CMSC 671 Fall 2001

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CMSC 671Fall 2001

• Class 11 Tuesday, October 9

2
Todays class

• Philosophy of AI
• Can we build intelligent machines?
• If we do, how will we know theyre intelligent?
• Should we build intelligent machines?
• If we do, how should we treat them
• and how will they treat us?

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Philosophy of AI

• Alan M. Turing, Computing Machinery and
  Intelligence
• John R. Searle, Minds, Brains, and Programs
• J. Storrs Hall, Ethics for Machines
• (supplementary Russell Norvig Ch. 27)

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Philosophical debates

• What is AI, really?
• What does an intelligent system look like?
• Do we need, and can we have, emotions,
  consciousness, empathy, love?
• Can we ever achieve AI, even in principle?
• How will we know if weve done it?
• If we can do it, should we?

5
Turing test

• Basic test
• Interrogator in one room, human in another,
  system in a third
• Interrogator asks questions human and system
  answer
• Interrogator tries to guess which is which
• If the system wins, its passed the Turing Test
• The system doesnt have to tell the truth
  (obviously)

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Turing test objections

• Objections are basically of two forms
• No computer will ever be able to pass this test
• Even if a computer passed this test, it wouldnt
  be intelligent

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Machines cant think

• Theological objections
• Its simply not possible, thats all
• Arguments from incompleteness theorems
• But people arent complete, are they?
• Machines cant be conscious or feel emotions
• Reductionism doesnt really answer the question
  why cant machines be conscious or feel
  emotions??
• Machines dont have Human Quality X
• Machines just do what we tell them to do
• Maybe people just do what their neurons tell them
  to do
• Machines are digital people are analog

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The Turing test isnt meaningfulChinese Room
argument
And now, a word from Csaba
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The Turing test isnt meaningful

• Maybe so, but
• If we dont use the Turing test, what measure
  should we use?
• Very much an open question

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Ethical concerns Robot behavior

• How do we want our intelligent systems to behave?
• How can we ensure they do so?
• Asimovs Three Laws of Robotics
• A robot may not injure a human being or, through
  inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• A robot must obey orders given it by human beings
  except where such orders would conflict with the
  First Law.
• A robot must protect its own existence as long as
  such protection does not conflict with the First
  or Second Law.

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Ethical concerns Human behavior

• Is it morally justified to create intelligent
  systems with these constraints?
• As a secondary question, would it be possible to
  do so?
• Should intelligent systems have free will? Can we
  prevent them from having free will??
• Will intelligent systems have consciousness?
  (Strong AI)
• If they do, will it drive them insane to be
  constrained by artificial ethics placed on them
  by humans?
• If intelligent systems develop their own ethics
  and morality, will we like what they come up
  with?