几天前，我看到一篇文章让人们相信人工智能(Artificial Intelligence)或 AI 无法超越现在的发展。它完全忽略了未来。但我们都知道，对这一主题的研究比以往任何时候都更加积极。我们已经拥有基于 AI 的代码和机器等，它们将不断改进。让我们看看关于人工智能(Artificial Intelligence)的一些事实，同时也消除一些关于它的神话。
关于人工智能的事实
网上有些文章说机器不能有良心。他们接着说，良心是无法衡量的，也不能被认为是科学的。但我们知道它存在于每个人的内心。无论科学是否认为这是事实，人们都有良心。科学甚至无法测量大脑或神经网络，但它必须承认它们。
以此作为人工智能事实的基础，我将尝试解释与它相关的技术和事物。
文章中的主要论点是，由于良心无法被编程到机器中，因此愚蠢的 AI 是唯一的 AI，并且完全忽略了其他研究人员在Super AI中看到的问题。确实有一种思想流派，人们遵循这种良心和自我意识的理论。他们认为当前的人工智能根本不是人工智能，而只是自动化，因为机器缺少良心和意识。
但我们已经知道，人工智能更多地是在模拟人脑……而不是自动化……(Automation…)因为它涉及代表计算机进行思考。代表计算机/机器思考将意味着操作员的NIL参与。我将在本文的单独部分中介绍自动化与人工智能。首先(First)，让我们看看人工智能(Artificial Intelligence)的类型。
人工智能的类型
您可能已经了解人工智能。它分为许多类型。为方便起见，我们将它们分为初学者使用的三大类。
- 弱智
- 强大的人工智能
- 超级人工智能
弱人工智能(Weak AI)已经存在了很长时间。它只是一台为其设计工作的机器。以车速控制器为例。速度控制器测量车辆的速度并使其处于控制之中。那里没有智能，但它确实消除了人类持续观察车辆速度的需要。
另一个弱人工智能的例子是国际象棋游戏。如果你在用机器下棋，它看起来就像在思考。实际上，它正在解析所有可能的动作以及与每个动作相关的人员伤亡。这并不慢，但仍然发出机器正在思考的信号。
简而言之，如果机器完全基于编码执行一些动作，那就是弱人工智能。你不期望那里有真正的情报。
强人工智能(Strong AI)是机器可以发挥理解作用的一种方式。在弱人工智能中，理解部分是为编码或使用机器的人保留的。强大的 AI 可以根据他们的行为理解并采取行动。
如果你还记得微软聊天机器人(Microsoft)TAY，它整天被人类喂食，一天之内就变成了种族主义者。到目前为止，它是弱人工智能。但如果它知道它必须拒绝什么信息以及收集什么信息，它就会是强大的人工智能。也就是说，忽略那些给它带来负面影响的帖子的人，它明白这是一个必须拒绝的坏知识，我们可以称它为强人工智能(Strong AI)的一个例子。
超级人工智能(Super AI)与意识相连。这是机器知道它们存在并且它们存在是为了某种目的的地方。目前我们没有太多强人工智能(Strong AI)，因此我们认为超级人工智能(Super AI)是不可实现的。从另一边看，研究正在进行中；正在进行实验，我们可能很快就会拥有一台知道它是什么以及它的目标是什么的机器。这只是时间问题！
阅读(Read)：什么是机器学习和深度学习(Machine Learning and Deep Learning)？
关于人工智能的事实——自动化是否(Does Automation)意味着人工智能？
不，自动化可以说是人工智能的一部分。自动化可以像行李传送带一样小。在上面的速度控制示例中，可以稍微修改正在读取速度的机器以使车辆恢复正常速度。同样(Likewise)，可以决定去哪里的无人驾驶汽车可以引导车辆并应用加速。因此，虽然无人驾驶汽车的思考部分可以说是人工智能，(Intelligence)但转向和加速等其他方面都是自动化的。因此可以肯定地说，自动化只是人工智能输出的一部分。
阅读(Read)：什么是 Google RankBrain。
人工智能(Artificial Intelligence)会取代乔布斯(Jobs)吗？
人工智能的困惑在于它可以在未来取代人类从事不同的工作。技术(Technology)作为一个整体已经缩短了就业市场，使我们中的许多人失业。如果机器可以为自己和商业机构思考，它们的速度会比人类快得多。不用说，企业将更多地投资于人工智能。
但是，其他领域总是有开放的空间。有了新技术，机会也随之而来。 只是(Just)要求或技能组合会有所不同。例如，如果无人驾驶汽车可以取代驾驶工作，我们将需要能够维护这些汽车的熟练劳动力。
在这篇文章中，微软解释了人工智能将如何塑造我们的未来。
超级人工智能会很危险吗？
它可能是也可能不是。这取决于喂给机器的东西。如果我们回顾一下TAY的例子，它变坏了，因为人们给它喂了负面的东西。同样，如果机器获得意识并学会忽略坏事，它们就会是好的。如果有邪恶在起作用，他们肯定会开始反击人类。许多(Many)著名物理学家签署了一份请愿书，让政府了解超级人工智能(Super AI)的风险，并停止资助此类项目。但我们知道，企业商业机构在追求利润的过程中可以达到任何程度。即使此类项目被政府停止，一些公司也会非常乐意为此类研究和实验提供资金。这时候我们就需要担心了。
阅读(Read)：什么是机器学习以及它与人工智能有何不同(Intelligence)。
关于人工智能的辩论
关于人工智能(debate on artificial intelligence)的争论有两个方面。害怕机器接管人类的人被称为悲观主义者，而另一组人认为他们可以扮演上帝(Gods)。
在Reddit上的(Reddit)AMA（随便问我(Ask Me Anything)）会议上，比尔·盖茨(Bill Gates)证实了他的担忧。他说，他担心人工智能对人类构成的潜在威胁。他还表示，他同意SpaceX首席执行官(CEO)埃隆·马斯克 ( Elon Musk )等人的观点，不知道为什么其他人不关心机器获得自我意识。
比尔盖茨(Bill Gates)并不是唯一一个担心人工智能负面影响的人。几个月前，斯蒂芬霍金(Stephan Hawking)在一次采访中说，人工智能可以为人类带来厄运。斯蒂芬霍金(Stephan Hawking)是一位杰出的科学家和研究员。他瘫痪了，使用基于人工智能的机器说话。机器学习他的思维过程并预测他接下来可能想要使用的单词。声音是机器人的，虽然有类似的机器可以提供更自然的声音，但斯蒂芬(Stephan)更喜欢电脑声音。他说，需要使用此类机器的孩子在说话时经常想模仿他。
斯蒂芬霍金(Stephan Hawking)正在接受BBC记者的采访，他提出了一个关于他使用人工智能基本形式的通讯机器的问题。对此，他回答说，“完全人工智能的发展可能预示着人类的末日”。他进一步补充说，人类无法以更快的速度进化，无法竞争，将被取代。
同样，苹果联合创始人(Apple)史蒂夫·沃兹尼亚克(Steve Wozniak)（Steve Wozniak ）也过于担心人工智能的未来。用他自己的话来说：
“Will we be the gods? Will we be the family pets? Or will we be ants that get stepped on? I don’t know about that …”
但业内还有其他人更乐观，他们乐观地为人工智能的辩论做出了贡献。Cleverbot的开发者Rollo Carpenter(Rollo Carpenter)表示，他相信人类将长期掌握这项技术，并且它的潜力可用于解决许多现实世界的程序。Cleverbot是一个可以和你聊天的软件，你永远不会发现你正在和一个软件聊天。
他也有点怀疑，但打赌发展人工智能匹配或超越人类智能的效果将有利于人类。他说：
“We cannot quite know what will happen if a machine exceeds our own intelligence, so we can’t know if we’ll be infinitely helped by it, or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it…”
现在检查这段对话框。Ivan Crewkov询问机器，如果Catherine写下它会怎样。机器回答说会很棒。并补充说，“你认为她真的会对写我感兴趣吗？”
对话不是来自任何电影。这是一个名为Cubic的个人助理机器人，它已经在生产中。我想人们会喜欢有一个可以像人类一样说话的个人助理——显示人类的情感等。Cubic是一个众包项目，他们筹集了超过 100,000 美元的众筹资金。为该项目做出贡献的人将在今年11 月(November)左右获得Cubic 。虽然有一个可以随心所欲地交谈的伴侣感觉很好，但也有一些恐惧。
但是，如果像Cubic这样具有更高水平人工智能的机器获得自我意识会发生什么？他们愿意为人类做主人吗？还是他们希望人类为他们服务？
阅读(Read)：什么是元界？
上述关于人工智能的事实并不全面。稍后我会写另一篇文章，我们将更多地讨论关于人工智能的神话。(The above facts about artificial intelligence are not comprehensive. I will come up with another article in a while where we’ll talk more about myths about artificial intelligence.)
Facts, Myths, Debate about Artificial Intelligence
A few days back, I came across an article that was convincing people that Artificial Intelligence or AI cannot progress beyond what it is now. It totally ignored the future. But we all know that research on the subject is being carried out more aggressively than any other time in the past. We already have AI-based code and machines etc. that will keep on improving. Let’s check out some facts about Artificial Intelligence while also dismissing some myths about it.
Facts about Artificial Intelligence
Some articles on the web say machines cannot have a conscience. They go on to say that conscience cannot be measured and cannot be considered scientific. But we know that it is there inside everyone. People have a conscience whether or not science considers it as a fact. Science cannot even measure brain or neural networks, but it has to acknowledge them.
With that as a base among facts about artificial intelligence, I’ll try to explain the technology and things associated with it.
The main argument in the article was that since a conscience cannot be programmed into machines, the dumb AI is the only AI and totally ignores the problems other researchers see with Super AI. There is indeed a school of thought where people follow this theory of conscience and self-awareness. They believe the current AI is not AI at all but just automation just because conscience and consciousness are missing from machines.
But we already know AI is more of enacting the human brain… much more than Automation… as it involves thinking on behalf of computers. Thinking on behalf of computers/machines would mean the NIL involvement of operators. I’ll cover automation vs. artificial intelligence in a separate section in this article. First, let’s check out the types of Artificial Intelligence.
Types of Artificial Intelligence
You probably already know about Artificial Intelligence. It is categorized into many types. For convenience, we’ll just place them in three broad categories that beginners use.
- Weak Intelligence
- Strong AI
- Super Artificial Intelligence
Weak AI has been around for a long time. It is just a machine that works for which it is designed. Take the vehicle speed controller as an example. The speed controller measures the speed of vehicles and keeps them in control. There is no intelligence there, but it sure removes the need of a human to keep watching the speed of the vehicle.
Another weak AI example is the game of chess. If you are playing chess with a machine, it looks as if it is thinking. In reality, it is parsing all the possible moves and the casualties associated with each move. That is not slow but still sends a signal that the machine is thinking.
In short, where the machines are made to perform a few acts based totally on the coding, it is weak AI. You don’t expect real intelligence there.
Strong AI is one where the machines can play the part of understanding. In weak AI, the understanding part is reserved for humans who code or use the machines. Strong AI can understand and take actions based on their actions.
If you remember TAY, the Microsoft chatbot, it was fed with crap all day by humans and became racist in a day. So far it was weak AI. But if it had understood what information it has to reject and what to collect, it would have been strong AI. That is, ignore people who were feeding it with posts that led to negativity and it understood that it is a bad knowledge that has to be rejected, we could have called it an example of Strong AI.
Super AI is connected to consciousness. This is where the machines know they exist and that they exist for a purpose. We don’t have much of Strong AI at present, and hence we consider Super AI as non-achievable. Looking at the other side, research is on; experiments are being conducted, and we may soon have a machine that knows what it is and what are its aims. It’s just a matter of time!
Read: What is Machine Learning and Deep Learning?
Facts about artificial intelligence – Does Automation mean AI?
No. Automation can be said to be a part of artificial intelligence. Automation can be as small as a baggage conveyor belt. In the speed control example above, the machine which is reading speed can be modified a bit to bring the vehicle back to normal speed. Likewise, driverless cars that can decide where to go can steer the vehicle and apply acceleration. So while the thinking part of driverless cars can be said to be Artificial Intelligence, other aspects such as steering and acceleration are automated. Hence it is safe to say that automation is just part of the output of artificial intelligence.
Read: What is Google RankBrain.
Will Artificial Intelligence replace Jobs?
Confusion about artificial intelligence is that it can replace humans in different jobs in the future. Technology as a whole has already cut short the job market, making many of us unemployed. If machines can think for themselves and the business houses, they’ll do it at a speed much higher than that of humans. Needless to say, businesses will invest more in artificial intelligence.
However, there is always scope for other fields to open up. With new technology, there come opportunities too. Just that the requirement or the skill set would be different. If for example, driverless cars can replace driving jobs, we’ll need a skilled workforce that can maintain these cars.
In this post, Microsoft explains how Artificial Intelligence will shape our future.
Can Super AI be dangerous?
It may or may not be. It depends on what is fed to the machines. If we look back at the TAY example, it went bad because people fed it negative things. Likewise, if the machines earn consciousness and learn to ignore the bad, they will be good. If there is evil working on it, they may definitely start countering humans. Many of the renowned physicists signed a petition to let governments understand the risks of Super AI and to stop funding such projects. But we know that corporate business houses in their pursuit of profits can go to any extent. Even if such projects are stopped by governments, some corporate houses will be more than happy to fund such researches and experiments. It is then that we need to worry.
Read: What is Machine Learning and how it is different from Artificial Intelligence.
Debate on artificial intelligence
The debate on artificial intelligence has two sides. The ones afraid of machines taking over humans is termed pessimists, while the other group thinks they can play Gods.
In an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit, Bill Gates confirmed his fears. He said he is worried about the potential threats that artificial intelligence poses to humankind. He also said he agrees with people like Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, and doesn’t know why others are not concerned about machines gaining self-consciousness.
Bill Gates is not the only one concerned about the negative effect of artificial intelligence. A few months ago, in an interview, Stephan Hawking said that artificial intelligence can spell doom for mankind. Stephan Hawking is a prominent scientist and researcher. He is paralyzed and uses a machine based on artificial intelligence to talk. The machine learns his thought process and predicts the words he may want to use next. The voice is robotic and though there are similar machines that provide more natural voices, Stephan prefers the computer voice. He says children who need to use such machines often want to imitate him when speaking.
Stephan Hawking was being interviewed by a BBC reporter who posed a question about his communication machine that uses a basic form of artificial intelligence. To this, he replied that “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the doom end of the human race”. He further added that humans, who cannot evolve at a faster speed, cannot compete and would be superseded.
Likewise, Steve Wozniak, the Apple co-founder is too worried about the future of artificial intelligence. In his own words:
“Will we be the gods? Will we be the family pets? Or will we be ants that get stepped on? I don’t know about that …”
But there are others in the industry who are more optimistic and contribute to the debate on artificial intelligence optimistically. The developer of Cleverbot, Rollo Carpenter, says that he believes that humans will remain in charge of the technology for a long time and the potential of it can be used to solve many of the real-world programs. Cleverbot is a software that can chat with you and you will never find out that you are chatting with a software.
He too is a bit skeptical but is betting that the effects of developing artificial intelligence matching or surpassing human intelligence would be in favor of the human race. He says:
“We cannot quite know what will happen if a machine exceeds our own intelligence, so we can’t know if we’ll be infinitely helped by it, or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it…”
Now check this piece of dialog. Ivan Crewkov asks a machine what if Catherine wrote about it. The machine replies that it would be great. And adds, “Do you think she will be really interested in writing about me?”
The dialog is not from any movie. It is a personal assistant robot named Cubic and it is already under production. I guess people would love to have a personal assistant that can talk like humans – showing human emotions, etc. Cubic is a crowdsourced project and they raised more than $100,000 in crowd-funding. People who contributed to the project will be getting the Cubic somewhere around November this year. While it feels good to have a companion with whom you can talk as much as you want, there are some fears attached as well.
But what happens if machines like Cubic with higher levels of artificial intelligence gain self-consciousness? Will they be willing to serve humans as masters? Or will they want humans to serve them as slaves?
Read: What is Metaverse?
The above facts about artificial intelligence are not comprehensive. I will come up with another article in a while where we’ll talk more about myths about artificial intelligence.
