|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Magazine |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
With Ranga Kamaladasa Artifitial Intelligence: The Next Evolution?
The Matrix saga and the Terminator series have both inflicted upon us a fear that if ever an AI system came into existence it might just want to rule the world for itself. But the fact is far from the truth, and as you will find out AI systems might as well be the next evolution of the human species. Pre-history Though the era of computers began only in the last few decades, the concept of creating a human mind ran back to the days of ancient Greece. The Greek myth of Pygmalion is a story of a statue brought to life for the love of her sculptor. The Greek god Hephaestus' robot Talos guarded Crete from attackers, running the circumference of the island three times a day. The Greek Oracle at Delphi was history's first chat-bot and expert system. Ancient China also had some strange myths to tell concerning AI. One was that in the 3rd century, the engineer Mo Ti created mechanical birds, dragons and warriors to fight for them. Much later the Royal courts of enlightened Europe were endlessly amused by mechanical ducks and humanoid figures, crafted by clockmakers. It has long been possible to make machines that looked and moved in human-like ways - machines that could spook and awe the audience - but creating such a machine was off-limits. Artists have long considered AI issues However, writers and artists were not bound by the limits of science in exploring extra-human intelligence, and the Jewish myth of the Golem, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and all the way through the Robot HAL in Sir Arthur. C. Clarkes' famous novel "2001" have illustrated the fascination we had for these creations. (Who knows, that same fascination may have lead to the creation of life on this planet!) Alan Turing's Child Machine In 1940, Alan Turing a British logician and a computer pioneer at Cambridge University was one of the first people to believe in AI. He developed his own theories in the field, which are still relevant today. He believed that duplicating the adult mind would be close to impossible, but if you create a mind of a child, eventually with experience it would grow into an adult. He also came up with some interesting definitions of AI; Subjective Intelligence: Intelligence is in the eyes of the beholder. Therefore, a machine through conversation can fool a human into believing that it is human, must be deemed intelligent. Language: Intelligence is measured through the social use of language. If a machine can generate language which accurately simulates the way people use language, it is fair to call that machine "intelligent". Sort of like the way we define intelligence level of the other members in a chat room! The Fermentation of AI After World War II, engineering and mathematics departments began to explore the new science of computing. Before long, a handful of professors from a variety of disciplines realised that, in computers, it might be possible to create a machine which could think and process information like a human. In 1950 a handful of scholars such as Herbert Simon and John McCarthy, began to investigate subjects like automatic problem solving and computerizing human logic. After the historic Dartmouth Conference of 1956, where the term "artificial intelligence" was introduced, research labs were built around the world, with the largest at MIT and Stanford. But after the surge in the 1970's the "AI winter" of the 80's set in, and not much progress has been achieved by any of the world's research institutions. Since we know very little of the human brain and how it works, the concept of "programming" a mind has been somewhat overwhelming. In recent years, the term "reactive" has come to be employed for any action triggered by reacting to the environment rather than by deliberation, or cognitive assessment. Reactive, behaviour-based intelligence is composed of many interacting reactive "sub-behaviours." The application of these theories has resulted in the creation of reactive robots that can reliably interact with the real world at realistic, animal-like speeds. However, over a decade has passed since the approach was first introduced, it is still not clear whether it can lead to robots capable of more sophisticated behaviour. The Future Of course, with neural networking and all the research done with the human brain, the day that we give birth to our own creation may not be far way. Maybe a breakthrough in the area of quantum computing or DNA computing may give the existing neural networks to function more rapidly and thus far more "humanly". But the question remains, can we duplicate a human mind? Or to put the question more philosophically "Is the human mind a mere platform of logic?". It's partly true. The fact is our thoughts are based on logic, and thoughts conjure feelings which are physical reactions to thoughts. The feelings (emotions) being biological, are hard to control, and thus our behaviour is also subjected to irrationality. This behavioral pattern is of course easy to duplicate in machines as well, you just add some enzyme programs (and say the magic word.) But the problem is, is that all to it? Matter of fact, we forgot the main ingredient: desire. It's this, that drives us. It's what makes us human. The motivational (or unmotivational) force behind everyone you meet. Is it possible for us to duplicate desire itself? (And in doing so duplicate the path to suffering!) Of course the religious and ethical complications that will come through this area are enormous. Many academics hold open forums to discuss this matter logically. And of course they end up in irrationality. (It's the wonder of being human, I suppose.) But the fact that AI could bring forth an "Enlightened" -desire less- form of life is somewhat comforting. And if so, the areas of peacekeeping and politics will endure a lot, if it was left to be influenced by future AI systems. The fact that we cannot duplicate desire into the machine will give us a greater upper hand in this area, and it will be surely safer than handling destructive weapons -which are yet to come in the future - ourselves. So Artificial Intelligence may one day become our only barrier from which we will be able stop ourselves from annihilating each other. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
For most of us, science fiction films and books have created a hysteria
on what might be the future of mankind, if Artificial Intelligence (AI)
was ever brought to life.
