Artificial Intelligence free essay sample

If one does research on artificial intelligence (AI), they will find themselves inundated with futuristic robots and android like expectations. A more realistic camp that is working on technology that can benefit the consumer or society in the relatively near future will exist in the next 30 to 250 years. We believe the strength of AI lies somewhere in the middle of these extreme boundaries. Without futurists and dreamers, where would the world be today? The commercial airliner, putting a man on the moon, and a network of railroads all would have been thought impossible at some point in history. Inventors, entrepreneurs, and investors put pen to paper, paper to plans, and prepared these plans to realize their dreams. It’s important to dream about the future to help us contemplate how we are going to get there. We learned from the dot com bust that technology needs have some economic viability or technology will very hard to sustain. We will write a custom essay sample on Artificial Intelligence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Most companies have learned this tough lesson and future AI research will no doubt follow this trend to develop more intelligent objects and expert systems that truly benefits society. No discussion about AI would be complete without expounding upon the social impacts of AI. The human physic has an insatiable desire to conquer and control nature, land, and people. Technology has decreased hardships and suffering by raising standards of living through improved health and increased literacy throughout the industrialized world. Any discipline with the power that AI can wield needs to have a balance to fight against the abuse of its uses and protect those with less knowledge power that are recipients of the benefits this technology offers. The current state of our society is already seeing the impact of increasing obesity, a digital divide between those who have and have not, and people who create their own virtual world isolating themselves from communities. Thesis Scientists working on Artificial Intelligence research should not aim at replicating human intellect and consciousness in machines; rather they should work on creating highly specialized and intelligent machines with immense transaction processing agility and expert decision support systems. What is Artificial Intelligence There are many definitions to AI and not anyone is the standard but we will use this one to guide us through our project. â€Å"The attempt to understand the nature of intelligence and produce new classes of intelligent machines through programming computers to perform tasks, which require reasoning, and perception† (Adams 60). This is a two-pronged attempt in which we use AI as a research tool to understand how the human psyche works and then use this merging of psychology and computer science to build machines that think (Adams 60). It’s this second prong that has sparked much debate about how this technology can threaten humanity as we know it. Many AI researchers are not computer scientist anymore, but psychologist (Adams 60). One theorist states objects man made or in nature have two environments, an inner and outer environment. A cars outer environment would be how it behaves on the road but the inner environment would be the engine and other systems. Sometimes outer environments are shared and can be relatively easy to understand, manipulate, or control. It is understanding the inner environment that has perplexed many (Adams 60). History of Artificial Intelligence One could argue that the search for AI began as 1834 when scientists began to envision analytical engines, but our discussion will mainly focus on a timeline from 1956 through 2050, and beyond. The history of AI has been though many phases and some projected phases are on the horizon. There has been a roller coaster of booms and busts in early AI history that would resemble a bell curve. A success in a particular method or technique would bring a flock of investors and disciples to study them. The predictions fail to materialize and even though there were modest accomplishments it was always overshadowed by a newer fad (Bainbridge 1). The Romantic Period in AI research from 1856 to 1965 ignores what is going on in behavior sciences. Early AI research focused on computation techniques that provided general problem solving techniques. This was much buzz and excitement with the success of this so-called intelligent activity (Bohumir 2). AI was over billed and sold and on how easy it would be to eventually create a machine with human consciousness. To do this seemed like a natural progression (Adams 61). This is followed by a relative Ice Age (1965-1975) when most lost respect for it as a scientific discipline (Bohumir 2). There were several reasons that early pioneers over billed the short term potential of AI research. First was the rapid early success of computation techniques. The human brain was considered by some to be rather simple and would be easy to replicate. Computers are much better at rapid calculations than humans and it seemed only natural they could be programmed to be smarter than us. AI was not yet a professional discipline and lacked social norms within the community to reign in itself thus promoting hustlers who were not afraid to take risk. Journalists loved to talk about AI and futuristic robots. Finally, as we learned from the dot com bust in any fast moving field, short-term potential is usually overestimated (Bainbridge 1). A new optimism set in from 1970-1975 as researchers realized smaller yet more constrained problems could be solved with AI computational techniques and a commercial usage could be reached with in ten years (Adams 61). Then, from 1975-1980, AI began merging computer science research with other psychologist and linguist disciplines (Adams 61). Then, the Application Age began in 1980 and has lasted until the present day. The financial industry now realizes a new sector is open for investment and a more entrepreneurial age has spawned. Most research is spun off to university labs and AI products are marketed to military, industrial, medicine, and other services. (Adams pg. 61) The Ages of Artificial Intelligence The next three ages are futuristic expectations of how AI might change our society over the next forty years. Although there will be exponential growth, we believe the timeline from Adams is much too aggressive and it will be many more years before we can match a human’s intellect, if this is even possible to do so. The Age of Merging takes place during the years of 2010-2020. The United States, Japan, and China are leaders in research and development for AI. Intelligent computers and telecommunications networks finally merge phones, medical care, 3-D Internet, radio, television, and the education system. Direct human-Internet communication is made possible with implanted chips (Bohumir 3). The scientific disciplines of biotechnologies and nanotechnologies have exponential growth and merge together during this age. New discoveries are made to DNA computers and low levels of intelligence (Bohumir 3). Legislative bodies use AI-based expert systems to enact laws. Many new laws are needed to govern and protect a new intelligent environment. Some areas of concern are electromagnetic smog, the use of robots, protecting data, and the protection of liberal arts (Bohumir 3). This leads to the Age of Self-Reliance which will span the years 2020-2030. Intelligent computers and telecommunications networks manage and do their own repairs, research, and operations. New material enables higher levels of intelligence. Direct communications between humans and computers becomes available with implanted chips and then later without chips. AI is used to improve the atmosphere to prolong the earth’s environment. Computers will match the processing power and memory of the human brain (Bohumir 3). This then brings us to the Non-Mysterious Age of 2030-2040. Our natural living environments are much more holographic and data is mined from the environments. This enables new explanations for phenomena such as extrasensory perception, energy fields, bioenergy, and psychotronics (Bohumir 3). Finally, the moment we have been waiting for, and an exact copy of a humans intellect can be created. Laws quickly follow governing the use of human intellectual property (Bohumir 3). Three Main Barriers to Artificial Intelligence There have been three significant barriers that have plagued AI research and need to be resolved. The first is understanding natural language. Computers can understand short choppy words, but phrases and sentences like inquiries pose a more complicated issue. Once computers can understand spoken language and turn it into editable screen text, there will no longer be a need for a keyboard (Adams 61). Secondly comes the manipulation of objects. Industrial robots can perform very primitive tasks like lifting, welding, and painting, but they perform them much more efficiently. For a robot to do things that a consumer would consider viable in our daily lives like wash dishes or take out the trash, it has to be able to perceive and understand its environment. More than likely, this would be accomplished through sensory devises similar to our eyesight with optics. It needs to understand positions like foreground, background, shadow, edge, beside, and underneath. As humans, we take these and many other sensory skills for granted (Adams 61). Finally, expert systems that replicate human decision making evolve. Expert systems are constructed differently than conventional software. Past software has served us well with programs requiring transactions or general computations. Expert systems have two parts. One part is the knowledge base which contains a database and rules to allow the database to be manipulated. The other is the inference engine. It is independent of the knowledge base and can carry out logical inferences. Expert systems are one of the first commercially usable products of AI. These systems have been used in high payoff situations like oil exploration, logistics, and medical diagnoses. If these systems can be completely perfected, they could rival manager and administrator positions (Adams 61). Applications of Artificial Intelligence The true measure of any society is not what it knows, but what it does with what it knows. Warren Bennis, â€Å"Why Leaders Cant Lead† Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widespread and extends to almost every field of technology and human endeavor. â€Å"AI is no longer a bleeding-edge technology hyped by its proponents and mistrusted by the ainstream. In the 21st century, AI is not necessarily amazing. Rather, it’s often routine†Ã¢â‚¬Å" (Menzies 18). Areas as diverse as military applications and entertainment use AI technology to enhance their potential. Raymond Kurzweil defines the goal and scope of AI as â€Å"†¦the art of creating machines that perform functions that require intelligence when performed by people† (Kurzweil 14). Since computers are the most â€Å"intelligent† of modern day machines, it is no wonder that AI research found a natural ally in computers. AI can be broadly classified into two areas – learning and non-learning systems. Learning systems adapt and learn from their environment, and apply the additional information gained in its future operations. An example of a learning-system is the â€Å"Deep Blue† computer program and the IBM Supercomputer that defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in six games in 1997 (Menzies 22). Non-learning systems are relatively simple automatons that perform a complex task by manipulating the instructions given to it. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle One of the exciting applications of AI with potential for both military as well as space exploration is in the area of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) control. In both areas of military capacity and space exploration, their full potential remains unrealized because of the limitations of mortal humans. Space exploration requires travel to distant objects, separated from the earth by billions of miles. The current speed of today’s travel would prohibit humans from reaching some of these objects in their entire lifetimes. However, a UAC controlled by AI, uninhibited by human mortality, can travel long distances over long spans of time. Similarly, in the military realm, intelligence gathering of enemy positions and tactics using reconnaissance aircraft is a routine practice. However, such surveillance flights are fraught with danger, putting the life of the pilot in harms way. A UAV controlled by AI could do the same job without putting human life in jeopardy. â€Å"The attempt of man to fly UAC’s has been going on for a long time. Use of UAV’s can be traced back to use in World War I†¦The UAV can be described as any platform that is operated without on board human occupation. Systems, which exist today, include helicopters, airplanes, balloons, blimps, and even satellites. Their autonomy varies from human interaction from a remote console to full autonomous takeoff and landing† (Dufrene). AI controlled UAV research is an effort to creating an Expert System that can control an aircraft. However, a fully autonomous UAV is still in the future. â€Å"Some of the problems that still exist today include the fact that an expert pilot’s decision-making process is difficult to imitate with computers. The dynamic environment and dynamic conditions affecting the aircraft are areas that have to be adapted to such an Expert System† (Dufrene). Decision Support System Another application of AI is in the realm of Decision Support Systems (DSS). AI enhanced decision support systems can be found anywhere from a doctor’s consulting room to an executive’s boardroom. One of the critical areas of DSS with ramifications for human lives remains in the military with the Landing Signal Officer (LSO) on an Aircraft carrier. Due to the tight confines of the aircraft carrier, landing a fighter jet on the carrier is a grueling task, especially so during rough weather conditions. â€Å"In addition to operating what may be termed as an extremely busy airport, aircraft carrier landing operations are affected by a number of variables not associated with a normal airport. Of these, the most critical are fleet tactical considerations, flight deck space constraints, aircraft carrier maneuvering space (sea room), flight deck motion (pitch and roll) †¦ airborne aircraft fuel status, aircraft ordinance†¦above all, time constraints† (Richard). The last seconds before the aircraft lands is the most critical phase in the process, where the LSO is required to make a decision on the aircraft landing safety in the final four seconds. Any error in judgment at this stage could lead to fatal consequences. Due to better computational and processing capacity, computers running AI enhanced DSS can help the LSOs avoid human-error and make accurate calls to either land or abort landing. Computer games According to the Interactive Digital Software Association, computer and video games is a $6. 35 billion industry annually (Cass 41). Though not at the cutting edge of AI research, the gaming industry was one of the early adopters of this technology. The average computer game player does not like to play against a mediocre foe; he or she prefers to take on a worthy opponent. AI has the perfect application in this situation. Using neural networks, which attempt to model how neurons behave in the brain and genetic algorithms, which use digital evolution and selection to develop a solution to a problem by trial and error, games can be empowered to outwit human players (Cass 41). However, since the gaming industry lacks independent research and development into AI, most of the techniques used in the gaming industry are borrowed from the successes of other industries. Natural language processing and vision One of the most difficult tasks for any AI system is the ability to understand human language with all of its complexities and variations. Yet, researchers at IBM and other institutions are making progress in enabling computers to understand speech and written text. Understanding vision is another emerging technology with implications for AI. â€Å"Intelligent vision requires the ability to understand the image that a camera or other sensory device produces. This requires providing the computer with a representation that it can manipulate, along with the background knowledge, context, and computational and inferential methods that it needs to understand the image† (Apte et al). As computers and computing devices become ubiquitous in the everyday world, applications need to become easier for non-technical users to use. User-friendly applications often need to understand and anticipate the needs of the users and thus, in some sense, must behave intelligently. AI, therefore, has become an integral part of the information revolution. Economic considerations When someone says â€Å"I want a programming language in which I need only say what I wish done,† give him a lollipop. Alan Perlis, â€Å"Epigrams on Programming† The use of AI to make Robots more â€Å"intelligent† is a laudable goal in itself. Such robots can be put to use where the environment is too dangerous for humans to operate in such as the inside of a nuclear reactor or a chemical spill cleanup. Smart robots can perform jobs that are too repetitive and mundane for humans. AI enhanced robots have thus been put to use in several car manufacturing facilities in Japan, Europe and the Americas. Some visionaries have visualized a world in the future where robots perform all the work, thus freeing humans to cater to the more â€Å"natural† human activities like relationships, the arts, and invention. Together, with the undeniable economic benefits potential, AI unfortunately also can have negative impacts for the world economy. Industrial robots, the kind that work in car manufacturing units, have already displaced a multitude of factory workers. â€Å"Industrial robots are now being joined by service robots, of which there are more than 5,000 units in operation world-wide† (Pelaez and Krux). International Federation of Robotics defines service robots as â€Å"A robot which operates semi or fully autonomously to perform services useful to the well being of humans and equipment, excluding manufacturing operations† (Pelaez and Krux). The entry of AI empowered robots in both industrial and service sectors can only spell doom for human employment. â€Å"In 1997, a Study Group on Social Trends (SGST) carried out a survey comparing the main innovations in robotics provided by previous Delphi Studies conducted in Germany, England, France, Spain and Japan†¦ Drawing on the results of this research a new Delphi Study took place in 1998 †¦This is the first Delphi Study to have systematically addressed a wide variety of issues related to the change in working patterns and company organization as a results of the impact of advanced Robotics. The forecasts made by the experts involved are summarized in Table 1† (Pelaez and Krux). The results of this study indicate that the entry of AI enhanced robots in every conceivable work setting will only lead to widespread human unemployment. Unless future generations redefine the concept of work, unemployment will lead to unease and instability in society. If intelligent machines will eventually replace humans in the workplace, then ensuring the adequate provision for the livelihood and sustenance of human society should become a priority. In such an environment, a socialistic system of equal wealth distribution for all humanity will be the clear winner. Table 1. Main effect of robotics and advanced automation (year 2010) Technological developmentChanges in workWorking dayCompany Organization The cost of purchase, programming and maintenance of robots will come within reach of small and medium sized companies. 80% of industrial jobs will require a medium-high level of qualification. In the services sector, 50% of jobs will require a medium- high level of qualification. In most companies in the industrial sector with a high level of automation, work will be in shifts and working hours will be flexible. Reduction in middle managers and less possibilities for making a career in the company. 50% of tasks in many industrial sectors will be undertaken by robots. The rate of temporary jobs will reach 40% in the manufacturing sector and 50% in services. In most companies in the services sector with a high level of automation, work will be in shifts and working hours will be flexible. This will take place more slowly than in the manufacturing sector, but will depend on the specific activity carried out. Labor relationships in working groups will become more individualized. Expansion of robotics in services sector. Manufacturing employment will fall over the next ten years. Employment in the services sector will increase. Working hours will be shortened, though not significantly before year 2010. Reduction in occupational accidents. Strong investment in robotics in OECD countries. Salaries will be kept at the present level. There will be an increase in functional mobility, saturation levels, number of tasks and duties to be undertaken, greater intensity and job enhancement. Reduction in labor disputes. Greater employment nstability in both industry and services. Strengthening of the core management of the company and growing precariousness for the rest of the employees. Source: Antonio Lopez Pelaez, Impactos de la Robotica y la Automatizacion Avanzada en el trabajo. Estudio Delphi, Sistema, Madrid 2000. Benefits and Detriments to Society- Socially and Culturally Hear the rest, and you will marvel even more at the crafts and resources I contrived†¦. It was I who made visible to men’s eyes the flaming signs of that were before dim†¦ One brief word will tell the whole story: all arts that mortals have come from Prometheus. -Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound Prometheus speaks of the fruits of his transgression against the gods of Olympus: his purpose was not merely to steal fire for the human race, but also enlighten humanity through the gift of intelligence or ‘nous’, the rational mind†. The intelligence forms the foundation for all of human technology and ultimately all of human civilization. The work of the classical Greek dramatist illustrates a deep and ancient awareness of the extraordinary power of knowledge. Artificial intelligence, in its very direct concern for Prometheus’s gift, has been applied to all the areas of his legacy—medicine, psychology, biology, astronomy, geology—and many areas of scientific endeavor that Aeschylus could not have imagined (Luger 13). Though Prometheus’s action freed humanity from the sickness of ignorance, it also earned him the wrath of Zeus. Outraged over this theft of knowledge that previously only belonged to the gods of Olympus, Zeus commanded that Prometheus be changed to a barren rock to suffer the ravages of the elements for all eternity. The notion that human efforts in knowledge constitute a transgression against the laws of God or nature is deeply ingrained in Western thought. It is the basis of the story of Eden and appears in the work of Dante and Milton. Both Shakespeare’s and the ancient Greek tragedians portrayed intellectual ambition as the cause of disaster. The belief that the desire for knowledge must ultimately lead to disaster is evident throughout history as witnessed by the Renaissance, the age of enlightenment, and even the scientific and philosophical advances of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Thus, we should not be surprised that artificial intelligence inspires so much controversy in both academic and popular circles. (Luger 14) Indeed, rather than dispelling this ancient fear of the consequences of intellectual ambition, modern technology has only made the consequences seem likely, even imminent. The legends of Prometheus, Eve, and Faustus have been retold in the language of technological society. The technological society is a human network rather than a physical entity in the traditional sense. Its members are not bound by any constitution. They work together because they share a common belief in enabling people to share new technology appropriate to their working and living environments. Human centered issues of diversity, human purpose, participation, equality, social responsibility, ethics, and creativity are no longer peripheral issues as they are central to the social and economic progress of all societies, especially the advanced technological societies. Much of the faith that information technology provides technical solution to work life and living environments is increasingly becoming none suspect and unsustainable. Growing research interest in societal issues such as work and organizational cultures, creativity and innovation, cooperation and participation, and culture and communication among AI and information technology communities shows a sign of hope for future human centered perspectives of research and applications. However, we must always be vigilant about the seductive nature of the technical solution of human problems and the narrowness of the culture of ‘short termism’ (Duffy 21). Several philosophers have argued on philosophical grounds against the feasibility of building human-link consciousness or intelligence in a disembodied machine. Philosophers argue that consciousness cannot be captured by rule or logic-based systems or by systems that are not attached to a physical body, but leaves open the possibility that a robotic system using neural networks or a similar mechanism might achieve artificial intelligence. Some observers foresee the development of systems that are far more intelligent and complex than anything currently known. One name for these hypothetical systems is artilect. Artilects are artificial intellects. With the introduction of artificially intelligent, non-deterministic systems, many ethnical issues will arise. Many of these issues have never been encountered by humanity. The accepted definition of artificial intelligence is put forth by John McCarthy in 1955. â€Å"Making a machine behaves in ways that would be intelligent if a human were so behaving. † Since that time, several distinct types of artificial intelligence have been elucidated. Strong Artificial Intelligence Strong artificial intelligence deals with the creation of some form of computer-based artificial intelligence that can truly reason and solve problems; it is a strong form of AI that is said to be sentient, or self-aware. In theory, there are two types of AI: †¢Human- like AI in which the computer program thinks and reasons much like a human mind. †¢Non- human- like AI in which the computer program develops a totally non- human sentience and a non- human way of thinking and reasoning. Weak Artificial Intelligence Weak artificial intelligence deals with the creation of some form of computer- based artificial intelligence that cannot truly reason and solve problems; such a machine would, in some ways, act as if it were intelligent, but it would not possess true intelligence or sentience.