Artificial Intelligence Computers Think!

What is thinking?  The question is not ‘Do computers think the way humans think or at the same level? but whether they think – period.  Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world and deal with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires.  More efficient at thought than humans – this does not mean it is at a higher level.

Instinct  Humans do some things by instinct  Beating Heart (genetic structure determines the development of the part of the brain that controls the heart – you don’t control your heartbeat)  Computers do some things by instinct  CPU fan turns on when computer comes on (electricity causes fan to run – the software does not tell it to turn on or off)

 RAM = Short Term Memory  Hard Drive = Data we commit to memory by memorization or things we deem important  You are the sum of your parents’ genes and your experiences – mathematical equation  A computer is the sum of it’s hardware and software.

Consciousness  Computers can be introspective (can reflect on past experiences)  Deal in absolutes - no gray area in memory (remember everything exactly as it happened)  computers do not forget what they have learned  Humans are unable to remember everything exactly as it happened (eyewitness accounts most unreliable form of testimony in court)  Humans can fabricate false memories

Teaching  Humans know how to do things because they are taught.  Potty Trained  Computers know how to do things because they are taught.  Installing Software

Examples of Thought  Internet Explorer  Sites you frequent regularly – saves data so that it opens faster, deletes data pertaining to sites you rarely view.  Computer knows to do this because it has been taught to do so  Memorizing by repetition  Humans remember things that they encounter frequently (memorizing vocabulary words but repeating them over and over)

Protection  Classic example of thought:  A person is taught that something is dangerous to him, so he does not do it (not eating poison or doing something that is harmful to your health)  Computer is taught that something is dangerous to it, so it does not do it (virus scanning software recognizes a dangerous process and does not allow it to run)

Computers are like Children  Lower level thought processes – computers cannot think at the level of an adult, yet.  However, just because a child cannot think at the same level as an adult, does that mean that the child is not able to think?

Computers are like Children  What will a child do when encountering chocolate in a wrapper for the first time?  With no previous exposure  Wants to eat it but does not know how to open the wrapper  With previous (personal) exposure  Knows how to open the wrapper and can eat it, because it wants to  After being taught that chocolate is bad for your teeth  Wants to eat it, but has been taught not to do so.

Children are like Computers  What will a computer do when encountering a new process for the first time?  With no previous exposure  Intrinsically designed to run basic processes – however, more complex processes (MS Word with a virus) cannot be run  With previous (personal) exposure  With Windows installed, MS Word with the virus can be run  After having virus software installed  Will attempt to run the process, however, it’s ‘teaching’ will prevent it from doing so.  It is important to note that without being taught, the computer will run the virus anyway.  If all causes of a preference were exposed, it would (in fact) no longer a preference, but would be a predisposition

Personality/Genetics  Where do the “goals, plans, ends and desires” come from?  They originate in only two places: Nature (genetic predispositions) and Nurture (developmental environment)  Genetics = hardware (Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Mac)  Developmental Environment = software (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox)  Computers, like humans, will act a certain way based on these two characteristics.

 We understand how computers work/think because we created them.  When you came into Comp Sci 1 did you understand how your computer worked? No, but you accepted that others know exactly how it worked/thought and it was no longer mystical.  Nobody knows exactly how people work/think – so it is obviously something that cannot be applied to anything else

Creativity  Sum and expression of experiences  The ‘illusion’ of creativity  Creativity is ultimately where one person makes connections which another doesn’t

Deceptive Simplicity  Computers allow us to examine the most basic principles of thought  Indeed, each method we write in lab should exemplify the role of problem solving in computers and humans  Again, the only reason we assume that computer do not have goals and desires, is because we know (without a doubt) what the causes of its actions are  Therefore, it is unfair to lump computers (even the most simplistic computers) into a non- thinking category

Bias  Humans believe that since we can manipulate computers, they don’t think for themselves.  Yet a baby is manipulated by it’s parents (potty-training, anyone?) does that mean it doesn’t think for itself?

Fundamental Understanding  Having a “fundamental understanding” of a piece of information is nothing more than the utility of the information – how it is useful.  A child does not have a fundamental understanding of why he or she should use a toilet when going to the bathroom. It is taught by it’s parents that it is useful to do so.  This teaching instills in the child an understanding of hygiene and courtesy to other people  “Understanding” in this sense is only how being potty- trained is useful to these two ends (or how being potty- trained is useful in avoiding punishment)

References  Making Machines Creative urses/ai/cache/creativity_article,_v2.html urses/ai/cache/creativity_article,_v2.html urses/ai/cache/creativity_article,_v2.html  AI Tutorial urses/ai/ai.html urses/ai/ai.html urses/ai/ai.html  Wikipedia ence ence ence