Introduction
This essay is about the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and it will delve deep into the question of the many philosophical implications of AI. In this paper, I will argue that a machine being able to think and the possibility of an emerging post human future due to the hypothetical invention of AI has philosophical implications for the future of humanity. The intersection of strong and weak AI with human consciousness is also explored through the examples of IBM’s AI systems such as Watson and Deep Blue. Overall, the aim of this essay is to examine the philosophical implications of the emerging post human future.
Before launching into the full-fledged discussion, it would be in the fitness of things to clarify the position taken in this paper. That is to do with the central requirement that unless we understand the mind and cognitive abilities of the brain better and in a conclusive manner, we must not rush into creating machine clones of ourselves. Just as the first cloned animal, Dolly the Sheep, evoked furious debate over the future of genetics and our trans-evolution, the issue of whether machines would ever think like humans is bound to be equally heated (Akman & Blackburn, 2000, 394).
This means that we should clarify our positions on the various themes that are discussed in this paper and it is hoped that the arguments made for and against machine intelligence here are useful pointers to the potential of a coming age of “trans-evolution”. Moreover, as we shall discuss later, even from a technological perspective, we are yet to advance to the stage when we can make machines as intelligent as humans. Note that this does not mean having a computing power and storage greater than the human brain bu...
... middle of paper ...
...1 (1), pp. 43--54.
Hauser, L. (1993). Reaping the whirlwind: Reply to Harnad's “Other bodies, other minds”. Minds and Machines, 3 (2), pp. 219--237.
Kurzweil, R. (2012). The Singularity is near. New York: Bantam Books.
Mays, W. (1952). Can machines think? Philosophy, 27 (101), pp. 148--162.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (2014). Human champs of 'Jeopardy!' vs. Watson the IBM computer: a close match. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/technology/human-champs-of-jeopardy-vs-watson-the-ibm-computer-a-close-match-284466/ [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].
Searle, J. R. (1986). Minds, Brains and programs. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Steels, L. (1993). The artificial life roots of artificial intelligence. Artificial Life, 1 (1_2), pp. 75--110.
Turing, A. M. & Copeland, B. J. (2004). The essential Turing. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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 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.
Kurzweil, Ray. "Reinventing Humanity: the Future of Machine-human Intelligence." The Futurist 1 Mar. 2006. Print.
"Once the first powerful machine, with an intelligence similar to that of a human, is switched on, we will most likely not get the opportunity to switch it back off again. " Although Asimov provided us with 'rules' for robots, this quote embodies the unspoken fear of AI. Once we create a being that cannot be defined as wholly biological or mechanical, how will we determine ...
One of the hottest topics that modern science has been focusing on for a long time is the field of artificial intelligence, the study of intelligence in machines or, according to Minsky, “the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men”.(qtd in Copeland 1). Artificial Intelligence has a lot of applications and is used in many areas. “We often don’t notice it but AI is all around us. It is present in computer games, in the cruise control in our cars and the servers that route our email.” (BBC 1). Different goals have been set for the science of Artificial Intelligence, but according to Whitby the most mentioned idea about the goal of AI is provided by the Turing Test. This test is also called the imitation game, since it is basically a game in which a computer imitates a conversating human. In an analysis of the Turing Test I will focus on its features, its historical background and the evaluation of its validity and importance.
... in 21th century, and it might already dominate humans’ life. Jastrow predicted computer will be part of human society in the future, and Levy’s real life examples matched Jastrow’s prediction. The computer intelligence that Jastrow mentioned was about imitated human brain and reasoning mechanism. However, according to Levy, computer intelligence nowadays is about developing AI’s own reasoning pattern and handling complicated task from data sets and algorithms, which is nothing like human. From Levy’s view on today’s version of AI technology, Jastrow’s prediction about AI evolution is not going to happen. As computer intelligence does not aim to recreate a human brain, the whole idea of computer substitutes human does not exist. Also, Levy said it is irrelevant to fear AI may control human, as people in today’s society cannot live without computer intelligence.
Artificial intelligence folklore has been traced back to the times of Ancient Egypt. But the "birth of artificial intelligence" as some would call it, was in 1956 at the Dartmouth conference. The conference was based on two theories, the principle of feedback theory and the Logic Theorist. The principle of feedback theory was observed by Norbert Wiener. He theorized that all intelligent behavior was the result of a feedback mechanism. An example would be a temperature control system that simply checks the temperature of the room, compares the reading to the desired temperature, and adjusts the flow of heat to bring the room to the desired temperature. Then in 1955, Newell and Simon developed The Logic Theorist. The Logic Theorist was a program that represented every problem as a tree. The program would attempt to solve a problem by selecting the branch that would most likely result in the correct solution. Then in 1956, John McCarthy1 organized the Dartmouth Conference to draw interest and talent to the field of artificial intelligence.2
Since antiquity the human mind has been intrigued by artificial intelligence hence, such rapid growth of computer science has raised many issues concerning the isolation of the human mind.
"The human aspiration to create intelligent machines has appeared in myth and literature for thousands of years, from stories of Pygmalion to the tales of the Jewish Golem." Anat Treister-Goren, Ph.D. (http://www.a-i.com/)
The “human sense of self control and purposefulness, is a user illusion,” therefore, if computational systems are comparable to human consciousness, it raises the questions of whether such artificial systems should be treated as humans. (261) Such programs are even capable of learning like children, with time and experience; the programs “[get] better at their jobs with experience,” however, many can argue the difference is self-awareness and that there are many organisms that can conduct such complex behavior but have no sense of identity.
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.
Crevier, D. (1999). AI: The tumultuous history of the search for Artificial Intelligence. Basic Books: New York.
To begin, the main issue of development of Artificial Intelligence is the economic factors. Firstly, one of the main negative effects of AI on economy is unemployment. According to the suggesting of Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne of Oxford University during next 20 years 47 per cent of all USA jobs under the threat and will be replaced with intelligence machines (Vincent). If jobs will be automated, people will lose their workplaces and it is becomes one of the harmful problems not only for economy, but also for society. Because, if people will not have a workplace, they will not be able to provide their needs. Furthermore, development of AI can be a reason of increasing inequality of wages. For instance, the salaries of computer workers approximately earn 10 to 15 percent more than others. (Frey and Osborne). It is also one of the economic problems because it can lead to discontent of workers who hav...
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.
Artificial Intelligence is the scientific theory to advance the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines. This is going to hold the key in the future. It has always fa...