Chapter One

Exercises
Page 33

New Questions:

A. (To be placed after number 11)

Discuss whether or not you think it is possible for a computer to truly understand a given
problem. Is it necessary for a computer to understand the problem as you would define it
in order to find an acceptable solution?

B. (To be placed after number 11)

Discuss the “nature vs. nurture” argument in the context of artificial intelligence. How
much intelligence is due to the physical architecture of a system, and how much is due to
machine learning? Is there a way to optimize one or the other part of a system to achieve
a better result for a given problem domain?

Rewritten Questions:

4. What are the limitations of the Turing test? Is it reasonable to suggest that in order for
a system to be considered intelligent, it should be indistinguishable from a human
performing similar tasks requiring “intelligence”?

5. Are there tasks that do not lend themselves to artificial intelligence? Are there tasks
that do not lend themselves to human intelligence?