Artificial Intelligence: Controllable or Not? Essay

Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, is “the intelligence exhibited by machines or software.” AI is found in many forms in our society, from video games to traffic predictions to the autocorrect in our phones. When machine personalities are no longer distinguishable from human ones, however, there will be implications for humanity. This advancement will at first be met with skepticism, and the first people to interact with these AI will not consider them sentient beings. Artificial intelligence will eventually be complex enough to exhibit human-like personality, and it is at this point that we will embrace machines, and redefine selfhood to include artificial beings. Once we consider AI sentient, they will rapidly advance until they are

     Artificial Intelligence is a term not too widely used in today’s society.  With today’s technology we haven’t found a way to enable someone to leave their physical body and let their mind survive within a computer.  Could it be possible?  Maybe someday, but for now it’s just in theory.  The novel by William Gibson, Neuromancer, has touched greatly on the idea of artificial intelligence.  He describes it as a world where many things are possible.  By simply logging on the computer, it opens up a world we could never comprehend.  The possibilities are endless in the world of William Gibson.

This research involves discovering how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has progressed and how it could potentially replace mankind. The goal of this research is to provide examples of how Artificial Intelligence is incorporated into our daily lives and provides an easier way of living. Today, we live in a world where technology is constantly advancing and executing tasks that make human lives easier. This research will show the impact AI has on the mankind and answer the question of: Could AI eventually replace mankind?

Artificial intelligence pertains to the ability of digital computers or computer-controlled robots to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings, such as humans. Since the mid-20th century, scientists have attempted to develop a system capable of carrying out tasks perceived as requiring human intelligence which includes natural language understanding, fault diagnosis, and supplying expert advice ("Artificial Intelligence(ai)," 2011, n.p.). Although many people, particularly workers within the , are concerned about the effects of artificial intelligence, the capabilities of these machines can benefit society in a multitude of ways ("Artificial Intelligence(ai)," 2011, n.p.). According to Obama, in a speech in Pittsburgh during the 2011 the Robotics Initiative, “Revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live and the way we work,” (Executive Office, 2016). This is in fact true since AI has already begun to have reaping major benefits to the public in fields as diverse as health care, criminal justice, and also the education of individuals which will ultimately revolutionize society (Executive Office, 2016).

The use of artificial technology puts mankind at risk for losing control over its own creation. As autonomous technology continues to progress, self improving software enables the technology to learn and adapt throughout its life cycle. Many accredited scientists are beginning to ask, “at what point will artificial intelligence become so adaptive that it begins to overpower human thought (Price).” The largest threat of autonomous technology in 1984 and reality is the point at which technology will begin to replicate itself and mankind will no longer be capable of controlling the rate at which artificial technology is reproduced. George Orwell vividly describes how technology will one day dominate the governing forces of society by slowly learning and adapting

What the author finds truly disturbing, however, is the threat of our brains being replaced by artificial intelligence. As the creators of Google admitted, their ultimate goal is to give people access to all the information available on the Internet by connecting their brains to artificial intelligence system. For Carr, such ambition suggest that intelligence can be boiled down to a mechanical process that will leave no place for critical thinking, creativity and personal reflection.

In an effort to prove that computers will never evolve into systems similar to human, Fish (2011) also presents an illogical argument that men will never be able to create a machine that is comparable to mankind, which is a paradox in itself as he tries to prove mankind’s superiority by assuming a limited the scope of man’s intelligence in creating complex machines with cognitive abilities.

The final scene from Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey in which a supercomputer that runs the entire space shuttle begs the main character not to disconnect him because it would hurt him, is so vivid and at the same time amazingly frightening. The idea that humans will be able to build true artificial replicas of themselves has been consequently alluring to human vanity and has been flourishing ever since the famous novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. This aspiration for artificial intelligence was inspired by the incredible technological encroachment of the preceding decades. However, despite great undertakings only a minuscule amount of advancement has been delivered from the field of artificial intelligence, a diminutive amount, at least, in the

In Minds, Brains, and Programs, John Searle provided various counterarguments to the proposition that strong artificial intelligence is similar to human cognition and that machines are able to have similar cognitive experiences as humans, such as having intentions, as long as it has the right program. The purpose of this article was to demonstrate opposing approaches, which outlined that the theory of strong AI is flawed. The author did this by providing examples of how to disqualify the support for the theoretical perspective that machines, even though they have the appropriate programming, still cannot understand as humans do. Through various explanations and replies to the arguments, Searle makes his point and give examples of the promises.

It is only a matter of time till a supercomputer capable of more calculation than our brain is produced. Then the next challenge would be to simulate the human intelligence. The human brain executes processes in a method quite different from today's computers.

Human-like mental agility are being created via artificial intelligence and that even our clothing will have intelligence as a consequence of the development of smaller and more powerful computers! At this rate, very soon, computers with processing power that rivals the human brain with artificial intelligence could be created.

On the other hand, a human brain analyses information differently than a computer. The human brain not only interprets the information given but the situation as well. The result of this is reaching a sensible conclusion. “Only a fool will persist in adhering to a rule or set of directives when its application is clearly counter intuitive and even disastrous.” (Fish 217) However, “Consciousness, the machine process that goes on in

The progression of advanced technology single-handedly alters humans at a biological level and shifts human intelligence into a new frontier. We now have instantaneous access to the internet through our smart-phones and tablets, and can approach any corner of the internet within seconds at virtually any geographical location thanks to the rapid advancement of technology. The internet is in essence giving us an almost infinite amount of knowledge at speeds faster than light, it has become one of the greatest tools for academic research and the helping the quest towards intellectualism. It has become invaluable in advancing the swift rate of human evolution. While the furthering of advanced artificial intelligence and its immense depth, is

Artificial Intelligence is a topic within the public media that has existed for decades, but is now a concern due to the reality of human advancement and innovation in the field of science and technology. Many people believe that computers will become self-aware or sentient and view humanity as a disposable resource and gain supremacy. Reasoning that research on the technology should halt and not become more advance. Whereas others believe they will help catapult research and the economy forward, supporting the operations and innovations the technology offers. The complicated and divided solutions to the debate aren’t obvious, but there are more benefits to improving artificial intelligence than there is stopping it. Therefore, the negative effects people believe will occur can be resolved.

In the future, we may be able to build a computer that is comparable to the human brain, but not until we truly understand one thing. Lewis Thomas talks about this in his essay, "Computers." He says, "It is in our collective behavior that we are most mysterious. We won't be able to construct machines like ourselves until we've understood this, and we're not even close" (Thomas 473). Thomas wrote this essay in 1974, and although we have made many technological advances