Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial Intelligence

• Computers Think!

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What is thinking?

• The question is not Do computers think the way
  humans think or at the same level? but whether
  they think period.
• Thought or thinking is a mental process which
  allows beings to model the world and deal with it
  effectively according to their goals, plans, ends
  and desires.
• More efficient at thought than humans this does
  not mean it is at a higher level.

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Instinct

• Humans do some things by instinct
• Beating Heart (genetic structure determines the
  development of the part of the brain that
  controls the heart you dont control your
  heartbeat)
• Computers do some things by instinct
• CPU fan turns on when computer comes on
  (electricity causes fan to run the software
  does not tell it to turn on or off)

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• RAM Short Term Memory
• Hard Drive Data we commit to memory by
  memorization or things we deem important
• You are the sum of your parents genes and your
  experiences mathematical equation
• A computer is the sum of its hardware and
  software.

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Consciousness

• Computers can be introspective (can reflect on
  past experiences)
• Deal in absolutes - no gray area in memory
  (remember everything exactly as it happened)
• computers do not forget what they have learned
• Humans are unable to remember everything exactly
  as it happened (eyewitness accounts most
  unreliable form of testimony in court)
• Humans can fabricate false memories

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Teaching

• Humans know how to do things because they are
  taught.
• Potty Trained
• Computers know how to do things because they are
  taught.
• Installing Software

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Examples of Thought

• Internet Explorer
• Sites you frequent regularly saves data so that
  it opens faster, deletes data pertaining to sites
  you rarely view.
• Computer knows to do this because it has been
  taught to do so
• Memorizing by repetition
• Humans remember things that they encounter
  frequently (memorizing vocabulary words but
  repeating them over and over)

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Protection

• Classic example of thought
• A person is taught that something is dangerous to
  him, so he does not do it (not eating poison or
  doing something that is harmful to your health)
• Computer is taught that something is dangerous to
  it, so it does not do it (virus scanning software
  recognizes a dangerous process and does not allow
  it to run)

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Computers are like Children

• Lower level thought processes computers cannot
  think at the level of an adult, yet.
• However, just because a child cannot think at the
  same level as an adult, does that mean that the
  child is not able to think?

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Computers are like Children

• What will a child do when encountering chocolate
  in a wrapper for the first time?
• With no previous exposure
• Wants to eat it but does not know how to open the
  wrapper
• With previous (personal) exposure
• Knows how to open the wrapper and can eat it,
  because it wants to
• After being taught that chocolate is bad for your
  teeth
• Wants to eat it, but has been taught not to do so.

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Children are like Computers

• What will a computer do when encountering a new
  process for the first time?
• With no previous exposure
• Intrinsically designed to run basic processes
  however, more complex processes (MS Word with a
  virus) cannot be run
• With previous (personal) exposure
• With Windows installed, MS Word with the virus
  can be run
• After having virus software installed
• Will attempt to run the process, however, its
  teaching will prevent it from doing so.
• It is important to note that without being
  taught, the computer will run the virus anyway.
• If all causes of a preference were exposed, it
  would (in fact) no longer a preference, but would
  be a predisposition

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Personality/Genetics

• Where do the goals, plans, ends and desires
  come from?
• They originate in only two places Nature
  (genetic predispositions) and Nurture
  (developmental environment)
• Genetics hardware (Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Mac)
• Developmental Environment software (Windows,
  Linux, Mac OS X, Internet Explorer, Mozilla
  Firefox)
• Computers, like humans, will act a certain way
  based on these two characteristics.

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• We understand how computers work/think because we
  created them.
• When you came into Comp Sci 1 did you understand
  how your computer worked? No, but you accepted
  that others know exactly how it worked/thought
  and it was no longer mystical.
• Nobody knows exactly how people work/think so
  it is obviously something that cannot be applied
  to anything else

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Creativity

• Sum and expression of experiences
• The illusion of creativity
• Creativity is ultimately where one person makes
  connections which another doesnt

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Deceptive Simplicity

• Computers allow us to examine the most basic
  principles of thought
• Indeed, each method we write in lab should
  exemplify the role of problem solving in
  computers and humans
• Again, the only reason we assume that computer do
  not have goals and desires, is because we know
  (without a doubt) what the causes of its actions
  are
• Therefore, it is unfair to lump computers (even
  the most simplistic computers) into a
  non-thinking category

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Bias

• Humans believe that since we can manipulate
  computers, they dont think for themselves.
• Yet a baby is manipulated by its parents
  (potty-training, anyone?) does that mean it
  doesnt think for itself?

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Fundamental Understanding

• Having a fundamental understanding of a piece
  of information is nothing more than the utility
  of the information how it is useful.
• A child does not have a fundamental understanding
  of why he or she should use a toilet when going
  to the bathroom. It is taught by its parents
  that it is useful to do so.
• This teaching instills in the child an
  understanding of hygiene and courtesy to other
  people
• Understanding in this sense is only how being
  potty-trained is useful to these two ends (or how
  being potty-trained is useful in avoiding
  punishment)

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References

• Making Machines Creative http//www.psych.utoronto
  .ca/reginold/courses/ai/cache/creativity_article,
  _v2.html
• AI Tutorial http//www.psych.utoronto.ca/reginold
  /courses/ai/ai.html
• Wikipedia http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/artificial_
  intelligence