Intelligent Agents......

[Alain Farmer]

Hello Richard MacLemale and y'all,

> I've been following the AI discussion
> with GREAT interest.

Excellent, we seem to be generating a groundswell! :))

> I've always wanted to write some server
> based software using metacard ...

For years now, it's been possible to create
server-side CGI programs with MetaCard (and other
xCards too). But our agent idea takes this much
further. Imagine P2P MC programs that communicate via
the internet, with other [MC] clients that support
XML, XML-RPC and blogger API.

> ... that would control a simulation that teams
> of 8 people on separate computers on a network
> would interact with.

This will indeed be do-able with the [agent] software
we're using and developing. Why not! The essence of it
is that we will have the ability to coordinate MC pgms
via the web. All kinds of distributed architectures
will become possible.

> AI is not necessarily mandatory but the more complex

> the program, the cooler the simulation would be.

Agreed. You don't necessarily need AI to do it, albeit
it might be a big plus when it comes to modelling the
systemic impacts of the interactions of all the
players.

> Specifically, this: Years ago, when I was a 5th
> grade teacher, we took our kids to the Museum of 
> Science and Industry in Tampa, FL (MOSI) and they
> had a space ship simulator

Very interesting!  :))

> One station operated a robotic arm that was
> "outside the spaceship" and you could see it
> out the "window"... Each station did something 
> different. All stations had controls & monitors.

Long ago, I scripted some automation stuff with the HC
Serial Port Toolkit (for HyperCard). The "toolkit" was
basically an XCMD to control one/both the serial
ports. Does MetaCard or Rev have a similar XCMD to
control the serial ports of various computer hardware
(PC and Mac), while maintaining cross-platform
compatibility? If not the *serial* port, then perhaps
another port? (USB, for example). The point, of
course, is that with this XCMD (or whatever) we could
script automation applications.

> It was AWESOME.

Sounds like a b-l-a-s-t indeed!  :))

> It was also expensive.

It will still be expensive if and when it is
implemented as a coordinated set of MetaCard programs,
but at least the programming will be cheap, which is
not negligeable in these ambitious types of projects.
You still need the stations (cheaper these days), the
location, the robotic stuff, as well as all the
audiovisual material. Don't be discouraged by this,
however. Forge ahead!

> they used several Macintosh computers
> to monitor the progress of the teams.

It would be interesting to find out whether they were
using HyperCard for their scripting.  ;-)

> And those 4 people had to be on their toes,
> obviously, because the kids would do
> unpredictable things - mistakes they had
> not anticipated.

This is where AI might be helpful.

> It left a huge, lasting impression on me, because
> it was educational and it was extremely fun! It was 
> learning and playing and acting and just about the 
> coolest thing I'd ever seen as a teacher.

I am sure students of many ages might be thrilled with
such an extremely fun way to learn. :)

> I thought about how cool it would be to be able to
> put something like that together, but obviously it
> was too expensive.

Using an xCard makes every project seem do-able! ;-)

> Fast forward to now. For a couple of years
> I've thought about how cool it would be to
> write software that would do something
> similar to what MOSI had.

Do it!  :)

> On one level, it could be done
> purely as entertainment ...

Good way to get *funding*.  ;-)

> the server program would track the response time
> and decision making of each person and assign a
> score for that position.

Another area where AI might be helful : user modeling.

> The server program would throw in random elements
> like suddenly appearing hostile ships and whatnot.

Or just "random" in appearance, in order for the
teacher to spike the game towards situations where
learning will take place [optimally]. 

> This would be an OUTSTANDING project for some of
> our seniors to put together - writing the code,
> designing the stations, filming video to be
> triggered by the server program when ...

Are you in a position, as teacher, to locate and
create such apprenticeships? Can you put such a team
together?

> What could be more fun?

Especially for Trekkies!  :))

> OR I could see writing something more like the
> original MOSI simulator, and selling a "kit"
> with the software installers for Mac or Windows.
> That would make money but would not be as much fun.

Making money is important too. You choose what is best
for you. Personally, I'm inclined to release
EVERYTHING that I craft as open-source (LGPL),
resorting instead to contracts to earn my living as a
value-added consultant. The kicker: I'm increasingly
successful at persuading my clients to pay me for my
work but to release the results to the open-source
community; [strategic] wares and all. It is in their
best interest as well as everyone else's. Everyone
wins!  :))

> Anyway, Alain's post got me thinking of
> how the server software might operate...

Glad I could be of assistance
with your musings, Richard. :)

> I think everything I stated above could
> be done in MetaCard (or Revolution.)

Surely. Otherwise, we would not have posted these
posts to this list. One must always endeavour to be
relevant, and avoid being off-topic. Which is
precisely what were doing, so as is well.  :)

> Richard MacLemale
> Network Administrator
> J. W. Mitchell High School

Hummm ... we have many things in common : my projects
are for a school commission. They pay me for the work,
which I then release freely to the larger community. I
expect to release some new stuff in the near future,
so stay tuned y'all.  :))

Solidairement votre,
Alain

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