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Artificial Intelligence : Modern Science Fiction

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Artificial Intelligence is easily one of the most prevalent themes in all of science fiction. The idea that a machine could exhibit the same level of intellect and sentience as a human, has long since been the basis for captivating audiences & creators alike. From an ominous computer system in 2001:A Space Odyssey, to superhuman androids in Westworld. This fascinating sub-genre of science fiction has experienced a diverse range of depictions. The thing with fiction is that it has a habit of romanticizing certain aspects of artificial intelligence. Building a robot in pursuit of AI is similar to constructing the engine for a rocket before the discovery of metal has even been made. But I suppose anthropomorphism is an easier solution than …show more content…

Luckily for us, there’s a lot more to the human condition than Chess and Go, but is it that dubious to think that more general talents and abilities could be rendered equally obsolete? Assuming it’s possible, what happens when machines become more competent at performing any and all physical and mental labor? If AI becomes more competent in every regard then what purpose or function would be left for us to serve? To name one of several different possible tasks, machines have also begun tackling the human language by writing poems. “When I in dreams behold thy fairest shade Whose shade in dreams doth wake the sleeping morn The daytime shadow of my love betray’d Lends hideous night to dreaming’s faded form.” So poems may not be the best example, but here 's a better one. Machine-written content has become so commonplace and so good that you’ve likely read some automated articles without even realizing it. Take a second to figure out which of the two articles was written by an A.I. The answer will be on the last page. “A shallow magnitude 4.7 earthquake was reported Monday morning five miles from Westwood, California, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 6:25 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of 5.0 miles” “Tuesday was a great day for W. Roberts, as the junior pitcher threw a perfect game to carry Virginia to a 2-0 victory over George Washington at Davenport Field.” So how does this work? Well, as you can imagine, it’s complicated.

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