The Plausibility of Artificial Intelligence
Can mankind create intelligence? Can the dream of artificial intelligence ever be realized? Is it possible to formulate intelligence out of inorganic matter? In this paper, I intend to show that artificial intelligence is indeed attainable, that it is within the capacity of human intelligence to fashion intelligence out of non-living materials.
Let me begin with one of the major theories concerning the philosophy of artificial intelligence: The Church-Turing thesis. The Church-Turing thesis is the brainchild of Alan Turing and Alonzo Church. It concerns the concepts of “effective” and “mechanical” in logic and mathematics. Both Turing and Church reached the hypothesis independently and in different forms. But both forms confront similar issues and the general form is known as the ‘Church-Turing thesis’. In general, the thesis asserts that a machine can execute all processes that are ‘mechanical’[1]. Clearly, there is some ambiguity in this statement. What is meant by mechanical? What is meant by machine?
‘Mechanical’ (or ‘effective’ as Turing sometimes uses) is used in a very strict sense. A process that is mechanical must satisfy the following four properties. First, it must be set out in terms of a finite number of exact instructions. Each instruction must in turn contain a finite number of symbols. Second, if carried out properly, it must produce the desired result in a finite number of steps (a finite amount of time). Third, in practice or in principle, it must be able to be carried out by a human being unaided by any machinery (except paper, pencil, etc.). And finally, it must not demand any insight or ingenuity on the part of the human bei...
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[4] P. Millican and A. Clark, ed. The Legacy of Alan Turing
[5] Herken, Rolf, ed. The Universal Turing Machine: a half-century survey
[6] P. Millican and A. Clark, ed. The Legacy of Alan Turing
[7] Hofstadter, Douglas. Godel, Escher, Bach: and eternal golden braid. (pg 561)
[8] see Hofstadter (pg. 18, 438, 561, 738-739)
[9] Hofstadter (pg. 561)
[10] Garson, James. “Connectionism” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 19 Aug. 2002.
< http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connectionism/> (visited 06 Dec. 2002)
[11] Garson, James. “Connectionism” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
[12] Srinivasa Rao, K. Srinivasa Ramanujan : a mathematical (East West Books, c1998)
[13] Miller, Leon K., Musical savants : exceptional skill in the mentally retarded. (Hillsdale, N.J : L. Erlbaum, 1989.)
Andy Clark strongly argues for the theory that computers have the potential for being intelligent beings in his work “Mindware: Meat Machines.” The support Clark uses to defend his claims states the similar comparison of humans and machines using an array of symbols to perform functions. The main argument of his work can be interpreted as follows:
The reason I believe that the Turing test is a great test is because it not only difficult, but it allows the interrogator to think, and that is what I believe Turing looks for his test, the state of logical thought. This would prove that the machine or anything can basically think and feel. For example, If I were to be the interrogator and asked “Are you a woman?” and they both answered me “I am” I would be mentally disturbed and would have to ask new questions to find my answer, but the main point here was the fact I was mentally disturbed and that leads to emotion, which leads that if I were to figure out who was who, I would pass the test and I would have evidence that I can undoubtedly
The official foundations for "artificial intelligence" were set forth by A. M. Turing, in his 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" wherein he also coined the term and made predictions about the field. He claimed that by 1960, a computer would be able to formulate and prove complex mathematical theorems, write music and poetry, become world chess champion, and pass his test of artificial intelligences. In his test, a computer is required to carry on a compelling conversation with humans, fooling them into believing they are speaking with another human. All of his predictions require a computer to think and reason in the same manner as a human. Despite 50 years of effort, only the chess championship has come true. By refocusing artificial intelligence research to a more humanlike, cognitive model, the field will create machines that are truly intelligent, capable of meet Turing's goals. Currently, the only "intelligent" programs and computers are not really intelligent at all, but rather they are clever applications of different algorithms lacking expandability and versatility. The human intellect has only been used in limited ways in the artificial intelligence field, however it is the ideal model upon which to base research. Concentrating research on a more cognitive model will allow the artificial intelligence (AI) field to create more intelligent entities and ultimately, once appropriate hardware exists, a true AI.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Mankato, MN : The Creative Company, 2008. Print.
Leibniz does occasionally draw the distinction in terms of structural complexity, claiming that natural machines, since they were built by God, are infinitely more complex than the machines that we make. This might appear to undermine my claim that Leibniz's distinction cannot (unlike similar distinctions drawn by his contemporaries) be understood simply in terms of varying degrees of structural complexity. However, I shall contend that his formulation of the distinction in terms of structural complexity presupposes a more basic difference between natural and artificial machines, a difference that can only be adequately characterized within his metaphysics.
Wilson, K. Ruch,G. Lymbery, M. and Cooper, A. (2011). Social Work: An introduction to contemporary practice. 2nd ed. Essex: Pearson Longman.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Online Literature. Jalic Inc., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: The Modern Library 1992
Century Interpretations of Poe’s Tales. Ed. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971.
Wilson, K. Ruch, G. Lymbery, M. & Cooper, A (2008) Social Work an Introduction to Contemporary Practice; Essex: Pearson.
This essay will identify key issues facing the client system and will demonstrate an intervention plan. Followed by defining the purpose of social work and the identification of the AASW Code of Ethics, in regards to the case study. Lastly, key bodies of knowledge will be identified and applied to the case study.
Architecture, the practice of building design and its resulting products, customary usage refers only to those designs and structures that are culturally significant. Today the architecture must satisfy its intended uses, must be technically sound, and must convey beautiful meaning. But the best buildings are often so well constructed that they outlast their original use. They then survive not only as beautiful objects, but as documents of history of cultures, achievements in architecture that testify to the nature of the society that produced them. These achievements are never wholly the work of individuals. Architecture is a social art, yet Frank Lloyd Wright single handily changed the history of architecture. How did Frank Lloyd Wright change architecture?
The traditional notion that seeks to compare human minds, with all its intricacies and biochemical functions, to that of artificially programmed digital computers, is self-defeating and it should be discredited in dialogs regarding the theory of artificial intelligence. This traditional notion is akin to comparing, in crude terms, cars and aeroplanes or ice cream and cream cheese. Human mental states are caused by various behaviours of elements in the brain, and these behaviours in are adjudged by the biochemical composition of our brains, which are responsible for our thoughts and functions. When we discuss mental states of systems it is important to distinguish between human brains and that of any natural or artificial organisms which is said to have central processing systems (i.e. brains of chimpanzees, microchips etc.). Although various similarities may exist between those systems in terms of functions and behaviourism, the intrinsic intentionality within those systems differ extensively. Although it may not be possible to prove that whether or not mental states exist at all in systems other than our own, in this paper I will strive to present arguments that a machine that computes and responds to inputs does indeed have a state of mind, but one that does not necessarily result in a form of mentality. This paper will discuss how the states and intentionality of digital computers are different from the states of human brains and yet they are indeed states of a mind resulting from various functions in their central processing systems.
Frye, Steven. Critical Insights: The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2010. Print.
From the first imaginative thought to manipulate nature to the development of complex astronomical concepts of space exploration, man continues to this day to innovate and invent products or methods that improve and enhance humankind. Though it has taken 150 million years to reach the present day, the intellectual journey was not gradual in a linear sense. If one were to plot significant events occurring throughout human existence, Mankind’s ability to construct new ideas follows a logarithmic path, and is rapidly approaching an asymptote, or technological singularity. This singularity event has scientists both supporting and rejecting the concept of an imaginative plateau; the largest topic discussed is Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). When this technological singularity is reached, it is hypothesized that man’s greatest creation, an artificial sapient being, will supersede human brain capacity.