In the text about the Chinese Room Thought Experiment, it is clear to see What Dr. Searle is on about. We are presented with the problem, "What defines something as having true understanding rather than just interpreting?" It is easy to convey the appearance of understanding. However it is hard to truly understand. This is the main argument that Dr. Searle has against computers is will they ever be able to truly understand. To represent a true brain one must be able to not only draw conclusions about certain subjects and pieces of information. Computers must take that information and put it together and form new thoughts and ideas. Computers will never reach the capacity of brains because they are just running programs that interpret symbols. Computers also do understand, they simply compute.
If we are ever to create a true artificial intelligence, we must first find out what makes us, as humans, be aware of ourselves. Aristotle**'s On Plants gives us a unique insight into what makes something alive. Plants themselves seem to be alive. They require nourishment, and they do reproduce. But are they alive? Unlike animals plants do not have habits. They do not require sleep. Plants don't move, nor do they reproduce similarly to animals. Therefore we can conclude they are alive, but they do not have souls. Plants require certain conditions to live, however we find animals of the same species living in different environments.
All of this together shows us just how hard it will be for us to design something that is truly intelligent. One cannot just simply pass the Turing test to prove intelligence. You must be able to design a system that TRULY understands what it is doing, not just interpreting symbols. Once we approach this level of understanding then we not only have created an intelligent being, but also have learned what makes us human.
No comments:
Post a Comment