Intelligence Versus Conscious

Many fear artificial intelligence. They buy into the Terminator idea where robotic and artificial technology turn on humans. They believe that these AI machines are replicas of humans, hence our replacement.

There is no doubt computers have advanced a great deal in the last 40 years. In terms of processing power versus pricing points, we see a billion-fold increase. A smart phone has way more computational power than the entire computer network that launched the Apollo program. At the same time, computers shrunk. Not only are they more powerful, but they fit in our pockets versus requiring an entire floor of a building.

This is a trend we will see continue. Over the next 40 years, we will see a multi-billion-fold increase in computing power. Also, they will continue to shrink to the point where we have nanobots running through everything. This will open up another world of possibilities just like the personal mobile computing devices known as smartphones.

Do you know one area that computers have not excelled at? It is in the area of consciousness.

Forty years ago, computers had zero consciousness. Fast forward to this date, and the consciousness of computers still sits at zero.

There are many definitions of what it means to be conscious. In fact, it might vary from person-to-person. The one thing we do know is that we know a conscious being when we see one. We know when life leaves the body and the person, who was just there a minute ago, no longer is.

Computers and AI are in the "no longer is" phase.

This is not likely to change. We can make computers to look, sound, and act like us but they will not be us. Consciousness is not something researchers can pinpoint.

This creates an interesting shift. Up until this point, intelligence was associated with consciousness. The reason is rather simple: humans are at the top of the intelligence scale (hard to believe I know) and we are conscious. We have not encountered anything that was not conscious and had intelligence.

This is all changing.

In the not too distant future, we will see superior intelligence. Many humans have a tough time accepting this although the case could be made we did not do so well being the smartest cats on the block. This causes us to project our "humanness" upon these machines. Here is where we run into a problem. The only thing on this planet that is human are humans. Nothing else.

For thousands of years, we projected our humanness onto the Gods. We read ancient texts about Gods being angry, jealous, petty, and proud. These are all human emotions. Since I do not know the core of the universe, perhaps Gods are that way. Nevertheless, I can tell you computers are not.

It is going to be a grand debate going forward as super intelligent machines are designed. The Terminator scenario is highly unlikely because computers do exactly what they are programmed to do. Even when they botch up, it is because the code was input wrong (or changed). What is a grave threat is the humans who control or program the intelligence. Quite frankly, global leaders are a bigger threat than the machines.

Remember as children we had a favorite stuff animal. What did we do? As kids, we projected our emotions and feelings upon this inanimate object. We drew comfort, love, and companionship. Maybe the doll was our best friend, a sibling, or an absent parent. Of course, we know the animal was none of those things. It was just a childish game.

Yet we see the elderly in Japan doing the same thing. Over there, they have robots that are programmed to take care of the elderly. They are seeing that these people are forming bonds with the robots. They are projecting their human emotions onto the non-conscious being.

Of course, the robots know no different. As I stated at the beginning, even though it is far superior to a computer in the 1970s, it still is just as lifeless from a consciousness perspective.

Over the next couple of decades, we will see AI race ahead. I surmise we will see the intelligence get so advanced that it will be able to model much of what humans do. This includes feelings. However, just because an object models something, that does not mean it has them. It still will not be a conscious being.

What are your thoughts?

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