Sunday, August 18, 2013

How artificial is "artificial intelligence"?

This one is going to be quite interesting...

"Artificial" means something made by humans. "Artificial intelligence" is thus intelligence that is man-made. We see this in computers and this is a term used to describe computer programs written to exhibit signs of intelligence.

But just what is intelligence? If intelligence is what human beings have, what really is intelligence? It is ultimately a series of behaviour that humans exhibit. But science tells us that humans are biological creatures made up of chemical building blocks observing physical rules. Deep in our roots, we are just complex machines following nature's laws. Our behaviours are thus manifestations of biological machines.

Given that humans are made by humans, subsequent humans that exhibit what we call "intelligence" are then man-made... and thus, should that not be "artificial intelligence" as well? What is the difference then, between "intelligence" exhibited by a biological machine compared to that shown by a mechanical/electronic one? Both are machines exhibiting behaviours governed by nature's laws. Both are complex machines exhibiting complex behaviours. And both are ultimate machines made by humans.

So what separates us humans from computers?

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