Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence

Name: Some Questions Answered
Start: 2012-05-13T19:00:00Z
Location: TechShop

Some Questions Answered

May 13, 2012 · 12:00 PM
TechShop

The title "All questions answered" was a seminar title sometimes used by Don Knuth while at Stanford and occasionally in other contexts. I like the title but I'll use the slightly less ambitious "Some questions answered" with the continuation "... mostly by audience members themselves".

In other words, there is no topic for this MeetUp; We'll improvise again. Many of our most memorable, productive, and clarifying MeetUps have started with this premise. I will bring a few videos that we might view to get inspired or distracted by.

No webcast, no video recording. Some of us go to Pizza Primo afterwards and continue the discussion.

NOTE:

TechShop wants us to pay about $5 per person for use of their excellent meeting room (which we have been allowed to use, free of charge, for over five years). I think this is perfectly reasonable, especially considering the recent and ongoing improvements to the facility, but I know some of you are students or otherwise not financially secure. I will therefore initially try to make this a soft requirement. I'll put out a can by the door. If you can, please put $5 in the can. If you make a lot of money or are independently wealthy, please put in $10. If there's more than $200 in the can then I'll take $20 myself to help pay MeetUp.com for the use of this website; I personally pay $144 per year for this service and have done so for five years. All (remaining) money in the can goes to TechShop. If you have any problems with this policy, please email me or take it up for discussion at the MeetUp. If there is not enough in the cans for TechShop to be happy (in the long run) then we may have to instate a pay-when-RSVP policy instead. I don't like that idea but I may occasionally decide to do that for major external speakers in order to keep the audience size down to what TechShop can handle (70 people).

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Hari K.

Want guidance in drafting patent applications, then attend this workshop:http://patentappdrafting.eventbrite.com

0 · August 20, 2012
Liza L.

This meeting was a lively discussion among regular participants and a few newbies. The most important answer for me came not during the actual Meet-Up but over pizza afterward. Monica calls her AI approach 'model free'. This has bothered several of us who see the construction of mental or computer-mediated models as imbedded in the core of Monica's methods. Our post-meeting discussion brought us to agreement that her ideal AI systems do not start with models but do make use of them later in the process. The flow between formal presentation and relaxed but informed conversation make this meet-up a fun and educational experience.

Please not that this is not a course in AI. If you are a newcomer to the field, expect to be lost some of the time and to take notes on what to read to catch up.

0 · May 14, 2012
Kennita

Monica did a pretty good job keeping discussion moving and any oee person from monopolizing the floor.

0 · May 14, 2012
A former member

It has been nice to meet the group. The discussion was inspiring and passionate.

0 · May 13, 2012
Liza L.

Kennita, Richard and I can probably swing south and pick you up if no one else offers. Please email me by 11 am to let me know whether and where. Liza ([masked])

0 · May 12, 2012
Kennita

Is anyone coming from points south who could give me a ride from Sunnyvale (near Central/Fair Oaks)?

0 · May 12, 2012
Monica

Indeed it is. :-(

0 · May 10, 2012
David A L.

Is it $5 per person *per meeting*?

0 · May 10, 2012
Monica

Oh, Don isn't coming and I apologize if I gave that impression. I was merely giving him credit for the silly title. Let me edit the announcement to make that clear.

0 · May 10, 2012
Aimee Bolter C.

Sorry to miss this time with Don; if Jill comes as well, she's a lovely person to chat with, too. This meetup is happening on Mother's Day (I am one and still have one) so I'm booked already.

0 · May 10, 2012