My "related" past threads fu is failing me just now but I know there have been threads with this theme in the past, including the video with the dad carrying out his kids' literal instructions in a cute but also borderline uncomfortable way.
Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
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Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#22My "related" past threads fu is failing me just now but I know there have been threads with this theme in the past, including the video with the dad carrying out his kids' literal instructions in a cute but also borderline uncomfortable way.
PB&J AI (3 points, 1 year ago, 2 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42222009
Dad Annoys the Heck Out of His Kids by Making PB&Js Based on Their Instructions (2017) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13688715 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41599917
& infamous: sudo make me a sandwich (2009) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=530000
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#23It’s kind of interesting relating this to LLMs. A chef in a kitchen you can just say you want PB&J. With a robot, does it know where things are, once it knows that, does it know how to retrieve them, open and close them. It’s always a mystery what you get back from an LLM.
Also true of specifications. Anything not explicitly stated will be decided by the implementer, maybe to your liking or maybe not.
I'm reminded of wish-granting genies, and then of 'undefined behavior' and compilers...
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#24i once had this "make a PB&J" as part of a written take-home interview. i knew the schtick -- no matter how precise and complete you are, there is always the possibility for another little gotcha. and that makes it absolute rubbish for a take home because... how much detail do i need to go into to satisfy the manager reviewing this? i think i wrote a couple paragraphs and ended with a little rant about how i know how…
> how much detail do i need to go into to satisfy the manager reviewing this?
it would've been fun to troll by writing the instructions on exactly which muscle to contract and extend for X seconds, and moving in an arc of Y minutes.
It'd be like writing assembly code for your skeleton and muscles'.
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#25It’s kind of interesting relating this to LLMs. A chef in a kitchen you can just say you want PB&J. With a robot, does it know where things are, once it knows that, does it know how to retrieve them, open and close them. It’s always a mystery what you get back from an LLM.
Also true of specifications. Anything not explicitly stated will be decided by the implementer, maybe to your liking or maybe not.
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Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#26In the early 1980s I read an Usbourne (sp?) introduction to programming book for kids that had a picture of a robot walking through a brick wall while following its programming to ‘take a letter to the letterbox’.
At this rate, it looks like we’ll solve that problem by not having letters/letterboxes.
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#27Demonstrations like this are a regular feature of the Japanese educational TV show "Texico", which teaches logical thinking with the specific goal of preparing young children for programming. I highly recommend it. It's extremely well made, and quite entertaining even for adults. It's available in English, 10 minutes per episode, no subscription required: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/texico/
Please submit this link to Texico. I think it deserves a broader audience.
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#28This feel diluted compared to what it could have been. Would be better if you had a bunch of instructions and could drag them into sequence at each screen.
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#29This feel diluted compared to what it could have been. Would be better if you had a bunch of instructions and could drag them into sequence at each screen.
It's great marketing! But yes. He considers it an error to specify "Use the same knife for the jelly" even though it's considered correct to state "Wipe the knife clean before using it for jelly". The latter statement implies the former, and if you follow all the instructions both are not wrong.
I also consider some of the instructions to be under specified. For example, a piece of bread could be said to have 6 sides, but only 2 of those are helpful for making a sandwich.
Re: Can you instruct a robot to make a PBJ sandwich?
#30In the early 1980s I read an Usbourne (sp?) introduction to programming book for kids that had a picture of a robot walking through a brick wall while following its programming to ‘take a letter to the letterbox’. At this rate, it looks like we’ll solve that problem by not having letters/letterboxes.
Usborne. Here it is, page 8.
https://archive.org/details/computer-programming/page/n7/mod...