Flailing!

In my frustrating attempts at Human Know Thyself … I ‘suddenly’ realized that Consciousness isn’t on the AI agenda. DUH! It seemingly is an attribute only in highly developed Living creatures. AI is about Intelligence that is or may be possible in non-living entities. So.  All of the attributes of self-awareness available to human and animal thinking are not available. The questions that I ask myself now should be confined to definitions of Thinking and Learning that can be realized in the absence of self-awareness. Artificial Consciousness will have to wait its turn.

It would seem that the ultimate goal of machine thinking is to reach some conclusion based on available information.  And, perhaps perform some further act in response. I have postulated that the simplest act of thinking is just making a decision.  Hopefully then higher order thinking can be accomplished by additional layers of decision making. Artificial or Machine Learning [ML] should not involve what we consider as ‘Knowing something’ since it will lack Awareness.

Thinking, Learning, and Machine Intelligence

Meanderings into Artificial Intelligence without much prior knowledge is certainly an adventure, to say the least!   I've posted my early thoughts as the 2nd entry on the Musings page.

Levels of Machine Thinking

If making a simple decision based on stored instructions can be considered as the most fundamental form of machine thinking, what capability should be added to go to the next level of thinking? Is it possible to provide  control algorithms that would permit the device to make some choices on its own, perhaps based on newly stored data or upon trial and error until it gets some expected result?

Humans and animals can be influenced in such situations by being rewarded for making one kind of decision or punished for choosing the alternative. BUT.  How does one reward or punish a machine?

Computers don’t know anything. Despite having huge amounts of information stored in its memory banks, a computer just waits for instructions telling it how to retrieve and manipulate this information.  As an example, it has no concept of what a number is. Surprise! Yet numbers are the basis for all of its actions. If one Opens a word processing Application [App] and  types ‘3’, a 3 shows up on the display and a 3 can be printed by a connected printer. The keyboard contains a rudimentary computer that encodes each keystroke with a number from a look-up table [ASCII] that is sent to the word processing App. If one types ‘three’ the computer receives ’74 65 72 65 65’ [octal] and the App displays ‘three’ by converting the ASCII numbers back to text. [Octal is a shortcut way of writing a binary number. What is really sent for ’t’ is 0100 1010].  If a user Opens a Calculator App it accepts only ASCII values which represent numbers on a keyboard.  If one addresses a computer vocally; such as, “Siri, what is three?” {Without knowing the details] Siri examines a stored dictionary and speaks the entry, “three, a cardinal number, equivalent to the sum of one and two; one more than two.”  There is no App with which one can enter … Computer. Learn what three is. 

I’m convinced that just the process of storing data does not, in itself, constitute Learning. We need to learn what a Learning Algorithm should be able to do.  Certainly ‘understanding’ is part of Learning and probably a constituent of Consciousness, but how would one code it?

On Artificial Intelligence

Just at the time in my life when I can hardly put two thoughts together, I have become intrigued by a few Luddites who would stop explorations in Artificial Intelligence [AI] fearing progress in an Intelligent Machine may allow it to improve itself far beyond human intelligence and thus become a danger to mankind.

My first response is, as I have remarked elsewhere; “We are doing what we are designed to do.”  Live with it.

My second response is that, in the foreseeable future, at best AI will become able to clone parts of itself … but will need that Xmas eve nemesis of parents … Some Assembly Required  [SAR] to be applied, or not, by mere humans.

As for sexual reproduction, which aids in infusion of new abilities … if the machines get there, I want to go along.

It is most likely that machine thinking will be directed by built-in read-only algorithms to seek only improvement in controlled areas of thought. So.

Relax! Enjoy the benefits to come!