he reverse translation in the latter case could be due to the fact that the correct spelling of 'hidraulicos' is with an 'i'). What is true for language translation only becomes more pronounced when the scope of a program is broadened. The General Problem Solver, mentioned above, is one such example. Given a very narrow range of options it can find an optimal solution: If it knows that it is a monkey, who wants to eat a banana that is too high for it to reach, and that there is a chair on the other side of the room, and that it can move around, pick things up, carry them, and stand on top of them, it will succeed in getting to the banana. But a real monkey has a nearly limitless repertoire of action -- it could scream at the banana, do cartwheels, stick its tail in its mouth -- and yet it still carries the chair to the banana and climbs on top of it (Hogan 241). Two techniques for remedying the problems caused by a computer's rote mechanical processes, both in a state of relative infancy, hold promise. The first, neural networking, is an attempt to mimic the actual functioning of the human brain, A neural network consists of several cells, or neurons, all interlinked. Neurons can receive inputs and fire outputs, which then affect the state of other neurons. If the sum of all the inputs a neuron receives surpasses a certain level, that neuron will fire. By tweaking the behavior of each neuron, complex problems can be solved quickly. Data, instead of being stored in discrete locations, is spread around the network, so the system is far more resilient to hardware failure -- much as the human brain is often able to compensate for the loss of certain abilities if a part of it is damaged. Applications of neural networks currently include pattern recognition (optical character recognition, or scanning printed text, has reached a state of near perfection) and business management aids, especially risk assessment tools (Johnson 46). The...
