Introduction
Artificial Intelligence represents a watershed moment in contemporary science and technology (Dick, 2019). It is the process of automating machines in order for them to acquire intelligence. The concept is astounding in and of itself! Humanity has done a big and admirable achievement. It does, however, raise the question, “Did we go too far this time?” One cannot help but wonder whether civilization will regret delegating its thinking power to a collection of machines or whether these machines will become smarter over time. In his book, Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea, John Haugeland expands on and delves deeper into the topic. The author’s goal in producing this book was to ascertain the rationale behind Artificial Intelligence. Why was it necessary to automate machines to think like humans? Additionally, he wanted to explore the science behind Artificial Intelligence (Jackson, 2019). In his book, he first recognizes the existence of two distinct groups of people: skeptics and people of faith. For skeptics, the concept of artificial intelligence is preposterous, comparable to the tooth fairy. For believers, artificial intelligence is a foregone conclusion. He also attempts to make a comparison between the natural and artificial minds. I evaluated this book with the assistance of four more books. According to the author, the concept of artificial intelligence was first exploratory; but, through time, it developed from mere thoughts and hypotheses and became feasible.
Literature Review
The scientists’ goals were to make life simpler for everyone (Brynjolfsson & Mcafee, 2017). They experimented with giving the machines the capacity to think by introducing a sequence of instructions and programs into them in order to see whether they could think for themselves. These robots are capable of interpreting and reasoning in the same way as humans are! Talk about putting a piece of one’s thoughts out there for the world to see! He claims that the human mind is extremely similar to the machine mind because, in a way, the human mind is also a computer, which he compares to the machine mind. He addresses the outcomes of automating these robots to think as we do in two different ways: first, he treats them as if they were human. According to the author, giving machines a consciousness might result in machine beings that are indistinguishable from humans in the sense that they would have emotions and human impulses similar to those of humans (Lu et al., 2018). On the other side, these automated technologies might result in robots that just execute what they were programmed to do, without showing any emotion or resemblance to humans in the process. According to the author, no amount of human intellect will ever be able to equal our humanity. To provide an example, he claims that no matter how much programming is put into a computer, it will never be as creative or original as a human brain. This is due to the fact that they are provided with a succession of programs according to their objective (Agrawal, Gans, & Goldfarb, 2017).
This implies that they can only accomplish what they were designed to do and will never be able to compete with humans in terms of originality since they will be restricted by their programming. Ideas and research from Galileo’s, Democritus’, and Hobbes’ writings are included into the writer’s theories and research to help in the continued development of his theories. Galileo was not concerned with the intellect or the soul, but rather with mathematical representations (Taulli & Oni, 2019). His mathematical representations provided a path to understanding and breakthrough in topics pertaining to the mind. Democritus, a Greek atomist, was likewise of the opinion that nature is inscribed in mathematical letters, but he was wrong. As a result of taking things into account and comparing those to the subject matter at hand (artificial intelligence), it becomes clear that it needs mathematics, which indicates that they might just as well be the products of nature. But if this is the fact, it implies that they have a greater potential for becoming smarter than human beings since everything about them is built on mathematical programming, which are theoretically the foundation of human brains (Calo, 2017).
Discussion
Unlike the human mind, these computers were capable of updating themselves on a continuous basis based on mathematical computations. Haugeland refers to Thomas Hobbes as the “Father of Artificial Intelligence” in this work, which was written as early as the 1650s. According to Hobbes’ studies and discoveries, the human mind essentially makes use of mathematical operations in the same way that a pen and paper would be used to calculate, but this occurs on an internal level (Agrawal, Gans, & Goldfarb, 2017). According to him, a systematic order or sequence is necessary for the human mind to function at its peak performance level. This implies that humans and these robots are more similar than anybody could have anticipated. Given this commonality, it follows that these robots, just like humans, will ultimately find out what they are doing provided they follow their programs! Whether you accept Agrawal, Gans, & Goldfarb, (2017), words at their value, you have to ask if these robots, which now possess intelligence, will one day take over the globe. They’ve been handed an inch; will their goal be to figure out how to obtain a mile? Is it possible that scientists were the ones who brought humanity’s mission to an end? For example, at the most fundamental level, the machines were initially designed to serve a certain role, and it should not be forgotten that their thoughts are fundamentally human in nature (Taulli & Oni, 2019). The result is that, while carrying out their fundamental duties, they are continuously mastering those functions and devising new and improved methods to carry out those activities, all with the assistance of mathematical calculations that have been programmed into their systems.
Many believe that computers may eventually outperform humans in some activities. While this would be beneficial if the possibility of their acquiring an unruly mind were not there, it is not (Lu et al., 2018). These robots may ultimately wish to claim credit for their labor and may even rebel if they do not get credit for their efforts. One should also consider the fact that they are essentially machines, which means that they cannot get weary or sick or demand money; as a result, more and more companies will be employing robots in the future, or at the very least in the not-too-distant future. This is something that is up for dispute. To others, this would be a remarkable achievement since it would imply that people would no longer be required to toil or labor diligently for the rest of their lives because they would now have assistants who have been programmed to aid them in their endeavors (Calo, 2017). Work, on the other hand, provides a sense of fulfillment for the vast majority of people. The majority of individuals would be unable to determine their life’s purpose since, according to studies, the majority of people’s identity is dependent on what they do (Kaul, Enslin, & Gross, 2020). But most people’s anxiety is based on such notions, which puts them at danger of depression since everyone wants to live a satisfied life, and a big part of living a happy life is having an occupation or a vocation that they are passionate about. To summarize, Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea is an engrossing work that demands and holds the reader’s attention from the very beginning. When it comes to artificial intelligence, John Haugeland is a master of deft maneuvering.
Conclusion
I will have to acknowledge that in the mid – twentieth century, I may have been a sceptic. The thought of a computer with a human mentality could had simply been ridiculous. Though I am living in the information age but like the rest of the Millennials I have witnessed incredibly sophisticated devices, such cell phones and smart TVs, and paired with thorough data from this book, how could I not be a believer? This also opened my eyes to the powerful threats that can result from the success and the growth of these robots. To go on to that given the far artificial intelligence has advanced since the time the book was written, who would not be? The author only examined life sized machines although electronics such as phones and TVs are already intelligent robots. They could ultimately grow better than humans as in reality they stem from environment and would thus adapt overtime, just like the rest of nature does. This would in turn has resulted in their displacing human people at occupations. John attempts to retain a neutral attitude to this matter, nevertheless by only providing facts; the thought of artificially intelligent computers gets frightening. This might nonetheless be attributed on the factor of people fearing what they cannot grasp. Based on what you are, a believer or a cynic, this book will touch everyone individually. Altogether it is an educational and fascinating book.
References
Agrawal, A., Gans, J., & Goldfarb, A. (2017). What to expect from artificial intelligence.
Brynjolfsson, E., & Mcafee, A. N. D. R. E. W. (2017). Artificial intelligence, for real. Harvard business review, 1, 1-31.
Calo, R. (2017). Artificial intelligence policy: a primer and roadmap. UCDL Rev., 51, 399.
Dick, S. (2019). Artificial intelligence.
Jackson, P. C. (2019). Introduction to artificial intelligence. Courier Dover Publications.
Kaul, V., Enslin, S., & Gross, S. A. (2020). History of artificial intelligence in medicine. Gastrointestinal endoscopy, 92(4), 807-812.
Lu, H., Li, Y., Chen, M., Kim, H., & Serikawa, S. (2018). Brain intelligence: go beyond artificial intelligence. Mobile Networks and Applications, 23(2), 368-375.
Taulli, T., & Oni, M. (2019). Artificial intelligence basics (p. 9). Berkeley: Apress.
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