Lithuanian Internet Godfather: Lithuanian Brain Is “Hard” So It Needs To Be Nurtured

As prof. AL Telksnys: You did not choose the path of a scientist. “I was very curious all the time. He was interested in all kinds of things. Also, I’m a post-war kid. Wars have passed and many different technical means have remained: from weapons to other things. And he was all interested in them. For example, he had all possible Russian and German pistol ammunition, he knew how to detonate bombs.

Even my craving for electrical engineering started with something so interesting. When the Soviets fled Lithuania in 1941, supporters in the town of Saldutiškis set themselves the goal of not allowing running soldiers to terrorize the Lithuanian population. But a soldier’s car arrived at the school. The partisans attacked them and the Russians fled and left that car. Turns out that machine was a very modern communication hub at the time and my friend and I completely dismantled that machine in a couple of weeks. He was 10 years old at the time. Nobody was specifically attracted to science, but curiosity, it seems to me, made my head spin ”, says the scientist, who has already celebrated his 90th birthday.

Internet in three months

One of the most famous works of the professor is the “creation” of the Internet in Lithuania. Remember that it was only possible to do it in three months. “And now, in 30 years, we have not built a stadium in Vilnius, which we love. I always show the stadium construction as an example of how not to do serious work,” laughs the scientist.

It is reminiscent of the history of the Internet in Lithuania. “It just came to our knowledge then. Lithuania escaped Soviet occupation, but was still occupied. All communications went through Moscow and what the Seimas members, members of the Government and everyone else said, Moscow 100 percent. Revised. As you know, there is an expression: whoever has information controls the situation. The question arose of how to avoid this oppression of Lithuania through contacts, “says Prof. AL Telksnys.

At that time, according to the researcher, there was active communication with the Scandinavians and they saw how difficult the situation of the Lithuanians was. “When they saw this situation, there was an international conference somewhere in Denmark at the end of June. And they, knowing that they would not be admitted to the so-called capitalist countries, went through Moscow themselves to get a visa. I went to that conference and there we discussed the ways we could have a computer connection in Lithuania.

We started talking at the end of June and by October 10, the internet was up and running. The Scandinavians helped us. Lithuania had no money, so they bought us a satellite channel, rented a satellite, donated computers that would guarantee the most modern connection, and took us to Lithuania with all kinds of adventures. Do I like or dislike the name “godfather”? Well, this is also the godfather of the mafia ”, laughs the scientist and adds that the point is not in the name, but in the speed of implementation.

In the future, computers will be injected into blood vessels.

Speaking of technology, the professor says that change has accelerated and will accelerate, and technological devices have shrunk and will shrink. “When I started working as a designer, computers only had radio lamps. The current mobile phone contains several hundred thousand analogs of radio lamps. Around 1960, the calculating machine fitted into the room because there were several thousand radio lamps. They needed a powerful team to feed them. The mobile phone he has now occupied a large room. It was the 1960s here.

If we look ahead, these things will decrease even more. There will no longer be microchips, but nanochips. In 10 to 30 years, there will be computers that can be placed in our blood vessels. Computers will clean up all sorts of “junk” that causes sclerosis as it travels around blood vessels, and if the wires in the brain “break any wires,” they’ll fix it, “predicts the professor.

5G and artificial intelligence

Currently, one of the latest technologies to be implemented in Lithuania is the 5G connection. “5G is a data transmission medium that will transmit what you are now transmitting about 100 times faster. And that is. 5G is nothing new. Just as you have 4G, then it will be 6G, 7G.

And who needs 5G? With 5G per second you can download the movie. Smart cars, drones, they need a good connection. If a driver, seeing who was on the road, could react in just one second, he could run over a man or cross a ditch and be quiet during that time. A person responds to information provided by sound, image or touch within a tenth of a second. 5G will allow smart cars to communicate well with each other and drive as needed. The drones will be able to fly without colliding with each other and without breaking our windows ”, explains prof. AL Telksnys.

When asked if what we have now is artificial intelligence or just a well-trained algorithm, the professor jokes that artificial intelligence is run by those who lack intelligence. Laughing, he adds that he himself took a little care of artificial intelligence. “What is intelligence at all? It is the human mind, wisdom, wisdom, cognitive and reasoning talents. Knowing this, you can tell what artificial intelligence is. It is the mind, wisdom, wisdom, cognition and reasoning skills transferred to the computer medium, the robot medium. It is the same in the human mind, only it is transferred to the computer medium.

But I would like to point out one thing about concepts. There is information and knowledge. Is not the same. Information is what is outside our brain, the body. This can be written or written. And knowledge are the phenomena that exist in the human mind ”, explains prof. AL Telksnys.

He adds that the same information in each of our minds becomes different knowledge, because the information in our minds is different. “When it comes to artificial intelligence, computers, unfortunately, do not have brains like humans. The computer can calculate quickly, aim well, etc., but it does not solve some tasks. Because we do not know how that knowledge is processed in the mind. Information is used differently in each mind ”, explains the interlocutor.

According to him, Lithuanians do not have oil, gold or diamonds, but we have brains. “And Lithuanians’ brains are tough. They just need to be nurtured. Lithuanians want to say ‘mush’ in their minds,” says the professor.

Skilled workers are needed

The interlocutor notices that now the children spend time in front of the screens and are reprimanded for it. And although prof. AL Telksnys agrees that spending days in front of the computer is not good, which, according to him, is still a form of curiosity. “When we complain that children are not good. And what do we, as adults, do to improve them? Children are extremely interested in robots. They don’t need them to learn robotics, they just need help. We have to make sure that lazy children, interested in a certain branch of technology, robots, can play with them without realizing it and begin to improve their grades ”, advises the researcher.

The professor does not skimp on criticizing the current situation, which, according to him, lacks qualified personnel. Here you see the flaw that parents are more concerned about their children having a diploma. “And what they pay, nobody knows. They will definitely not be needed in the future.”

The professor remembers the need not only for graduates, but also for those who know how to fix something. “Now parents want their children to have a higher education, no matter what degree they have received. After all, now everyone is studying management. Management is a very delicate and high-level science, but for someone who has no capacity, it is just a cover-up. And you need teachers who acquire certain skills. Now a lot of people can’t fix a computer either. Even the plumbing things cannot be fixed. And here supposedly secondary. No way. These people may be necessary for training. We need highly qualified workers ”, says prof. AL Telknys.