"The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997."

After being nurtured for 22 years, Cycorp is about to connect its AI named Cyc (pronnounced "psych") to the net. The key difference between this AI and its predesessors is that Cyc appears to have 'common sense'. It has been taught how to relate facts to other in its database, differentiate words with multiple definitions through the use of context and make deductions about things it has never learned about. Once online people will be able to contribute to its knowledge by asking it questions and correcting it if its wrong. Cycorp hopes that by opening up Cyc to the internet, it should be able to accellerate its learning to a stage of critical mass where most questions will be correctly handled by Cyc. There are also further plans to have it trawl the internet, and eventually connect it to web cams and other sensory equipments around the globe, beginning to learn for itself. Cycorp has pledged to make access to Cyc free, allowing other AI developers to tap into its stored knowledge.

It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time, August 29. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

- Cycorp
- Whatever happened to machines that think?

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]