(09-03-2024, 04:35 PM)jagibelieve Wrote:

(09-03-2024, 12:08 PM)mikesez Wrote: Another way to say the same thing is that the machine would have to be able to generate a random or unpredictable output. This is impossible. There is no such thing as computer hardware and software that generates random numbers.

Once again as usual you are wrong.  Google /dev/random as it relates to Unix/Linux.  Entropy is generated by mouse movements and/or keystrokes and timings of keystrokes as an example.  It also might be generated by network traffic over an attached network interface.  It might also be created by the amount of time it takes to load, initialize and start up a driver.  None of these things happen precisely the same every time a computer is booted, therefor it is random and unpredictable.  All of this goes into a "pool" of entropy.

The OS generates random bytes from this pool of entropy.  In simple terms rather than "geek speak" a random byte is a random number.

The first two of those sources of entropy you described are from human input, so neither of those disproves my point.  The third one, if true, could disprove my point.  I don't understand why the same hardware with the same operating system might take different amounts of time to load the same driver.  But OK.  Maybe you're right.

But in the context of AI, could that type of entropy become the basis for a machine to make irrational decisions? I suspect not. Anyhow, I suspect if it was attempted, human controllers would find ways to manipulate that loading time for their own purposes, and it wouldn't be random anymore.

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