#221 – Douglas Lenat: Cyc and the Quest to Solve Common Sense Reasoning in AI

Douglas Lenat is the founder of Cyc, a 37 year project aiming to solve common-sense knowledge and reasoning in AI. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Squarespace: https://lexfridman.com/squarespace and use code LEX to get 10% off - BiOptimizers: http://www.magbreakthrough.com/lex to get 10% off - Stamps.com: https://stamps.com and use code LEX to get free postage & scale - LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack - ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free EPISODE LINKS: Douglas's Twitter: https://twitter.com/cycorpai Cyc's Website: https://cyc.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (07:39) - What is Cyc? (15:45) - How to form a knowledge base of the universe (26:11) - How to train an AI knowledge base (30:32) - Global consistency versus local consistency (54:53) - Automated reasoning (1:00:33) - Direct uses of AI and machine learning (1:13:11) - The semantic web (1:23:44) - Tools to help Cyc interpret data (1:32:54) - The most beautiful idea about Cyc (1:38:53) - Love and consciousness in AI (1:45:52) - The greatness of Marvin Minsky (1:50:46) - Is Cyc just a beautiful dream? (1:55:31) - What is OpenCyc and how was it born? (2:01:21) - The open source community and OpenCyc (2:11:48) - The inference problem (2:13:31) - Cyc's programming language (2:21:05) - Ontological engineering (2:28:30) - Do machines think? (2:37:15) - Death and consciousness (2:47:16) - What would you say to AI? (2:51:52) - Advice to young people (2:53:48) - Mortality