Technology Throughout The Ages
It is obvious and apparent that humans are distinguished from other creatures by a technological ability. It seems that every year people turn progressively toward living their lives through technology. It has taken over society, families, jobs, and lives. Over the last century, technology has continued to advance at a staggering rate. The last twenty years alone with the creation of the internet. Constant innovation happens every day, with technology becoming cheaper and easier to use.
At the start of humanity, we know humans led a life which involved limited use of tools. The first main technologies then were tied to survival and hunting in this environment. Stone tools, fire, weapons and clothing were technological developments of major importance. Now in the 21st century, the main technology being developed is electronics. Research is ongoing into advanced computers and biotechnology, such as Artificial Intelligence.
New knowledge has permitted people to create new things, and because of this many scientific endeavors are made possible by technologies which assist humans in undertaking things they could not previously accomplish. Technological change is a force for economic growth and a means to develop and project political, economic, and military power because once again, we strive for utopian ideals.
How Does A.I. Work?
Artificial Intelligence is a very powerful, as well as a very complex field, and there are many different aspects that go into creating an A.I. system. It would be impossible to list all the science that goes into Artificial Intelligence. However there are basic concepts that go into creating an A.I. system. The collaboration between Artificial Intelligence and neuroscience can produce a better understanding of the mechanism in the brain that generates human cognition. A detailed analysis of how the brain produces cognition could provide important information about the nature of cognition itself, which can truly help out Artificial Intelligence. After going more deep into research I was able to discover the general algorithm for Artificially Intelligent Systems. There are three main components to the algorithm. The first component is called “The Learner” and this component of A.I. takes in strings of bits that correspond to input about the outside world, and searches through the computer programs until it finds one that produce its observations as output. The programs, together, allow it to make guesses about what the future will probably look like, simply by running each program forward and weighting the probability of the result by the length of the program. The next component of A.I. systems is called “The Planner” and this component searches through possible actions the system could follow. It uses the learner component to predict what would happen at the end of each action it takes. It then chooses the course of action that reaches the outcome is the most proficient way and multiplies it by the expected probability that it will achieve this outcome. The final component is called “The Utility Function” and this component is the component that brings the most controversy. The utility function is a simple program that takes in a description of a future state of the world, and computes a utility score for it. The utility score is how good or bad the outcome is, it is used by the planner component to evaluate a future world state. In short, the Artificially Intelligent system studies the environment, builds models of it then uses those models to find the course of action that will maximize the odds of getting what is wants. However, if we look more closely at this algorithm there are signs that may allow the Artificially Intelligence system to outwit humans, but not be conscious of its victory. There is also a question about the utility function. How do we program human values into a machine and be so specific with those values that the A.I. does not misinterpret those values. For example, if we are vague and code the A.I. to make the user happy then the A.I. will download all the information and find that the most efficient way to make a human smile is to inject electric shocks into the humans face cause them to smile. You can see how Artificial Intelligence can flourish and become very wise and knowledgeable but it must also understand human ethics and human values, and that is the part that frightens a lot of us. We must program a utility function that requires the machine to observe humans, deduce our values, and then try to maximize them. It would also be useful to develop A.I. systems that are designed not to have preferences about their utility functions so that the systems do not show resistance and become like Terminators.
Evolution of A.I.
The information we have discovered and the implementation we have created of Artificial Intelligence has come a long way since the 1950’s. The machines we have built and the problems they can solve have been growing steadily. In 1997, an Artificial Intelligent system named Deep Blue could play chess at a level greater than a human grandmaster. In 2011, IBM’s Watson could read and synthesize enough information deeply and rapidly enough to beat the best human players in a game of Jeopardy. Most recent news reveals that Google has invested heavily into researching deep learning, techniques that allows the construction of powerful neural networks by building chains of simpler neural networks. That investment is allowing it to make serious progress in speech and image recognition. Their most recent acquisition in the area of deep learning is called DeepMind. Google paid approximately $400 million to acquire this software. As a part of the terms of the deal, Google agreed to create an ethics board to ensure their AI technology is developed safely. IBM is also developing Watson 2.0 and 3.0, systems that are capable of processing images and video and arguing to defend conclusions. It can search data bases on a given topic and then return arguments for both pros and cons. As you can see, none of these technologies are seen as dangerous. But, this could only be because we are just at the shore of the ocean of vast knowledge that can be learned from Artificial Intelligence. But could learning more jeopardize our society?
The Turing Test
The dictionary defines the Turing Test as a proposed test of a computer's ability to think, requiring that the covert substitution of the computer for one of the participants in a keyboard and screen dialogue should be undetectable by the remaining human participant. Coined by computing pioneer Alan Turing in 1950, the Turing test was designed to be a rudimentary way of determining whether or not a computer counts as “intelligent.”
Turing test competitions have been held for more than 20 years, and the strategies the robots employ have changed over time. Where originally the stumbling blocks simply understood the questions asked by the judges, now the bigger challenge is in answering them in a human-like manner. In recent years, winners have started changing the subject, asking questions of the judges, and simulating moods and typos.
