Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.ai.philosophy
From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Subject: Annual Minsky Loebner Prize Revocation Prize 1995 Announcement
Message-ID: < 1995Mar3.013519.15748@news.media.mit.edu>
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 01:35:19 GMT
Lines: 32
In article < 3j56jv$opq@hopper.acm.org> loebner@ACM.ORG writes:
>=========================================================
> LOEBNER PRIZE COMPETITION IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
> ANNOUNCEMENT OF, AND APPLICATION INFORMATION FOR,
> THE 1995 PRIZE COMPETITION
>=========================================================
And, after many screensfull of boring stuff, he adds:
>17. The names "Loebner Prize" and "Loebner Prize Competition" may be used by
>contestants in advertising only by advance written permissionof the Cambridge
>Center, and their use may be subjecttoapplicableicensingfees. Advertising is
>subjecttoapprovalbyrepresentativesoftheLoebner Prize Competition. Improper or
>misleading advertising may result in revocationoftheprizeand/or other actions.
[Some words concatenated to enforce the 80-character line length
convention.]
I do hope that someone will volunteer to violate this proscription so
that Mr. Loebner will indeed revoke his stupid prize, save himself
some money, and spare us the horror of this obnoxious and unproductive
annual publicity campaign.
In fact, I hereby offer the $100.00 Minsky prize to the first person
who gets Loebner to do this. I will explain the details of the rules
for the new prize as soon as it is awarded, except that, in the
meantime, anyone is free to use the name "Minsky Loebner Prize
Revocation Prize" in any advertising they like, without any licensing
fee.
From: loebner@ACM.ORG (Hugh Loebner)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Reply to Minsky re Loebner Prize Revocation
Date: 7 Mar 1995 16:27:51 GMT
Organization: ACM Network Services
Lines: 33
Message-ID: < 3ji1i7$jo3@hopper.acm.org>
In message ID < 1995Mar3.013519.15748@news.media.mit.edu>
Marvin Minsky writes:
>In fact, I hereby offer the $100.00 Minsky prize to the first person
>who gets Loebner to do this [end the contest].
>I will explain the details of the rules
>for the new prize as soon as it is awarded, except that, in the
>meantime, anyone is free to use the name "Minsky Loebner Prize
>Revocation Prize" in any advertising they like, without any licensing
>fee.
From: Hugh Loebner
To: Marvin Minsky
March 7, 1995
Re: Loebner Prize
1. If you contact Stuart Sheiber (shieber@das.harvard.edu)
he might match your $100.00 prize, doubling the prize to
$200.00. (Doubling the prob of my discontinuing the contest
from .00001 -> .00002).
(See S. Shieber Lessons from a Restricted Turing Test,
Communication of the ACM, June '94,Vol 37 n.6 p 70-78)
2. A better way is to simply to enter and win the contest.
That way, instead of a $100.00 out of pocket
expense, you would (a) have a gain of $100,000.00
(b) get a gold medal, and (c) the contest would
be discontinued.
From: loebner@ACM.ORG (Hugh Loebner)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Minsky Co-sponsor of Loebner Prize!
Date: 8 Mar 1995 16:48:36 GMT
Organization: ACM Network Services
Lines: 63
Message-ID: < 3jkn54$pv0@hopper.acm.org>
In Message ID < 1995Mar3.013519.15748@news.media.mit.edu> Minsky writes:
>In article < 3j56jv$opq@hopper.acm.org> loebner@ACM.ORG writes
....
>>17.The names "Loebner Prize" and "Loebner Prize Competition" may be used by
>>contestants in advertising only by advance written permissionof the Cambridge
>>Center, and their use may be subjecttoapplicableicensingfees. Advertising is
>>subjecttoapprovalbyrepresentativesoftheLoebner Prize Competition.Improper or
>>misleading advertising may result in revocationoftheprizeand/or other actions.
>[Some words concatenated to enforce the 80-character line length
>convention.]
>I do hope that someone will volunteer to violate this proscription so
>that Mr. Loebner will indeed revoke his stupid prize, save himself
>some money, and spare us the horror of this obnoxious and unproductive
>annual publicity campaign.
>In fact, I hereby offer the $100.00 Minsky prize to the first person
>who gets Loebner to do this. I will explain the details of the rules
>for the new prize as soon as it is awarded, except that, in the
>meantime, anyone is free to use the name "Minsky Loebner Prize
>Revocation Prize" in any advertising they like, without any licensing
>fee.
1. Marvin Minsky will pay $100.00 to anyone who gets me to
"revoke" the "stupid" Loebner Prize.
2. "Revoke" the prize means "discontinue" the prize.
3. After the Grand Prize is won, the contest will be
discontinued.
4. The Grand Prize winner will "get" me to discontinue the
Prize.
5. The Grand Prize winner will satisfy The Minsky Prize criterion.
6. Minsky will be morally obligated to pay the Grand Prize
Winner $100.00 for getting me to discontinue the contest.
7. Minsky is an honorable man.
8. Minsky will pay the Grand Prize Winner $100.00
9. Def: "Co-sponsor": Anyone who contributes or promises to
contribute a monetary prize to the Grand Prize winner .
10. Marvin Minskey is a co-sponsor of the 1995 Loebner Prize
Contest.
-------------
BTW
The language that Minsky finds so offensive was added
by the Prize Committee because of a possible mis-representation
regarding the contest made by an annual prize winner.
No fees have been requested of any winner, nor do I anticipate
of any fees ever being requested. Rule 17 merely protects the
Loebner Prize from misrepresentation in advertising.
From: shieber@das.harvard.edu (Stuart Shieber)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Reply to Minsky re Loebner Prize
Date: 8 Mar 1995 16:34:49 GMT
Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Lines: 35
Distribution: world
Message-ID: < 3jkmb9$7mm@necco.harvard.edu>
Now that Dr. Loebner has brought it up, my paper on the Loebner
competition (CACM, volume 37, number 6, June, 1994) is available
electronically from the Computation and Language E-Print Archive at
URL
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/cmp-lg/9404002
or by sending an email message
To: cmp-lg@xxx.lanl.gov
Subject: get 9404002
The abstract is duplicated below.
A reply by Dr. Loebner and my rejoinder were published in the same
CACM issue listed above.
One may, if one wishes, consider this my bid for the Minsky Prize.
-- Stuart Shieber
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lessons from a Restricted Turing Test
Stuart M. Shieber
We report on the recent Loebner prize competition inspired by Turing's
test of intelligent behavior. The presentation covers the structure
of the competition and the outcome of its first instantiation in an
actual event, and an analysis of the purpose, design, and
appropriateness of such a competition. We argue that the competition
has no clear purpose, that its design prevents any useful outcome, and
that such a competition is inappropriate given the current level of
technology. We then speculate as to suitable alternatives to the
Loebner prize.
From: jorn@MCS.COM (Jorn Barger)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Annual Minsky Loebner Prize Revocation Prize 1995 Announcement
Date: 3 Mar 1995 21:15:35 -0600
Organization: The Responsible Party
Lines: 8
Message-ID: < 3j8m0n$3kd@Mars.mcs.com>
Marvin Minsky < minsky@media.mit.edu> wrote:
> [...] and spare us the horror of this obnoxious and unproductive
>annual publicity campaign.
Hmmm... don't I remember someone saying something similar once,
about... what was it... Perceptrons?
Newsgroups: comp.ai
From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: Reply to Minsky re Loebner Prize Revocation
Message-ID: < nagleD54xAv.9r2@netcom.com>
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 18:42:31 GMT
Lines: 17
loebner@ACM.ORG (Hugh Loebner) writes:
>2. A better way is to simply to enter and win the contest.
>That way, instead of a $100.00 out of pocket
>expense, you would (a) have a gain of $100,000.00
>(b) get a gold medal, and (c) the contest would
>be discontinued.
The problem with the Loebner competition is not that it is held,
but that the state of the art is not sufficient to field a serious
entry.
Perhaps the quality of entries will improve once the "Cyc" database
becomes available. That should provide a superficial level of knowledge
on a wide range of subjects, which may be enough to support casual
discourse.
John Nagle
From: colby@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Kenneth Colby)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Annual Minsky Loebner Prize Revocation Prize 1995 Announcement
Date: 8 Mar 1995 16:04:27 -0800
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 24
Message-ID: < 3jlgmb$6pp@oahu.cs.ucla.edu>
minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky) writes:
>I do hope that someone will volunteer to violate this proscription so
>that Mr. Loebner will indeed revoke his stupid prize, save himself
>some money, and spare us the horror of this obnoxious and unproductive
>annual publicity campaign.
>In fact, I hereby offer the $100.00 Minsky prize to the first person
>who gets Loebner to do this. I will explain the details of the rules
>for the new prize as soon as it is awarded, except that, in the
>meantime, anyone is free to use the name "Minsky Loebner Prize
>Revocation Prize" in any advertising they like, without any licensing
>fee.
We claim the Minsky Prize. A couple of years ago we entered a
program that tied for first but was awarded second on a tie-break.
We have sold a number of copies of this program and not given
any of the proceeds to Loebner.
Hence we claim the Minsky Prize of $100 but only on the condition
that the money be given to Loebner who seems short of funds at
the moment.
Peter and Ken Colby
From: Salvatore R. Mangano < 72053.2032@CompuServe.COM>
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Minsky Co-sponsor of Loebner Prize!
Date: 9 Mar 1995 01:30:52 GMT
Organization: Man Machine Interfaces
Lines: 7
Message-ID: < 3jlloc$2bh$1@mhadg.production.compuserve.com>
Good Show! Hey Marv, lighten up.
--
Man Machine Interfaces, Inc.
555 Broadhollow Rd
Melville NY 11747
72053.2032@comuserve.com
From: reinhard@mindspring.com (Bryan Reinhardt)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Mr. Minsky Grumpy Competition
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 1995 18:39:17 -0400
Organization: MindSpring Enterprises, Inc.
Lines: 7
Message-ID: < reinhard.18.0062933F@mindspring.com>
Mr. Grumpy AI White Tower Researcher Award of the Year Competition
I hearby offer a prize of 10 dollars to anyone who can out do Mr. Minsky as
Mr. Grumpy researcher of the year, or anyone who can stiffle any creative
growth (such as NN) in AI...less points for creativity; more points for
downright self rightousness, snobbery or pure grumpyizm....
From: Will Dwinnell <predictor@delphi.com>
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Minsky Co-sponsor of Loebner Prize!
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 95 19:28:09 -0500
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
Lines: 19
Message-ID: < hUza1nx.predictor@delphi.com>
Salvatore R. Mangano < 72053.2032@CompuServe.COM> writes:
>Good Show! Hey Marv, lighten up.
>
>--
>Man Machine Interfaces, Inc.
>555 Broadhollow Rd
>Melville NY 11747
>72053.2032@comuserve.com
It would seem to me that Marvin Minsky would have greater success
keeping people away from the dread Loebner contest by paying $100 to
everyone who doesn't participate!
Will Dwinnell
predictor@delphi.com
610-917-0594
Commercial Intelligence Inc.
Newsgroups: comp.ai
From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Subject: Re: Minsky Co-sponsor of Loebner Prize!
Message-ID: < 1995Mar9.174912.3406@news.media.mit.edu>
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 1995 17:49:12 GMT
Lines: 6
In article < 3jlloc$2bh$1@mhadg.production.compuserve.com>
Salvatore R. Mangano < 72053.2032@CompuServe.COM> writes
:
>Good Show! Hey Marv, lighten up.
No thanks. I've noticed that people who lighten up soon float away
and are mever missed.
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
From: ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk (Oliver Sparrow)
Subject: Re: Minsky Co-sponsor of Loebner Prize!
Organization: Royal Institute of International Affairs
Lines: 11
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 1995 08:29:04 +0000
Message-ID: < 794737744snz@chatham.demon.co.uk>
Delightful.
Mind you, religious leaders seek the end of global sin. The extermination of
mankind by nuclear war would end the opportunity to sin. Therefore....
(Yes, yes - I know.) :)
_________________________________________________
Oliver Sparrow
ohgs@chatham.demon.co.uk
>