Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of emotions on decision-making
Effects of emotions
The impact of emotions on decision-making
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The impact of emotions on decision-making
The conditions of the present scenario are as follows: a machine, Siri*, capable of passing the Turing test, is being insulted by a 10 year old boy, whose mother is questioning the appropriateness of punishing him for his behavior. We cannot answer the mother's question without speculating as to what A.M. Turing and John Searle, two 20th century philosophers whose views on artificial intelligence are starkly contrasting, would say about this predicament. Furthermore, we must provide fair and balanced consideration for both theorists’ viewpoints because, ultimately, neither side can be “correct” in this scenario. But before we compare hypothetical opinions, we must establish operant definitions for all parties involved. The characters in this scenario are the mother, referred to as Amy; the 10 year old boy, referred to as the Son; Turing and Searle; and Siri*, a machine that will be referred to as an “it,” to avoid an unintentional bias in favor of or against personhood. Now, to formulate plausible opinions that could emerge from Turing and Searle, we simply need to remember what tenants found their respective schools of thought and apply them logically to the given conditions of this scenario.
Part A: From Turing
It is best to begin with Turing’s hypothetical opinion, considering Searle’s will later require an additional consideration (in response to Part C of this scenario). Based on Turing’s argument for the possibility of artificial intelligence, Siri* would be considered a “thinking, intelligent being” because Turing’s definition of a “thinking, intelligent being” is a being that has the ability to use and understand language. This is measured by a successful passing of the Turing test, also known as the Imitation Game, in w...
... middle of paper ...
...ctively resolves our scenario and answers Amy's question.
Given this new judging criterion, Turing’s answer is ultimately correct, and Amy should punish her Son because Siri* is a "thinking, intelligent being." Because Siri* would possess a physical, human brain, Searle could not refute its personhood since his own requirements for personhood have been satisfied by our criteria. However, if Siri* is recognized as a "thinking, intelligent being," it brings into question what exactly is a “person.” Indeed, Amy should punish her Son not simply because Siri* is a "thinking, intelligent being," but because Siri* has a physical, human brain and could very well be a human in "her" own right.
Works Cited
Searle, John R. "Minds, Brains, and Programs." N.p., 1980. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
Turing, A. M. "Computing Machinery and Intelligence." N.p., 1950. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
Andy Clark strongly argues for the theory that computers have the potential for being intelligent beings in his work “Mindware: Meat Machines.” The support Clark uses to defend his claims states the similar comparison of humans and machines using an array of symbols to perform functions. The main argument of his work can be interpreted as follows:
Searle's argument delineates what he believes to be the invalidity of the computational paradigm's and artificial intelligence's (AI) view of the human mind. He first distinguishes between strong and weak AI. Searle finds weak AI as a perfectly acceptable investigation in that it uses the computer as a strong tool for studying the mind. This in effect does not observe or formulate any contentions as to the operation of the mind, but is used as another psychological, investigative mechanism. In contrast, strong AI states that the computer can be created so that it actually is the mind. We must first describe what exactly this entails. In order to be the mind, the computer must be able to not only understand, but to have cognitive states. Also, the programs by which the computer operates are the focus of the computational paradigm, and these are the explanations of the mental states. Searle's argument is against the claims of Shank and other computationalists who have created SHRDLU and ELIZA, that their computer programs can (1) be ascribe...
The author is trying to inform us that machines can solve certain problems because they have the ability, unlike humans who have colliding emotions. The author's view is that “Siri can be oddly comforting, as well as chummy” (455) because of her free-flow attitude of communicating with everyone. The author uses unique words which make Siri sound pleasant, positive, attractive and happy. The aspects of Siri that show friendliness portray her grit of not giving up on anyone and treating everyone the same. The author mentions that “Siri is a non-judgmental friend and teacher” (455) because it's a machine with patience and no human emotions. The author seems to mention this because Siri is a patient teacher who would just keep teaching new skills and habits without reacting like a normal human
Artificial Intelligence is very similar to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein in that the underlying themes, questions asked, and moral issues raised are the same.
John Searle’s Chinese room argument from his work “Minds, Brains, and Programs” was a thought experiment against the premises of strong Artificial Intelligence (AI). The premises of conclude that something is of the strong AI nature if it can understand and it can explain how human understanding works. I will argue that the Chinese room argument successfully disproves the conclusion of strong AI, however, it does not provide an explanation of what understanding is which becomes problematic when creating a distinction between humans and machines.
Computers are machines that take syntactical information only and then function based on a program made from syntactical information. They cannot change the function of that program unless formally stated to through more information. That is inherently different from a human mind, in that a computer never takes semantic information into account when it comes to its programming. Searle’s formal argument thus amounts to that brains cause minds. Semantics cannot be derived from syntax alone. Computers are defined by a formal structure, in other words, a syntactical structure. Finally, minds have semantic content. The argument then concludes that the way the mind functions in the brain cannot be likened to running a program in a computer, and programs themselves are insufficient to give a system thought. (Searle, p.682) In conclusion, a computer cannot think and the view of strong AI is false. Further evidence for this argument is provided in Searle’s Chinese Room thought-experiment. The Chinese Room states that I, who does not know Chinese, am locked in a room that has several baskets filled with Chinese symbols. Also in that room is a rulebook that specifies the various manipulations of the symbols purely based on their syntax, not their semantics. For example, a rule might say move the squiggly
In this paper I will evaluate and present A.M. Turing’s test for machine intelligence and describe how the test works. I will explain how the Turing test is a good way to answer if machines can think. I will also discuss Objection (4) the argument from Consciousness and Objection (6) Lady Lovelace’s Objection and how Turing responded to both of the objections. And lastly, I will give my opinion on about the Turing test and if the test is a good way to answer if a machine can think.
John Searle developed two areas of thought concerning the independent cognition of computers. These ideas included the definition of a weak AI and a strong AI. In essence, these two types of AI have their fundamental differences. The weak AI was defined as a system, which simply were systems that simulations of the human mind and AI systems that were characterized as an AI system that is completely capable of cognitive processes such as consciousness and intentionality, as well as understanding. He utilizes the argument of the Chinese room to show that the strong AI does not exist.
It is necessary to look at the development of artificial intelligence in order to put this idea into context. The concept of intelligent and aware constructs began to emerge in the 1950s and 60s as several scientists in many fields came together to discuss the possibilities of advanced computer research. The first major step was a scientific conference at Dartmouth College in 1956. Here, the general concepts and possible paths of research for a.i. were fleshed out. As described in Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, this conference was “the birth of artificial intelligence.” This was mostly a theoretical stage yet attending experts predicted that with a huge investment, working technology could be available in a generation (16). After being officially established, a.i. research and discovery exploded. Computer programs, a brand new idea, were already conquering algebra problems and speech recognition. Some could even reproduce English (18). It was clear that artificial intelligence research was going to be at the fo...
While the initial test required a person to be able to distinguish between machine and human, Pettman offers an alternative to the test claiming that the distinction between lovable and unlovable is more precedent, rather than human and machine (192). Pettman is not the first to provide alternative Turing Tests, with author Janis Svilpis finding multiple works of science fiction which provide alterations and predate the test which aims to measure intelligence (449). Svilpis concludes that these works of fiction function as a “literature of ideas,” however more importantly, they outline what it means to be human (430). For example, in Isaac Asimov’s short story “Robbie,” the title character’s intelligence is measured based on his sympathy for human life (Amisov 14).
He created a test to address this question. Turing proposed that if a computing machine acted, reacted and interacted like a sentient being, then it was sentient. One of the first Turing tests consists of the following steps. An interrogator asks questions of another person and a computer. The questioner then must distinguish between the human and the computer based on their replies to his questions. If the computer can "fool" the interrogator, it is intelligent. Today, the Turing Test is at the heart of discussions about artificial
The traditional notion that seeks to compare human minds, with all its intricacies and biochemical functions, to that of artificially programmed digital computers, is self-defeating and it should be discredited in dialogs regarding the theory of artificial intelligence. This traditional notion is akin to comparing, in crude terms, cars and aeroplanes or ice cream and cream cheese. Human mental states are caused by various behaviours of elements in the brain, and these behaviours in are adjudged by the biochemical composition of our brains, which are responsible for our thoughts and functions. When we discuss mental states of systems it is important to distinguish between human brains and that of any natural or artificial organisms which is said to have central processing systems (i.e. brains of chimpanzees, microchips etc.). Although various similarities may exist between those systems in terms of functions and behaviourism, the intrinsic intentionality within those systems differ extensively. Although it may not be possible to prove that whether or not mental states exist at all in systems other than our own, in this paper I will strive to present arguments that a machine that computes and responds to inputs does indeed have a state of mind, but one that does not necessarily result in a form of mentality. This paper will discuss how the states and intentionality of digital computers are different from the states of human brains and yet they are indeed states of a mind resulting from various functions in their central processing systems.
Argument Reconstruction and Objection on Searle’s Essay American philosopher John Searle wrote Minds, Brains, and Programs in 1980 to discredit the existence of strong artificial intelligence. He starts off by drawing a clear line between strong artificial intelligence and weak artificial intelligence, which he has no objections against. Searle uses the work of Roger Schank as the basis for what strong artificial intelligence tries to accomplish. Simply put, the purpose of Schank’s program is to “simulate the human ability to understand stories” and through this it should be able to understand the story and provide answers to questions about it, while being able to express metacognition. On the other hand, weak A.I. will be used as a “very
In order to see how artificial intelligence plays a role on today’s society, I believe it is important to dispel any misconceptions about what artificial intelligence is. Artificial intelligence has been defined many different ways, but the commonality between all of them is that artificial intelligence theory and development of computer systems that are able to perform tasks that would normally require a human intelligence such as decision making, visual recognition, or speech recognition. However, human intelligence is a very ambiguous term. I believe there are three main attributes an artificial intelligence system has that makes it representative of human intelligence (Source 1). The first is problem solving, the ability to look ahead several steps in the decision making process and being able to choose the best solution (Source 1). The second is the representation of knowledge (Source 1). While knowledge is usually gained through experience or education, intelligent agents could very well possibly have a different form of knowledge. Access to the internet, the la...
It is needed to define intelligence before defining artificial intelligence. Intelligence is thinking and reasoning, perceiving and evaluating of perceived things, commenting and concluding them (Kayabaş, 2010). Artificial intelligence is general name of computer system studies which aim to fulfill the role needing high mental operations like learning from experiences, to reason, to interpret, to generalize. All these abilities belong to only people who are assumed the most intelligence creature in the universe. Also the movements and the behaviors of animals are considered a reference.