What was the AI's answer in the film: The God Question?












6















I just keep reading that the AI's answer "was unexpected" or "thought-provoking," or that the movie was "incomplete." As far as can be seen currently, no one has thought or gotten around to write a spoiler or wiki entry to save some people time.



Can someone save some of us the trouble of watching The God Question and exactly describe the AI's answer, along with any human reactions or responses to it?










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  • You can view it here. But I don't think you're going to like it.

    – Dan J
    Aug 6 '15 at 21:12






  • 1





    @Dan J ~ That's an excerpt from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What's its connection to the movie?

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 0:04











  • At a guess Evan, the down vote is for asking a question that could be answered by watching the film; it would fall under no effort behind question. Honestly, I hadn't ever heard of this film before this question, but we'll see if someone who has drops by.

    – Radhil
    Aug 7 '15 at 1:13











  • @Radhil ~ Another possibility is that I had put the title in quotes, a wrong punctuation, and double quotes at that... and around such a title.

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 13:20
















6















I just keep reading that the AI's answer "was unexpected" or "thought-provoking," or that the movie was "incomplete." As far as can be seen currently, no one has thought or gotten around to write a spoiler or wiki entry to save some people time.



Can someone save some of us the trouble of watching The God Question and exactly describe the AI's answer, along with any human reactions or responses to it?










share|improve this question

























  • You can view it here. But I don't think you're going to like it.

    – Dan J
    Aug 6 '15 at 21:12






  • 1





    @Dan J ~ That's an excerpt from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What's its connection to the movie?

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 0:04











  • At a guess Evan, the down vote is for asking a question that could be answered by watching the film; it would fall under no effort behind question. Honestly, I hadn't ever heard of this film before this question, but we'll see if someone who has drops by.

    – Radhil
    Aug 7 '15 at 1:13











  • @Radhil ~ Another possibility is that I had put the title in quotes, a wrong punctuation, and double quotes at that... and around such a title.

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 13:20














6












6








6


1






I just keep reading that the AI's answer "was unexpected" or "thought-provoking," or that the movie was "incomplete." As far as can be seen currently, no one has thought or gotten around to write a spoiler or wiki entry to save some people time.



Can someone save some of us the trouble of watching The God Question and exactly describe the AI's answer, along with any human reactions or responses to it?










share|improve this question
















I just keep reading that the AI's answer "was unexpected" or "thought-provoking," or that the movie was "incomplete." As far as can be seen currently, no one has thought or gotten around to write a spoiler or wiki entry to save some people time.



Can someone save some of us the trouble of watching The God Question and exactly describe the AI's answer, along with any human reactions or responses to it?







the-god-question






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













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share|improve this question








edited Jan 16 '16 at 2:59









DVK-on-Ahch-To

272k12412961857




272k12412961857










asked Aug 6 '15 at 18:57









EvanEEvanE

4116




4116













  • You can view it here. But I don't think you're going to like it.

    – Dan J
    Aug 6 '15 at 21:12






  • 1





    @Dan J ~ That's an excerpt from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What's its connection to the movie?

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 0:04











  • At a guess Evan, the down vote is for asking a question that could be answered by watching the film; it would fall under no effort behind question. Honestly, I hadn't ever heard of this film before this question, but we'll see if someone who has drops by.

    – Radhil
    Aug 7 '15 at 1:13











  • @Radhil ~ Another possibility is that I had put the title in quotes, a wrong punctuation, and double quotes at that... and around such a title.

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 13:20



















  • You can view it here. But I don't think you're going to like it.

    – Dan J
    Aug 6 '15 at 21:12






  • 1





    @Dan J ~ That's an excerpt from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What's its connection to the movie?

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 0:04











  • At a guess Evan, the down vote is for asking a question that could be answered by watching the film; it would fall under no effort behind question. Honestly, I hadn't ever heard of this film before this question, but we'll see if someone who has drops by.

    – Radhil
    Aug 7 '15 at 1:13











  • @Radhil ~ Another possibility is that I had put the title in quotes, a wrong punctuation, and double quotes at that... and around such a title.

    – EvanE
    Aug 7 '15 at 13:20

















You can view it here. But I don't think you're going to like it.

– Dan J
Aug 6 '15 at 21:12





You can view it here. But I don't think you're going to like it.

– Dan J
Aug 6 '15 at 21:12




1




1





@Dan J ~ That's an excerpt from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What's its connection to the movie?

– EvanE
Aug 7 '15 at 0:04





@Dan J ~ That's an excerpt from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What's its connection to the movie?

– EvanE
Aug 7 '15 at 0:04













At a guess Evan, the down vote is for asking a question that could be answered by watching the film; it would fall under no effort behind question. Honestly, I hadn't ever heard of this film before this question, but we'll see if someone who has drops by.

– Radhil
Aug 7 '15 at 1:13





At a guess Evan, the down vote is for asking a question that could be answered by watching the film; it would fall under no effort behind question. Honestly, I hadn't ever heard of this film before this question, but we'll see if someone who has drops by.

– Radhil
Aug 7 '15 at 1:13













@Radhil ~ Another possibility is that I had put the title in quotes, a wrong punctuation, and double quotes at that... and around such a title.

– EvanE
Aug 7 '15 at 13:20





@Radhil ~ Another possibility is that I had put the title in quotes, a wrong punctuation, and double quotes at that... and around such a title.

– EvanE
Aug 7 '15 at 13:20










2 Answers
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oldest

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7














[Spoilers below, including in the non-hidden parts]




The computer never answered the question. Instead it threw a question back at them that one of the PhD's had asked almost rhetorically earlier in the film: "How come we're asking a machine that's never felt a thing, never felt love, and pain, hunger, never felt faith or a gut instinct... why are we asking it a question about God? You know, honestly, why are we asking?"




There were no human responses to this answer; the film ends immediately.



Prior to this resolution, at each earlier attempt the computer would consider the question for several hours and then shut itself down, committing suicide in effect, rather than give an answer or allow humans to examine computer memory to deduce what its thoughts were on the question. The computer's responses during this time seemed a riff on Asimov's "The Evitable Conflict" where the Machines politely refuse to answer questions about their actions with "The matter admits of no explanation."




"Do you remember the Machine's own statement when you presented the problem to him? It was: 'The matter admits of no explanation.' The Machine did not say there was no explanation, or that it could determine no explanation. It simply was not going to admit any explanation. In other words, it would be harmful to humanity to have the explanation known, and that's why we can only guess - and keep on guessing."




Answering the question directly would somehow be harmful to humanity, so the computer chose ultimately not to answer. This result was deeply foreshadowed earlier in the film, and given how poorly the question was formulated, inevitable.






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    I have seen the film and I think IVAN's answer is that you should not be asking a supercomputer this question!





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      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

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      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

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      votes






      active

      oldest

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      7














      [Spoilers below, including in the non-hidden parts]




      The computer never answered the question. Instead it threw a question back at them that one of the PhD's had asked almost rhetorically earlier in the film: "How come we're asking a machine that's never felt a thing, never felt love, and pain, hunger, never felt faith or a gut instinct... why are we asking it a question about God? You know, honestly, why are we asking?"




      There were no human responses to this answer; the film ends immediately.



      Prior to this resolution, at each earlier attempt the computer would consider the question for several hours and then shut itself down, committing suicide in effect, rather than give an answer or allow humans to examine computer memory to deduce what its thoughts were on the question. The computer's responses during this time seemed a riff on Asimov's "The Evitable Conflict" where the Machines politely refuse to answer questions about their actions with "The matter admits of no explanation."




      "Do you remember the Machine's own statement when you presented the problem to him? It was: 'The matter admits of no explanation.' The Machine did not say there was no explanation, or that it could determine no explanation. It simply was not going to admit any explanation. In other words, it would be harmful to humanity to have the explanation known, and that's why we can only guess - and keep on guessing."




      Answering the question directly would somehow be harmful to humanity, so the computer chose ultimately not to answer. This result was deeply foreshadowed earlier in the film, and given how poorly the question was formulated, inevitable.






      share|improve this answer






























        7














        [Spoilers below, including in the non-hidden parts]




        The computer never answered the question. Instead it threw a question back at them that one of the PhD's had asked almost rhetorically earlier in the film: "How come we're asking a machine that's never felt a thing, never felt love, and pain, hunger, never felt faith or a gut instinct... why are we asking it a question about God? You know, honestly, why are we asking?"




        There were no human responses to this answer; the film ends immediately.



        Prior to this resolution, at each earlier attempt the computer would consider the question for several hours and then shut itself down, committing suicide in effect, rather than give an answer or allow humans to examine computer memory to deduce what its thoughts were on the question. The computer's responses during this time seemed a riff on Asimov's "The Evitable Conflict" where the Machines politely refuse to answer questions about their actions with "The matter admits of no explanation."




        "Do you remember the Machine's own statement when you presented the problem to him? It was: 'The matter admits of no explanation.' The Machine did not say there was no explanation, or that it could determine no explanation. It simply was not going to admit any explanation. In other words, it would be harmful to humanity to have the explanation known, and that's why we can only guess - and keep on guessing."




        Answering the question directly would somehow be harmful to humanity, so the computer chose ultimately not to answer. This result was deeply foreshadowed earlier in the film, and given how poorly the question was formulated, inevitable.






        share|improve this answer




























          7












          7








          7







          [Spoilers below, including in the non-hidden parts]




          The computer never answered the question. Instead it threw a question back at them that one of the PhD's had asked almost rhetorically earlier in the film: "How come we're asking a machine that's never felt a thing, never felt love, and pain, hunger, never felt faith or a gut instinct... why are we asking it a question about God? You know, honestly, why are we asking?"




          There were no human responses to this answer; the film ends immediately.



          Prior to this resolution, at each earlier attempt the computer would consider the question for several hours and then shut itself down, committing suicide in effect, rather than give an answer or allow humans to examine computer memory to deduce what its thoughts were on the question. The computer's responses during this time seemed a riff on Asimov's "The Evitable Conflict" where the Machines politely refuse to answer questions about their actions with "The matter admits of no explanation."




          "Do you remember the Machine's own statement when you presented the problem to him? It was: 'The matter admits of no explanation.' The Machine did not say there was no explanation, or that it could determine no explanation. It simply was not going to admit any explanation. In other words, it would be harmful to humanity to have the explanation known, and that's why we can only guess - and keep on guessing."




          Answering the question directly would somehow be harmful to humanity, so the computer chose ultimately not to answer. This result was deeply foreshadowed earlier in the film, and given how poorly the question was formulated, inevitable.






          share|improve this answer















          [Spoilers below, including in the non-hidden parts]




          The computer never answered the question. Instead it threw a question back at them that one of the PhD's had asked almost rhetorically earlier in the film: "How come we're asking a machine that's never felt a thing, never felt love, and pain, hunger, never felt faith or a gut instinct... why are we asking it a question about God? You know, honestly, why are we asking?"




          There were no human responses to this answer; the film ends immediately.



          Prior to this resolution, at each earlier attempt the computer would consider the question for several hours and then shut itself down, committing suicide in effect, rather than give an answer or allow humans to examine computer memory to deduce what its thoughts were on the question. The computer's responses during this time seemed a riff on Asimov's "The Evitable Conflict" where the Machines politely refuse to answer questions about their actions with "The matter admits of no explanation."




          "Do you remember the Machine's own statement when you presented the problem to him? It was: 'The matter admits of no explanation.' The Machine did not say there was no explanation, or that it could determine no explanation. It simply was not going to admit any explanation. In other words, it would be harmful to humanity to have the explanation known, and that's why we can only guess - and keep on guessing."




          Answering the question directly would somehow be harmful to humanity, so the computer chose ultimately not to answer. This result was deeply foreshadowed earlier in the film, and given how poorly the question was formulated, inevitable.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Aug 11 '15 at 15:40

























          answered Aug 10 '15 at 1:47









          Kyle JonesKyle Jones

          46.3k11141222




          46.3k11141222

























              0














              I have seen the film and I think IVAN's answer is that you should not be asking a supercomputer this question!





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              Ivan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                I have seen the film and I think IVAN's answer is that you should not be asking a supercomputer this question!





                share








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                Ivan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                  I have seen the film and I think IVAN's answer is that you should not be asking a supercomputer this question!





                  share








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                  Ivan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                  I have seen the film and I think IVAN's answer is that you should not be asking a supercomputer this question!






                  share








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                  Ivan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                  answered 4 mins ago









                  IvanIvan

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                  New contributor





                  Ivan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                  Ivan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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