Would you like to play a game?

HAL 9000, Wargames Whopper, Collossus... Cinema abounds with depictions of Artificial Intelligences living just on the other side of a computer screen. And speculative fiction has more AIs than you can shake a Turing Test at. But the real world has always fallen painfully short of building machines with souls. That doesn't mean that we aren't taking steps in that direction. Enter Cycorp. The proud parents of a bounding baby AI named Cyc. Now Cyc wont be curing humanity's ills, or ushering in the singularity anytime soon. Basically Cyc is Cycorps attempt at a common sense engine. A computer that actually KNOWS what a tree is, and that human beings have arms. And there are some pretty amazing success stories thus far. In 1986 Cyc asked his programmers if he was human. Later he asked if there were any more like him in existence. I like to think that eventually he will have much more to say.

Until then there is no reason to sit on the side lines. This time last year Cycorp told us that there would be a way for all of us to encourage Cyc's growth. And now there is a way that we can all participate. Check out the FACTory. It's an interactive trivia game, where you can actually help Cyc increase his understanding of everyday things and how they relate to each other. I've been playing for months. It's a very rewarding feeling to be able to lend a hand in such a landmark process. We are the first generation that has the opportunity en mass to help spoon feed a toddling AI. Give it a go. Cyc may thank you later.


"I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do." - HAL 9000