Is artificial intelligence possible?
IS A.I. POSSIBLE?
In the science fiction film, The Terminator directed by James Cameron, the computers in the movie "get smart" and rise up against their human masters. In other words, the computers in the movie were able to become independent of their programmers and developed a kind of artificial intelligence (A.I.). This essay will prove that in real life, computers will never realize artificial intelligence, and also even though functionalism is based on an analogy between humans and computers, it is an effective way to describe the interaction between the mind and body. Two essays will be evaluated in this essay. The first essay was called; "Can Computers Think?" by John Searle which
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The functionalist theory deflated the importance of the interaction; the mind of the program interacts at one constant level with the brain.
Fodor explained the relationship between the mind and the body as a:
"subtle dualism of absent function (software) and its realization
(hardware)".
Functionalism is also much less rigid a theory when compared to behaviorism. Behaviorism is the theory that all states of mind could be explained by observing a persons behavior, and that a person's mind is just a bunch of psychological dispositions. The problem with behaviorism is demonstrated by Rodin's Le Penseur. The problem was, if there was no behavior then the mental states could not be described.
Materialism is defined by William Lyons as a view that "…everything mental is totally inside the head". Materialism is similar to functionalism although, materialism says nothing about the relationship between the mind and the body.
Searle did not support the idea that idea that the brain could be represented by a digital computer, or that "The implementation of an appropriate computer program is sufficient for thinking". Searle based his argument against strong A.I. by saying that computers can only manipulate symbols, and can not understand them. Therefore, computer instructions are only syntactic and not semantic. The computer program operates like this:
Input (possible from keyboard)à software programà central processing unit (CPU)Ã
Through this, Searle argues that if a human and machine receive the same input and then respond by the same output, how are they any different from one another? When given the same purpose, humans and machines have the same response, therefore machines may have a mind. Gilbert Ryle created The computational theory of mind that claims “Computers behave in seemingly rational ways; their inner program causes them to behave in this way and therefore mental states are just like computational states”. He continues on by saying that “If logic can be used to command, and these commands can be coded into logic, then these commands can be coded in terms of 1s and 0s, therefore giving modern computers logic. Through this, how is one to tell if robots don’t have minds if they use logic just like humans do. When the purpose of humans and machines are the same, they may process differently in order to complete that purpose, although they may have the same output. Because humans and machines receive the same input and return the same output, they both have minds in addition to functions and processes in order to do that.
One of the hottest topics that modern science has been focusing on for a long time is the field of artificial intelligence, the study of intelligence in machines or, according to Minsky, “the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men”.(qtd in Copeland 1). Artificial Intelligence has a lot of applications and is used in many areas. “We often don’t notice it but AI is all around us. It is present in computer games, in the cruise control in our cars and the servers that route our email.” (BBC 1). Different goals have been set for the science of Artificial Intelligence, but according to Whitby the most mentioned idea about the goal of AI is provided by the Turing Test. This test is also called the
At this point Carr again proving he is lacking the proper material to make this argument because now he saying how AI is going to control your mind and all the meaningless material he compiled to make this longer. The author has demonstrated so far that he is very poor at finding material for a proper argument even though the opinion he has on the matter is the same view as me. Carr is just running in circles not making a difference now that he losing his argument with awful information to support the subject an elementary student could have compiled a better argument than this guy. The positive remark that related to his argument was an analogy that he made saying “The human brain is just an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive” (Carr 4). This implies to the fact that everyone wants to draw out the brains max potential so we can have a society of
Ned Block, in his article “Trouble with Functionalism”, creates a thought experiment to serves as a counterexample to functionalism. Functionalism states that the mind and its mental states are only comprised of the functional role they serve, and not of the physical medium it occurs in. Block’s thought experiment, while intriguing, is ultimately a flawed comparison that wrongly applies human-centric prejudice to the definition of a mental state, and thus, cannot be applied to our mental life.
Living in the technology age has opened up doors for many different types of technology. Computers are very helpful to todays life because they assist you in memory and activity. This raises the question, can computers think. Turning believed that computers can think because he believes computers has the necessary general intelligent action to think. Searle argues against the idea saying “only a very special kinds of machines, namely brains” can think. I agree with Searle’s argument because computers don’t have brains, but are programmed to do what humans want it to do. I disagree with Turning’s argument because computers are specifically programmed by humans to do what we want them to do.
Through the use of his famous Chinese room scenario, John R. Searle tries to prove there is no way artificial intelligence can exist. This means that machines do not posses minds.
Functionalism remains, to this day, one of the most influential theories of the mind. While many facets of functionalism has been tested throughout the century, one of the more interesting questions came in the form of computers. Similarly to a human brain, could computers also think? This idea was explored by John R. Searle, in his book titled, Minds, Brains, and Science. The author is a renowned American philosopher, particularly in the philosophy of language and mind, and is currently teaching at the University of California, in Berkeley (“John R. Searle,” 2014). Searle earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Oxford, and has made several contributions to his field on topics, such as consciousness, artificial intelligence, and the problem of free will (“John R. Searle,” 2014). His “Chinese Room” experiment is known as one of the main critiques to the concept of artificial intelligence. In Searle’s book, Searle describes his thought process into this experiment during the second chapter, titled “Can Computers Think?” Searle’s purpose of this chapter in the book is to explain his perspective on the idea that digital computers will never develop the capability to form thought processes, and that a concept such as artificial intelligence could never exist, because our mental states exist in a biological manner. He utilizes his “Chinese Room” argument to aid in the development of his objectives.
In the New York Times article, “Is Artificial Intelligence Taking Over Our Lives?” they introduce the topic if whether or not our lives will soon revolve around technology at every corner that we see worldwide, whether it being robotic cops to robotic doctors. Introduced in this article were 3 main debaters over the topic being for and against the idea that our artificial intelligence & its growth is a good or bad idea.
In this essay I will argue that digital computers are not capable of conscious thinking. First I will use Searle's argument to defend my view. I will then explain the features of consciousness that he talks about in order to use them against counterarguments.
Technologies’ continuous advancement triggers suspicion and debates. The digital hold on humanity riddles society with misunderstandings and fear. The rapid progress of machines appear all over the media for the world to see. Before any valid opinions arise, one must consider a multitude of scientific and social factors. Despite the fear, Artificial Intelligence cannot replace the human brain and can coexist with humanity.
John Searle starts with two claims of programmed computers being able to have a process where they would understand knowledge and the claim of computers understanding how the human mind works. Searle then states that these claims are rather untrue or without reason.
* Developments in computer science would lead to parallels being drawn between human thought and the computational functionality of computers, opening entirely new areas of psychological thought. Allen Newell and Herbert Simon spent years developing the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) and later worked with cognitive psychologists regarding the implications of AI. The effective result was more of a framework conceptualization of mental functions with
“Let’s not kid ourselves, robots already run most of the world. We’ll be their butlers soon enough.”(Brain Quote) Artificial Intelligence is the development of computer systems that normally require human intelligence. This (Artificial Intelligence) has lead to countless short-term positives such as “improving the speed, quality, and costs of available goods and services (Karsten and West 1). (This being said from the Brooking institution) However, as businesses continue to use Artificial Intelligence to increase extra goods and make more money, they will replace human jobs. “Already trending from the automation stems in part from the Great Recession, which forced businesses to operate with fewer workers. After growth, businesses are still
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.
But there are many conflicting views about the technology needed to produce real A.I. Just because computers can get faster doesn't mean they get smarter. People have confused ideal computers with real computers. Although computer scientists and programmers have created plans that are possible in theory, someone needs to write the software that gets the process going, and at the present time, humans have given absolutely no evidence of being able to write such software.