Computers Think Like Their Users Jon Van on, page F1, April 3, 2005

Inexorable Emergence Machine intelligence is the inexorable emergence of the new century, as asserted by Ray Kerzweil in This paper provides two examples showing such emergence is looming up.

Example 1 in Article Watson –It watches what the user reads and writes and can go online for information it thinks the user might need. –It costs $99 to thousands of dollars.

Examples 2 in Article A system being used in NICE Systems, Inc. –Its software can determine when a phone caller becomes emotional, which is used to monitor a company’s call center conversations. –It looks at the pitch, volume, tone, speed and tempo of caller’s voice and watches how those change over time.

One More Example Thought-Catcher –On CNN News, 2/2/2006, it reports that a mechanism, worn on the head of a handicapped, can move the pointer on screen following the user’s ‘thought’. It is also able to change TV channels at the will of the user. Discussion

Faster vs. Smarter “Computers haven’t gotten more deep cognitively, but they have gotten a lot faster.” “What we can do is use that speed to do brute force calculations to solve problems.” (p.1, col. 1, bottom) “...More speed makes computers more useful but doesn’t endow them with intelligence.” (p.2, col.4) Faster speed can make computer smarter, since it can scrutinize more possible options in a short time and make smarter decisions. Discussion

Brute Force ‘Brute force’ is an approach of decision making, which compares all possible decision options, then pick the best option. A brute force approach is in trouble if there are too many options.

Can We Be Relaxed? “Computers have long been likened to human brains, sparking fears and hopes that someday a collection of silicon and wires would think like a person. But even today’s most powerful units are not smart enough to tie a shoelace or do anything most human 4-year-olds accomplish thoughtlessly.” (p.1, col. 2, middle) Do we therefore feel relaxed that computers will never think like us, based on the fact that current computers are not as smart as 4- year-olds? Discussion

Prospective Near-Future Computer’s intelligence is growing exponentially. Out intelligence remains unchanged. Once a computer is of intelligence of a 4- year-old, then –all computers have intelligence of that level; –it’s not far for a computer to have intelligence of a 40-year-old; –it’s not far for a computer to have intelligence of all 40-year-olds of mankind. Discussion

Must Intelligence Be Brain- Like? Electronic computers are getting faster, but speed doesn’t endow it with intelligence. “We need to better understand the brain’s architecture,... build a different kind of computer modeled after that.” (p.2, col.4) Intelligence can be achieved in a way that is different from ‘brain-like’ structure. Brain-like intelligence is not perfect. Its flaws: Brain-like intelligence is a way to achieve machine intelligence, but not the only way. Discussion

Artificial Intelligence Approach? “Complicated problems are being solved these days by using approaches having little to do with artificial intelligence, said IBM’s White. (p.2, col.3) What is on earth the “approach of artificial intelligence”? It is still a controversial issue. A misconception: –An intelligence function is no longer viewed intelligent once it is achieved by machines. (such as smart mop, spelling check) Discussion