March 2012 - Vol. 55 No. 3

March 2012 issue cover image

Features

Opinion

What Is an Algorithm?

The 14th International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, held last July, included a special symposium on the subject of "What is an algorithm?" This may seem to be a strange question to ask just before the Turing Centenary Year. Didn't Turing answer this question decisively?
Opinion Letters to the editor

From Syntax to Semantics For AI

Concerning Moshe Y. Vardi's Editor's Letter "Artificial Intelligence: Past and Future" (Jan. 2012), I'd like to add that AI won't replace human reasoning in the near future for reasons apparent from examining the context, or "meta," of AI.
Research and Advances Research highlights

A Taste of Capsicum: Practical Capabilities For Unix

Capsicum is a lightweight operating system capability and sandbox framework planned for inclusion in FreeBSD 9. Capsicum extends, rather than replaces, UNIX APIs, providing new kernel primitives and a userspace sandbox API. These tools support decomposition of monolithic UNIX applications into compartmentalized logical applications.
Research and Advances Research highlights

The Grand Challenge of Computer Go: Monte Carlo Tree Search and Extensions

The ancient oriental game of Go has long been considered a grand challenge for artificial intelligence. However, computer Go programs based on Monte-Carlo tree search now play at human-master levels and are beginning to challenge top professional players.

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