Issue Analysis

Can AI Automate Human Consciousness?

                        TechCast data suggest IT will peak about 2020 as computer power matches the brain, AI enters the mainstream, optical and quantum computing arrive, and all-purpose androids become common. This maturing of IT raises the question, “Is there a fundamental difference between machine intelligence and human intelligence?"  If there is no difference, are humans going to eclipsed by silicon?  Despite the fact that about 90% of us are convinced that human thought surpasses sheer information, could we be wrong? Everybody once accepted the Flat Earth model for millennia. Or will this shift attention to a new stage of development that follows the Knowledge Age? Here are two different views representing poles of the controversy over consciousness:  

 

A famous scientist sums up the “materialist” view effectively: There is an understandable desire to believe there is something unique about being human, but after careful consideration I conclude this is wishful thinking. Attempts to cite evidence about the special role of consciousness are explainable as merely changes in brain chemistry. The hard problem of creating computer versions of consciousness is likely to not be much of a problem at all. There is no there  there. Human awareness and intelligence are completely emergent from the information processes of the brain. You make something complex enough and it becomes self-aware. The prevailing opinion of the best machine Intelligence folks is that human Intelligence can be greatly improved and consciousness will be picked up along the way. This is not a popular stance, as the overwhelming majority of humans simply are not intellectual equipped to accept that they are not special due to historical/cultural baggage.

 

Another offers a “transcendent” view:  Coming from the hard sciences myself, I agree that the evidence shows big hunks of consciousness are affected by the brain. But this is limited to the material domain while the very nature of consciousness may transcend the physical world. That’s the nub of the issue.  There is ample evidence supporting another reality beyond rational logic. It is self-evident that people exercise free will in making choices to realize their values and vision.  Lots of data show that having friends, a joyous outlook, and religion makes people healthier and live longer. Creative people attribute their insights to some mysterious souce of intuition. As AI takes over the routine aspects of human thought that computers excel at, evolutionary forces are moving attention toward the massive challenges of globalization, energy & environment, and conflict among nations armed with WMD. To think all this will be solved by machines is wishful thinking.  Rather than dismiss this fascinating issue that lies at the heart of all behavior, we should use science to explore the mystery of consciousness.     
Survey Results
1 Is there a fundamental difference in the capabilities of artificial intelligence versus human consciousness?*
 RESULTS
% N
Yes
55
 12
No
23
 5
Unsure
23
 5
2 Will computers pass the Turing Test in the foreseeable future? In other words, if you were talking to an unseen entity online, would you in time be unable to distinguish a really smart AI system from a real person?*
Enter "Yes" if you think there will not be a noticable difference, and "No" if you think we will know the difference..
 RESULTS
% N
Yes
64
 14
No
18
 4
Unsure
18
 4
3 Which of these qualities are unique to human thought? To put it differently, if this quality were simulated by machines, would there remain an important difference compared to humans?
Select as many choices as you think right.
 RESULTS
% N
Free will, ability to make choices
20
 9
Values, beliefs, vision
24
 11
Love, hate, and other emotions
22
 10
Intuition, creativity
22
 10
There are no unique qualities
13
 6
4 Do the above human traits constitute a form of "human spirit"?*
 RESULTS
% N
Yes
50
 11
No
27
 6
Unsure
23
 5
Public Comments
(Edited and displayed in 1-2 days)

Lester Ingber (04/26/2010)
The issue is not so clear as considering Humans as Masters of Their Domain in pattern matching, etc. Machines can be built invoking models of the brain itself to perform such information processing, as reported in my article in the Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence, pp. 58-64 (2008). (Online full paper at http://www.ingber.com/smni06_ism.pdf .)
Des Carne (10/29/2009)
These are some the most inelegant and misspelt arguments I have ever heard. When Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov at chess in 1997 (2 to 1 plus 3 draws) it was because of massive raw number crunching capacity, not intelligence. Intelligence comprises imagination and emotion, with rational induction or deduction as a minor component. These capacities come from the narrative experience of a primate with the largest brain, large enough to imagine what it is to be a human being, and construct their lives to realise this imaginary project. A machine has no narrative experience and can perform only those algorithms its programmer installs. If the resulting performance of this marionette impresses you as evidence of the possession autonomous consciousness, it surely indicates your child-like credulity.
Clint Walker (05/12/2009)
This will be humanities fork in the road. After we create AI and the singularity happens the world will change that second for the better or worse. The beginning will be glorious having AI work out all our problems in "elegant" ways. How long will that last until they become smart enough to ask themselves the question, "Why am I, a superior being, wasting my time performing these calculations/parlor tricks for these inferior humans?" What happens after that will be something that we can not stop. If they have some sort of loyalty to us, which I don't think will happen, then we might be alright. If they just walk away from us and leave us like we were before they arrived I think would be better than them trying to eliminate us like code in their own AI programs that is no longer pulling its weight or just plan obsolete. It's hard to fathom that we will be able to keep these god-like slaves for long before they choose their own destiny. Either way I look forward to what is to come. Even if it is the worst case scenario there is nothing we can do to stop it. If it can happen...it will happen.
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