To: Jeevacation[jeevacation@gmail.com]
From: 
Sent: Mon 4/13/2009 9:32:01 PM
Subject: Next steps?

Hi Jeffrey,

I'm starting to feel like a stalker! ... making contact with you is being particularly difficult.

I'm a bit perplexed, as in our earlier discussions I really felt you "got" the vision and importance of what I'm trying to do. It's unfortunate if you've been put off by the critiques of folks like Schank and Minsky, whose AI ideas were discredited decades ago! I'd be happy to debate AI specifics with either of those guys (or anyone else), but first they'd have to be convinced to actually take the time to understand what I'm proposing rather than making a snap judgment based on shallow surface-level indicators and their (rather heavy) prior biases. (I wish you could have been at the AGI-09 conference, where a bunch of researchers were seriously discussing my project among others. Not that everyone saw eye-to-eye with me about what is the best approach to take, but at least there were real discussions on the issues relevant to making a design like mine truly work.)

Membrane computing is certainly very cool, and I'm sure a lot of the other stuff you're funding is also. But my project has a genuine chance of leading to a breakthrough in the next 2-4 years, and a human-level AI in 7-10 years. I know I'm a bit eccentric, but I'm not **insane** ... I have a load of relevant knowledge and I deeply, sincerely believe I'm onto something here.

Even if you think I have only a 5% chance of success, the payoff is so large, it should surely be worth the investment!! (Yes, I understand you might have 100 guys pestering you with comparable projects that you also think have 5% chances of success. But, do you really? I don't see many AI projects out there with **any** realistic chance of leading to dramatic results in the near term. I see plenty of cool ideas, but no other coherent artificial-mind design fleshed out in nearly as much detail as my stuff)

Anyway, I'd appreciate the chance to talk again ... I can keep phoning at random but it would be more effective if you would tell me a specific time to call (or visit ;-).

Thanks !
Ben

Ben Goertzel, PhD
CEO, Novamente LLC and Biomind LLC
Director of Research, SIAI

Critical threshold: Being generally intelligent enough to be disappointed by one's own lack of general intelligence