Column

The articles collected for this special edition of "AI in the news" are those that might have appeared had I compiled this collage in 1956. Please note that: (1) an excerpt may not reflect the overall tenor of the article, nor contain all of the relevant information; and, (2) all items are offered "as is" and the fact that an article has been included does not imply any endorsement whatsoever. As is now well known, cybernetics points to a frightening new industrial revolution in which human labor will largely be replaced by robot calculating and operating apparatus. "Computer experts are fascinated by the question: Will thinking machines ever be as intelligent as the human brains that create them? Dr. W. Ross Ashby of Britain, a mathematically minded psychiatrist, believes that the machines can at least'amplify' human intelligence just as the engine of a bulldozer amplifies the muscle power of the man who controls it.