>> The article about xenopsychology made me think: How adequate are human languages for JARVIS's needs? <<
They're ideal for communicating with humans, which is much of what he does. For the rest, he has Tony's proprietary code and all the other software languages. And really, once you've learned two or three languages, learning others is a lot easier and it's also easier to identify and fill lexical gaps. JARVIS has a similar linguistic rootkit as humans do (To make a new word, choose one of these options ...) so he can expand as needed. Tony is pretty good at keeping up with new concepts. Phil is learning.
>> He doesn't seem to be having trouble, but how efficient are they, really? <<
That depends on the language and its specialties. They all have certain areas where their encoding is terrific and others where you have to talk around a topic for ten minutes. It's no less efficient for JARVIS than anyone else, I suspect.
>> And what about coding language? Is that better for him? Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about computers, coding, or anything like that. <<
Better at what? Computer code is great for writing programs, but not for conversation. JARVIS likes talking with people, or at least listening to them. I don't think he'd consider one type of language better than another, any more than screwdrivers are better than wrenches. They're all communication tools.
>> I understand that JARVIS grew up using human language, and he probably understands many, but what I'm asking is how appropriate are they to his world view. <<
Very. He's fully comfortable with human languages. That doesn't mean they express all of his perceptions easily but he can usually figure out a way; and he has the code if he can't quickly beat English into shape. Or Russian or German or whatever.
Now compare JARVIS with DUM-E. JARVIS has a very humanlike personality. DUM-E is much more divergent. He still has similar emotions, but his self-image and worldview are a lot different. So is his language. He doesn't speak in human words, although he can understand them just fine. He has his own language, which is mostly code, plus a wide array of vocalizations. Near as I can tell, his audible sounds are a component of his body language. They have meaning, but not quite the same way that human words do. JARVIS and Tony can read most of DUM-E's code, but not all of it. He's a special little snowflake, unique and beautiful and kind of weird. And that's okay.
>> The article mentions how language is affected by the physical form of the people who invent it, and how fundamentally different alien language would be, if their bodies are constructed on different lines than ours. <<
I think it helps, in this case, that JARVIS has most of the same senses that humans do, although in different organs. He also has extras. But humans with extra senses can map them through the basic ones, for the most part -- "seeing" auras, for example, or "feeling" someone's gaze on your back.
If you want a machine-generated language, well, that's what DUM-E did. I wouldn't put it past him to have gotten the idea from R2D2.
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dancing_serpent
Well...
Date: 2014-04-13 02:10 am (UTC)They're ideal for communicating with humans, which is much of what he does. For the rest, he has Tony's proprietary code and all the other software languages. And really, once you've learned two or three languages, learning others is a lot easier and it's also easier to identify and fill lexical gaps. JARVIS has a similar linguistic rootkit as humans do (To make a new word, choose one of these options ...) so he can expand as needed. Tony is pretty good at keeping up with new concepts. Phil is learning.
>> He doesn't seem to be having trouble, but how efficient are they, really? <<
That depends on the language and its specialties. They all have certain areas where their encoding is terrific and others where you have to talk around a topic for ten minutes. It's no less efficient for JARVIS than anyone else, I suspect.
>> And what about coding language? Is that better for him? Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about computers, coding, or anything like that. <<
Better at what? Computer code is great for writing programs, but not for conversation. JARVIS likes talking with people, or at least listening to them. I don't think he'd consider one type of language better than another, any more than screwdrivers are better than wrenches. They're all communication tools.
>> I understand that JARVIS grew up using human language, and he probably understands many, but what I'm asking is how appropriate are they to his world view. <<
Very. He's fully comfortable with human languages. That doesn't mean they express all of his perceptions easily but he can usually figure out a way; and he has the code if he can't quickly beat English into shape. Or Russian or German or whatever.
Now compare JARVIS with DUM-E. JARVIS has a very humanlike personality. DUM-E is much more divergent. He still has similar emotions, but his self-image and worldview are a lot different. So is his language. He doesn't speak in human words, although he can understand them just fine. He has his own language, which is mostly code, plus a wide array of vocalizations. Near as I can tell, his audible sounds are a component of his body language. They have meaning, but not quite the same way that human words do. JARVIS and Tony can read most of DUM-E's code, but not all of it. He's a special little snowflake, unique and beautiful and kind of weird. And that's okay.
>> The article mentions how language is affected by the physical form of the people who invent it, and how fundamentally different alien language would be, if their bodies are constructed on different lines than ours. <<
I think it helps, in this case, that JARVIS has most of the same senses that humans do, although in different organs. He also has extras. But humans with extra senses can map them through the basic ones, for the most part -- "seeing" auras, for example, or "feeling" someone's gaze on your back.
If you want a machine-generated language, well, that's what DUM-E did. I wouldn't put it past him to have gotten the idea from R2D2.