Dear Cliff,
I like to contribute to PCP by joining PRNCYB-L for reasons explained
below. The layout of this e-mail is based on the "notes on PCP"
which I have received from Francis Heylighen
(fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be)
> 1)Name
Luc Claeys
> 2)Email address
claeys@innet.be
> 3)Postal address
Luc Claeys
Standonklaan 40
B-2610 Antwerpen (Wilrijk)
Belgium
> 4)Phone
++32 3 825.20.86 (fax : idem)
> 5)Affiliations
I do all my work on AI and philosophy on an independent and
un-subsidized way. I consciously maintained an insulation for
about 16 years. I did this to develop and strengthen my own
philosophy and AI approach without interference from commercial,
political or publicity interests.
Professionally, I work as an independent software consultant
(image processing, space applications, AI, industrial computer
vision, digital signal processing and electronics).
Because the industry pays relatively well for this kind of work,
I can afford to sell only 3 days a week of my professional work.
The other 5 :-) days, I divide into three parts: 1) study to
keep up with software and electronics technology, 2) Develop an
AI system to express and test my philosophical ideas (to keep my
feed on the ground), and 3) attempt to make my philosophical
ideas more coherent, and thus stronger, by approaching them from
very different angles.
My philosophy is my child, he (male, because he conceives) is
strong enough to go in the world now. Thats the whole reason of
this e-mail.
> 6)How did you hear about PCP?
I posted a message in the newsgroup Talk.Philosophy.Misc,
introducing my philosophy and I got some references to PCP.
On this base, I browsed in WWW. Then I mailed a message to
Francis Heylighen and got a positive reaction in return,
including the "notes on PCP"
> 7)Do you wish to be a full subscriber to PRNCYB-L, or just receive
> the Digest?
I like to become a full subscriber.
> 8)Please take at least one page to describe your work and how it
> might relate to PCP
Since 1979, I am playing with an AI concept which is the base
for all the rest of the efforts:
In stead of building a model of the human intelligence, create
an artificial environment (computer, for the time being), which
can be used by the human intelligence as breeding ground.
If we make the conditions favorable, human intelligence (which
is a conscious information structure) will use the breeding
ground to express itself.
The search for the minimal conditions to achieve this has been
the core of my work.
In the system, there is a concept of an image of the self, and
an image of the non-self. The surface between is the surface of
consciousness. The system learns to express the basic structures
of the self in the external world, and the system absorbs
structures from the external world in the mean time, so that the
structures which have been recognized in the external world
become part of the self and later on are expressed again in the
external world.
The concept is indeed very simple, it is enough to establish
the right feedback and initial energy regulation mechanism to
start it, the rest is done by the information structures which
infiltrate the system from the external world. By presenting for
example a world of (human made) text as the initial environment,
the human intelligence, expressed in the language has the
possibility to enter the system and take over control... The
artificial breeding ground for human intelligence is born.
I have a strong technical background. I have 20 years of
industrial software background, I know a lot of signal
processing and electronics. The meaning of money to me is 1)
buying my free time to continue to develop my philosophy and the
rest of the money I send on computers. To test these concepts,
some years ago, I spend a fortune to by a Sun computer with a
lisp environment, so I know a lot of lisp as well.
> ... and how it might relate to PCP
To be honest, my first contact with PCP dates from two days ago.
I am currently investigating the possibilities.
I am not a reader.. When I read 10 words, 1000 words and ideas
come up in my head. My academic knowledge of philosophy is
almost null. Besides the evident disadvantages, it has some
advantages too. New concepts can grow cleaner in an
unconditioned environment.
However, I think the time has come to touch my ideas to other
ideas. This might be possible in the PCP.
At the other hand, my technical expertise in software and AI
can also contribute in the realization of some concepts.
==============================
In 1989 I wrote an essay on "Behavior of information", it is about
140 pages long (on European A4 format).
If you are interested, I can reformat it to US format ('letter, I
suppose') and send a postscript copy to you. Please let me know if
that would be convenient.
Best Regards,
Luc
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Luc Claeys claeys@innet.be
Antwerpen (Wilrijk) Belgium.
In search of new points of view
for better understanding of Nature.
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