Research Interests
My research is mainly in applying statistical and other AI tools to linguisticsCV
I am interested in work that mixes data with common sense. Generally I have found marketing is the most receptive to the idea that exploring data should drive decisions and am currently working for Loyalty (Fly Buys).Debian
These pages provide my Debian packages not distributed elsewhereLinux
I have been involved with linux for a long time, principally as a user but also as a developer.Programming
I have worked on a number of projects over the years. This page contains links to my code as well as some of my opinions on programming.Personal
Some stuff about meCooking
For a long time I have enjoyed cooking, perhaps because it has almost nothing to do with computing.Go
Go is an ancient Asian board game that I enjoy playing. This page includes some of the games I have played and some of my thoughts on the game.Contact
Phone: +6421 467784Email: lakeland@acm.org
Postal: 21 Harbourview Road, Harbour View, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
Corrin Lakeland's homepage
Doesn't it seem strange that computers are taught language using abstract concepts such as prepositional phrases when humans are taught using words? That when we are trying to decide what dishwasher to buy, the computer cannot tell us which would be best based on the experiences of previous customers? That despite the advances in computer power, programming has hardly changed in the last fifteen years? Linux is proving more reliable than windows because it is not developed by a monolithic company, and yet most people buy the version of linux distributed by a monolithic company! And finally, that a skilled five year old is better at the board game Go than the best computer, despite decades of research.
I'm a programmer in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and in this site I'll look at some of the AI problems that interest me, and I will discuss what I think should be done about them. There is little cohesion between the different topics on this site except that they all interest me. Broadly speaking, my research is in careful representing problems so that the computer can solve it for itself. If language is presented in carefully selected chunks then I believe a computer program can gradually learn the underlying structure. That if the right algorithm is shown the purchasing decisions of thousands of shoppers then it can reliably tell us what we would like to buy, without having to know anything else about the products.
My interest in Linux and programming is simply because they are the tools of my trade. It is debatable whether Linux is a better operating system for users, but it is undeniable that it is a much easier operating system to program for. I contribute back to Linux because it has saved more hours than I can count, and so I consider my contributions as payment. Unlike many programmers before me, I haven't invented my own programming language, partially because I think a necessary component of a good programming language is a large and vibrant community,
So what specifically do I believe we should be doing differently? Principally, I think we should be paying more attention to some of the brilliant algorithms being developed inside the data mining community, and being much more creative about other fields where they can be applied. For instance, we have developed some amazing algorithms for spam detection, and yet emails to technical support at companies are processed by a human or by simple keyword matching. Why? We went past keyword matching in spam detections several generations ago! Along a similar line of reasoning, the ability of statistical parsers to disambiguate sentences is really quite spectacular; the standard of the voice recognition in the top systems is also spectacular, yet for some reason they do not use a statistical parser to help with their disambiguation; and yet, when we ring up the bank, we don't get the computer saying "How can I help you today?" but instead "Press 1 to withdraw money". Why? The technology is there already, but it isn't used outside research labs.
I guess what it comes down to is that I'm a tools person, and I like solving other people's problems. I'm not that interested in designing new algorithms in Artificial Intelligence (though I never turn down a new tool). I think we already have the tools we need to assist in many day-to-day problems, and yet the solutions that currently have are mediocre at best. I think this is because the people writing systems such as the bank's do not have the tools at their fingertips and are not yet forced through competition to get the tools. I think it is time that more ordinary companies, government departments, and people started using the best tools available.