Some philosophers, including John Searle, say that computers are not really intelligent. Rather, they just simulate intelligence. However, it could be argued that, just as computers are programmed to respond in different ways to different commands, so human beings are 'programmed' by society, and education, to perform certain tasks. For example, we are programmed to do complicated things like speak a language, as well as more simply things like brush our teeth.
What are your thoughts on this comparison? Is there any difference between the programming of computers, and the 'programming' of humans by society?
I mostly agree with John Searle that computers imitate intelligence because without a human programming it, it cannot exist. Since I am a Christian, my belief is that God created human beings, just like human beings are creating robots. Yes, humans are very intelligent and yes robots are very intelligent, but they cannot surpass their creator because the computer would not be able to do the same. I am saying this in a very broad term, for a concept to get across. Computers and human brains are similar, they can formulate ideas and create many things with their intelligent "software". What separates computers from humans is emotion and experience. For instance, a robot observing Mars would simply show information to a team, versus a human being would be very excited by the discovery and sharing what they have seen with emotion and pride. Computers don't experience fear, pride, or have a passion. They can be programmed to respond a certain way, but it is artificial and does not duplicate natural feeling or intelligence. The textbook gave an example of artificial light and real light. They say the artificial light is real light because humans use light to help construct the artificial light. The same they applied to A.I and humans. But I don't believe it is the same, artificial light will never be natural light as A.I's will not be humans.
Yes, humans are conditioned by their environment to behave a certain way because of their culture and education. However, computers will always listen to the programming unless there is a malfunction. People argue every day with each other about the right way of living or following rules. For instance, there is the branch of philosophy. Philosophers are educated the same way (or "programmed") but they all won't believe in the same theories about human life and find ways to improve education. Computers cannot do this, they cannot learn from human beings and disagree with their programming. Or if someone does not agree with a tradition, they refuse to because of their beliefs, a robot cannot say, "sorry I cannot kill that chicken for you, it's animal cruelty and it's against my beliefs". Humans may be conditioned to certain behaviors and beliefs, but we all have room for change or disagreement, unlike a computer. Besides, the process of learning is longer and more enriching for a human than a robot. Someone may be trying to learn Spanish and enjoy it so they may open up a business in Columbia. Robots will process a language quickly because it was told to, there is no drive or sense of purpose for it. Humans live life with habits to live a high quality life with meaning, robots simply do this because they were told to.
Nice work as always! There is some evidence that AI is beginning to have the capacity to reflect and alter its behavior. It's still very primitive, but it has powerful repercussions
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