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Artificial intelligence (AI) could be described as a technology
of complex information processing problems that have as their basis
some aspects of biological information-processing (Marr, 1981).
The notion of AI was conceived in 1950 when English mathematician
Alan Turing wrote a paper known as "The Turing Test".
Turing proposed that if you cannot perceive the difference between
the responses of a computer and a human being then you have no basis
for believing that they are different. From this thesis, Turing
says, you must decide that computers and humans are the same.
Jaron Lanier (1996) pointed out that the Turing test, in his opinion,
had one basic flaw. If a computer and a person become indistinguishable,
that may mean that the computer has become smart and human-like.
However, another interpretation may be that if people believe in
the ideas and abstractions of computers too much, then they may
have a tendency to reduce themselves to support that illusion. The
flaw could be that people may possibly become stupid and computer-like.
Lanier is a strong promoter of primary humanism and he questions
whether or not we should think of computers as things that exist
in their own right or whether they are simply conduits between us.
Lanier believes that computers should only exist subject to human
interpretation.
The scenario of artificially intelligent machines that will be
able to do our work for us could be just thirty years away if we
base our predictions on the past rates at which computer technology
has increased (Moravec, 2000). But will the human species be able
to survive an encounter with a superior perhaps robotic species?
The first dream of robotics is that machines can do our work for
us allowing us to live utopian lives of leisure. Dyson (1997) warns
us that; "In the game of life there are three players at the
table: human beings, nature and machines. I am firmly on the side
of nature. But nature, I suspect is on the side of the machines".
The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss artificial intelligence
research and whether it could be a misguided direction for computer
technology.
Moravec bases his prediction on the growth of computer technology
partly on the fact that for forty years the power of transistor
based computing has been growing exponentially in accordance with
Moore's Law which states that the number of transistors that can
be packed on a chip doubles every 18 months. Scientists say that
by the year 2020, with transistor features just a few atoms thick,
that Moore's law will have run its course and silicon chips will
have reached their physical limits (Kurzweil, 1999). However, new
technology in the form of 'Carbon Nanotube Transistors' which can
be used to create transistors 500 times smaller than silicon equivalents
could well mean that Moravec's predicted timing could eventuate
sooner than expected (1).
Kurzweil (1999, p.2) makes the bold statement that before this
current century is over humans will no longer be the most intelligent
life form on the planet. However, Kurzweil clarifies his statement
when he says that the above will depend on how "human"
is defined and that the primary political and philosophical issue
of the next century could well be the definition of who we are.
Kurzweil warns that the progression of computer intelligence will
sneak up on humans and cites the example of Gary Kasparov's confidence
in 1990 that a computer would never defeat him at chess, but by
1997 Kasparov was defeated easily by a computer.
Technology holds untold promises of near immortality and the treatments
and possibly cures for most diseases that could improve the quality
of life. Yet each of these small technologies leads to an accumulation
of great power and concurrently great danger. That great danger
could be foreshadowed in the out of control replication of computer
viruses that is being seen today. At worst a virus can take down
a network, but uncontrolled self-replication in newer technologies
runs the risk of creating substantial damage in the physical world
(Joy, 2000).
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