to purchase most or all of the components from Taiwan. This approach can help to cut short the logistics requir ed to deliver the components to Foxing in China, Taiwan also enjoys and relatively short distance from China which in terms helps in saving logistics transportation costs. However it has one serious disadvantage, if Taiwan were to get into an economical decline or become politically unstable then it could actually destroy Apple phone's industry.The supply chain network design often puts one firm in control of it's long term supply chain strategy. Apple utilizes technology, marketing and efficient distribution and distributes different weight age to each category to achieve strategic fit. The phone's vast distribution channels by various network providers as well as resellers such as Challenger and Catchy, also though official retail stores and online stores all around the world. In this case Apple is capable of meeting high demand and reaches out to as many customers as possible using that vast network of distribution.Apple phone's supply chain strategy involves making use of an eff ective network design: 1 . Competing in the global smart phone market by providing the latest technology, innovation and product design. 2. Meeting global demand by setting up various regional distribution channels such as retail storage with consumer pickup and manufacturer storage with direct shipping. 3. Tapping onto expertise of contract manufacturers (Foxing Sheen), taking advantage of lower labor cost. 4. Making use of efficient raw component sourcing from various regions, cutting short logistics cost by consolidating sourcing to one region (Taiwan).The strategic fit of Ezra is related to the consistent demand from consumers with how Ezra respond to the ever changing preferences and needs. The supply chain strategy of Ezra is to construct consistency across consumers and company supply chain, it starts with customer's priorities to getting onto the competitive edge. Ezra utilizes a vertically integrated supply chain that response efficiently to consumers, strategic fit is ther efore achieved by sustaining this form of high responsiveness to customer needs. Deposit Margin Distribution Purchase suppliesOperations competitive strategy of Ezra will consists of all functions in the below Sara's value chain (figure 1. 5). Figure 1. 5 As you notice, Ezra utilizes in-house production, which Ezra in this case is able to harness the flexibility in variety, quantity and frequency of new styles of products. Thus Ezra is able to constantly provide customers with the most updated products, this cuts short the response time on meeting various customer demands. By doing this, Ezra is able to achieve competitive strategy by offering cutting edge fashion with time during different seasons and trends of markets.

Oxford City Council Research Proposal Essay

Oxford City Council (OCC) provides a range of recycling services, including kerbside collection services and recycling sites where residents can deposit items for recycling. Such schemes enable OCC to recycle approaching 40% of Oxford household waste currently. However, the UK government want to establish a recycling culture and continue to set increasing targets for household recycling, with an aim of reaching 50% by 2020. Following a recent (DEFRA) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs initiative to allow the use of financial incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling, OCC is considering the introduction of a pilot scheme in selected postcodes areas. This would involve the introduction of bins fitted with microchips to monitor how much recycling and other waste a household produces, leading to refunds from local taxation bills for a good recycling performance or additional charges for a poor recycling performance. OCC is keen to understand likely reactions of residents to such a scheme and the overall impact that this might have on household recycling rates. OCC has invited the marketing research agency, Research Solutions to provide a proposal for marketing research to inform decision making. What is the research objective? A research objective is basically the main objective of the research i. e. the purpose of carrying out the research forms the research objective. The research objective is basically formed on the basis of the background of the research that is being conducted. (Creswell 2008). In this case, the main issue is recycling. This is due to the increasing population in the UK due to which the wastes have been increasing with a higher percentage. However, it is not a wise idea to leave the wastes just like that and it would be a very good option to recycle the waste so that it can be utilized again as the resources we own in the world today are limited but the demands of the people are unlimited. Therefore, it is always a good idea to save as much as possible so that we can save our future generations from suffering. The research objective of this research is that the UK government wants to establish a recycling culture and continue to set increasing targets for household recycling, with an aim of reaching 50% by 2020 in order to improve the previous targets. Previously, Oxford City Council provided a range of recycling services, including kerbside collection services and recycling sites where residents could deposit items for recycling and this enabled Oxford City Council to reduce the household waste by 40%. The idea now is to increase this percentage by 10% and to make it 50%. Problem Statement Before the research team assigned to solve the problem starts their job, a problem statement needs to be defined and to be presented to them and the problem statement should answer three main questions i. e. to define the problem and the reason why the team is required to solve this problem, the client who needs a solution to the problem and the scope as well as the limitations of the problem in terms of various issues such as time, money and other resources. Moreover, it is also important for the problem statement to address all the W’s i. e. to answer what, how, where, when, why, and who. (Denzin & Lincoln 2005). Referring to this case, due to the increasing need of recycling, the government of UK plans to increase recycling of the household wastes to 50% by 2020 i. e. an increase by 10% from today. This aim has been defined basically to serve the households and to meet their demand of recycling household wastes; however there are certain limitations that are coming in the way to meet this requirement of the government of UK. In order to solve this problem, we, a research team from a marketing research agency, Research Solutions has been assigned to work out and to know the likely reactions of residents to such a scheme and the overall impact that this might have on household recycling rates. For this purpose, What methods will be used? Following a recent (DEFRA) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs initiative to allow the use of financial incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling, OCC is considering the introduction of a pilot scheme in selected postcodes areas. This would involve the introduction of bins fitted with microchips to monitor how much recycling and other waste a household produces, however this will involve a certain cost as Oxford City Council will have to make refunds from local taxation bills for a good recycling performance or to pay additional charges for a poor recycling performance. (Patton 2002). We will use both primary as well as secondary data to conduct our research as well as both qualitative and quantitative data. Once we have gathered the secondary data, we will then seek for primary data for which we will prepare a set of 200 questionnaires. The questionnaire, we have planed will consist of around 20 open and close ended questions. We will get these questionnaires filled and will also interview people in Oxford from different age groups especially the women as the issue is basically related to household recycling so the housewives would be the best option to interview. Data analysis The process of gathering, modeling and transforming data aiming to make the important information prominent, to suggest conclusions as well as to support the decision making is called data analysis. There are various approaches and techniques that can be used for this purpose under different domains. (Spatz & Kardas 2007). As Oxford City Council has been asked to increase recycling of household wastes by 10%, they now have to plan everything to achieve this goal but for this it is essential for the Oxford City Council to collect all the important information and to transform it. Therefore, to understand the likely reactions of residents to such a scheme and the overall impact that this might have on household recycling rates. A time schedule The government of UK wants the goal of an increase in the recycling of household wastes to be achieved by an increase of 10% by 2020 and this gives Oxford City Council more than a decade to achieve this aim. The Oxford City Council should plan out seriously and work on the aim that is to be met but before finally starting the work, it is always essential to conduct research in order to know whether the plans they have made will be successful of not and also to know the reaction of the people in the UK after the introduction of the pilot scheme in selected postcodes areas and before the plan can be executed, marketing research will be conducted whose timing is mentioned below. (Pan 2004). The time schedule will not just provide a timeframe but it will also help us meet the deadlines. As we have been assigned one month to conduct this research, we have accordingly divided the time to meet our goals in an efficient manner. In the first week, we plan to conduct desk research followed by qualitative fieldwork in the second week as well as to prepare a qualitative desk research report. On the first day of the third week, we aim to prepare questionnaires that will follow the quantitative stage, coding and data preparation. In the fourth week, that is also the last week, we will do the analysis, prepare a presentation and on the last day we will present a final report. Bibliography: Creswell, J. W. (2008). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 3rd edn. Sage Publications. Denzin, N. K. , & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pan, M. L. (2004). Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. 2nd edn. Los Angeles: Pyrezak. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Spatz,C. & Kardas,E. P. (2007). Research Methods in Psychology: Ideas, Techniques, and Reports. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, Hardcover.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - The Aftermath

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911 was one of the most infamous industrial tragedies in American history. On a Saturday afternoon, a fire broke out in a clothing factory. While many were able to escape, the workers on the ninth floor were not alerted to the fire in time, and because there was only accessible door - locked from the outside to prevent theft or unauthorized breaks - most workers in that area were trapped by the fire. Firefighting efforts were not enough to save the ninth floor: the hoses could not work fast enough, and escape ladders did not reach high enough. The buildings elevator operators managed to make a few trips up to rescue workers before the heat warped the structure too much, but those were the only workers able to escape. 146 people died in the fire (mostly women) and there was an immediate uproar about the conditions that had led to the fire and the massive death toll. After the Fire: Identifying the Victims Bodies were taken to the Charities Pier on 26th Street at the East River. There, starting at midnight, survivors, families, and friends streamed past, trying to identify those who had died. Often, the corpses could only be identified by a dental filling, or shoes, or a ring. Members of the public, perhaps drawn from a morbid curiosity, also visited the makeshift morgue. For four days, thousands streamed through this macabre scene. Six of the bodies were not identified until 2011, almost 100 years after the fire. After the Fire: Newspaper Coverage The New York Times, in its March 26 edition, reported that 141 Men and Girls had been killed. Other articles featured interviews with witnesses and survivors. The coverage fed the publics growing horror at the event. After the Fire: Relief Efforts Relief efforts were coordinated by a Joint Relief Comittee, organized by Local 25 of the ILGWU, the Ladies Waist and Dress Makers Union. Participating organizations included the Jewish Daily Forward, United Hebrew Trades, Womens Trade Union League, and the Workmens Circle. The Joint Relief Committee also cooperated with efforts of the American Red Cross. Relief was provided to help survivors, and also to help families of the dead and injured. In a time when there were few public social services, this relief effort was often the only support for the survivors and families. After the Fire: Memorial at the Metropolitan Opera House The  Womens Trade Union League (WTUL), in addition to its help with the relief effort, pressed for an investigation of the fire and conditions that led to  the large number  of deaths, and also planned a memorial. Anne Morgan and Alva Belmont were the main organizers, and most in attendance were workers and wealthy supporters of the WTUL. Held on April 2, 1911, at the Metropolitan Office House, the Memorial Meeting was marked by a speech by ILGWU and WTUL organizer, Rose Schneiderman. Among her angry remarks, she said, We have tried you good people of the public and we have found you wanting.... She noted that There are so many of us for one job it matters little if 146 of us are burned to death. She called for workers to join in union efforts so that workers themselves could stand for their rights. After the Fire: Public Funeral March The ILGWU called for a citywide day of mourning for the day of the funeral of the victims. More than 120,000 marched in the funeral procession, and some 230,000 more watched the march. After the Fire: Investigations One result of the public outcry after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was that the New York governor appointed a commission to investigate factory conditions - more generally. This State Factory Investigation Committee met for five  years,  and proposed and worked for many legal changes and reform measures. After the Fire: Triangle Factory Fire Trial New York City District Attorney Charles Whitman decided to indict the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on charges of manslaughter, on the grounds that they had known that the second door was locked. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were indicted for manslaughter in April 1911, as the D.A. moved swiftly. The trial was held over three weeks, beginning on December 4, 1911. Ultimately, jurors determined that there was reasonable doubt whether the owners knew that the doors were locked. Blanck and Harris were acquitted. There were protests at the decision, and Blanck and Harris were re-indicted. But a judge ordered them acquitted on the grounds of double jeopardy. Civil suits for wrongful death were filed against Blanck and Harris on behalf of those who had died in the fire and their families - 23 suits total. On March 11, 1913, nearly two years after the fire, these suits were settled for a total of $75 per victim. In comparison, the company received about $400 per victim from their insurance company, which totaled more than $60,000 more than the reported losses.