Chapter Ten
Artificial Intelligence I: Definitional
Perspective
Historical Perspective

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a driving force
behind our quest to create a machine in our own
image.

Automata begin to appear for general public
consumption during the late 19th century.

The advent of electronic computation has led to an
information revolution in the 21st century
characterized by machines that supply expert
advice, control the environment, and emulate
human thinking.
Philosophical Issues-Man as a
Machine

Descartes (1596-1650) raises the mind-body question. In
particular, “What is the difference between a person and a
machine?” “Treatise on Man” includes a comparison
between a human being and a hypothetical “statue or
machine” that operates like a clock or hydraulic fountain.
Descartes proposes that humans possess a “rational soul”
whereas animals are not capable of reasoning (“I think,
therefore I am.”)

Humans have had difficulty accepting two important
theories: the earth is not the center of the universe and
evolution. Is there a third theory that we need to accept—
man is a complex machine?
Evaluating Descartes’ Approach
Debate over Descartes is religious in nature. The
atheist philosophers of the 18th century took issue
with the idea that a “soul” separates us from the
machine-like model for other animals.
• Descartes' ideas came into direct conflict with the
teachings of the religious community of his time.
• Descartes tries to avoid the conflict; his “machine”
is not a man, simply a “statue” that God forms with
the explicit intention of making it as much as
possible like us.
•
Mechanical Computation

One aspect of an intelligent agent rests on its
ability to perform calculations
 Mechanical calculators represent automata
capable of “imitating” human intelligence on a
“primitive” level.
 The abacus is developed in 2600 B.C.
 In the 19th century, Charles Babbage develops
mechanical machines that anticipate the modern
electronic digital computer. They are a forerunner
of an ultimate “intelligent agent.”
Defining AI
There may not be a single definition. Alternatives
serve to support the authors' special interests.
• The cognitive scientific goal of AI is to codify
knowledge (and meta-knowledge or “knowledge
about knowledge itself”) in order to assemble
systems to explain intelligence and consciousness
itself.
• The engineering goal of AI is to assemble systems
using a computer’s inventory of knowledge and
facilities in order to solve real-world problems.
•
Can a Machine Think and
Understand?
•
This question may be pointless. Noam Chomsky
suggests it is a question of decision, not fact. We must
agree on what defines intelligence, thinking,
understanding (and ultimately consciousness).
•
If a computer passes an “intelligence” test, would we
impart intelligence to it? McCarthy and Shannon note
that we could “stack the deck”—design a program with
preprogrammed responses.
•
Minsky: “Intelligence” is our name for whichever
problem-solving mental processes we do not yet
understand.
The Turing Test
Interrogator
Machine intelligence
Human intelligence
If an interrogator cannot distinguish between machine intelligence and human
intelligence then the machine passes the Turing Test (TT) for intelligence.
Objections to the TT
•
•
•
•
•
•
Theological: Thinking is a function of man’s God-given
immortal soul. No animal or machine can think.
“Head-in-the-sand” argument: Consequences of thinking
machines are too dreadful to contemplate.
Mathematical: Some theorems can neither be proved nor
disproved.
Consciousness: No machine can write a sonnet.
Disabilities: Machines can follow instructions but you
cannot instruct them to have a sense of humor.
Lady Lovelace argument: A machine can never do anything
really new.