Artificial intelligence/prospects

There is also an AI wikibook here: b:Artificial Intelligence

This learning resource is about Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is still in a very early stage of development, so any contributions are greatly appreciated. Although pages are currently very high level, this book should be expanded down to the algorithm level.

Introduction

AI & What It Means Today

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary states the following of AI:

Main Entry: artificial intelligence

Function: noun

1. the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior
2. a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers

Now we all know that AI in its current state cannot replace battlefield technicians or platoon commanders. We also know that AI research and development is continually moving, although it's moving at a snail's pace. Although the setback of not having the correct technology to develop AI into what we wish it to be is somewhat staggering, that is why AI development continues today. The thought of accomplishing our goal in the future (although it might not be the near future) is so overwhelming that we struggle against all odds to defeat the forces and boundaries that we ourselves have established as the sole basis of our existence. An example that applies to this is the Space Shuttle, developed by NASA. We established that gravity existed, basing that establishment upon the fact that something held everything to the Earth. Then, we were able to determine that outer space existed, and that the planets existed, meaning that we could develop the ability to visit those planets. Then what did we do? We conquered the natural boundaries that we claimed held us back (gravity), and were overjoyed. Why were we overjoyed? We were the ones that had set those boundaries up, claimed that they existed. What's the point, then, in saying that we can't accomplish a task because a limitation "stops" us? In the end, we end up "conquering" that "boundary", thereby making it anything BUT an accomplishment, and totally contradicting ourselves.

This should tell us that if history repeats itself in the world of science, what we dream about making AI is a possibility. Some developers want an AI in a robotic chassis molded after a human being, able to think, comprehend, and act like a human being. Other scientists wish for an AI to simply be able to comprehend things like schedules so that it can manufacture and ship items from a factory better than ever before. We all have an idea in our heads of what AI is, should be, and should do. The only thing holding us back is our somewhat limited technology and the thoughts that we cannot step beyond the boundaries that we ourselves set up. Who knows, maybe some boundaries that we've created can be done away with someday.

AI, Our Future?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a young field with massive potential for growth. This article encourages the reader to consider what philosophical and cultural impacts this growth could have upon our society.

Artificial Intelligence has already had a significant impact on our world, enabling developments that were unimaginable only a century ago. “Intelligent” telephone networks route calls more efficiently than any human operator. Cars are constructed in largely unmanned factories by automated robots. Artificial intelligence is even being integrated into common household items such as the humble vacuum-cleaner.

Artificial Intelligence has replaced human workers in a number of fields that involve relatively simple and repetitive tasks. Computers possess many advantages over human workers: they are consistent, they don’t tire and they never demand a pay rise (or a salary for that matter!). However, the computer revolution has resulted in the creation of jobs in a number of new fields such as software engineering and CPU design.

Although Artificial Intelligence is currently too simple to compete with human beings in these more cerebral jobs, this will likely change as the field advances. If Moore’s law continues to hold, we can expect the complexity of computers to rival that of the human brain by the year 2020. Furthermore, some computer scientists predict that, in much the same way that Computer Aided Design (CAD) facilitated the creation of more powerful computers, the AI field will accelerate as AI becomes increasingly able to assist in its own development.

Questions

• As Artificial Intelligences complexity and ‘smartness’ approach that of the human mind, what, if any, rights should they be granted?
• If an intelligence is inherently designed to be satisfied with subservience, is that slavery?
• To what extent should Artificial Intelligences be constrained to a human way of thinking?
• Where is the line between ‘simulating intelligence’ and being intelligent?
• What impact will Artificial Intelligence have upon art?
• How will the economy adjust as Artificial Intelligence begins to supplant humans in most to all jobs?
• If human labour is rendered obsolete, what will this mean for human lives?
• What role will Artificial Intelligences serve in the area of human government?

The very real possibility exists that, within the next 30 to 50 years, humanity will cease to be the world’s only intelligent species. We will probably not even be the smartest of two! What will this mean for humanity, and how will we handle the transition?

These are issues that the human race may well face tommorrow, and the foundations are being laid today.

A day may come when it will be impossible to differentiate between man and machine and perhaps machines will play a larger part in our lives. Think of the uses of such a technology in today's world. Doctors can interact with a AI in ways never dreamt of doctors can even argue with AI and give valid points to which the machine will finally give back real reasons not a set of predefined sentences which were coded into a computer.

Additional reading

• Man and the Machines