In his essay “Minds, Brains, and Programs”, John R. Searle argues that a computer is incapable of thinking, and that it can only be used as a tool to aid human beings or can simulate human thinking, which he refers to as the theory of weak AI (artificial intelligence). He opposes the theory of strong AI, which states that the computer is a mind and can function similarly to a human brain – that it can reason, understand, and be in different cognitive states. Searle does not believe a computer can think because human beings have programmed all the functions it is able to perform, and that computers can only compute (transform) the information it is given (351ab¶1). Searle clarifies the meaning of understanding as he uses it by saying that an …show more content…
He, who cannot read or understand Chinese, is then given a second set of sheets written in Chinese, called a “story”, and a set of rules written in English (the “program”). The rules explain how he can compare the second set of Chinese symbols to the first set, thereby allowing him to identify symbols by their shapes. A third set of Chinese writing (the “questions”), along with rules in English, is delivered to him. The rules lay out how Searle can provide the correct Chinese symbols needed to answer these questions through a comparison of the “script” and the “story”. He explains that he could become so proficient at computing using this method that his answers would seem like they were written by a fluent Chinese speaker, even though he cannot read, write, or speak a word of Chinese (352b-353a¶5). He uses this example to show that Schank’s computer does not understand the way a human being can because it is being fed information and is computing it without learning or getting any meaning out of it. Searle delves into this further in order to respond to claims made in support of strong
In his essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that the internet has been changing the way of human cognition. He supports his argument by emphasizes the negative experience that the readers are difficult to focus on deep reading when they read online. In addition, he illustrates the professionals’ studies and explanations of how new technology influences the internet users’ cognition. He concerns that artificial intelligence has slowly changed and has controlled human brain activity.
In Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is Google Making us Stupid?”, he argues that the more humans rely on computers for understanding, the more human intelligence will fall. He starts his argument off by referencing the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Carr uses this movie to compare how the supercomputer in the movie feels his mind going and how he feels the same. He then gets into the specifics of this memory lost.
In the article “Is Google making us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, Carr proposes that technology is causing a negative effect on our brain. Carr believes that since he’s been on the internet a lot more in the past decade he notices that his mind can’t focus on books or essays anymore. Even bloggers, that Carr follows, are coming up with the same conclusion. Since internet access is so quick it’s changing how our minds work and that we are becoming depended on the internet for everything. Carr goes on to say how he thinks that as long as we rely on computers mediate our understanding of the world that our own intelligence will become mixed into artificial intelligence.
However, Carr did not inform the readers his credentials and professional expertise throughout the essay. His profession is established at the end of the essay on a small footnote, which also provided his other essays and books. In the beginning of his essay, he establishes himself as a trustworthy source by discussing catastrophic events and providing small amounts of history. He also used quotes from historical figures such as the British mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead to make readers assume that he researched for his topic, which he did (90). Carr also provided opposing viewpoints by giving the reader’s quotes from theorists who are pro-automation and facts that prove humans can be “unreliable and inefficient” when they are responsible for operating simple tasks (93).
He suggests humans have more controlling over machines. He supports his thought by referring to computers in chess that “the computer has no intuition at all, it analyzes the game using brute force [and] inspects the pieces currently on the board, then calculates all options” (Thompson 343). He points out that the way computer thinks is “fundamentally unhuman” and it is the player who runs the program and decides which moves to take (Thompson 343). After all, computers are just tools that we use to optimize accuracy and
She continues by expressing her fascination with the “power of language”, relaying the degree of her expertise. In addition, an appeal to logos provides statistics and facts. She writes, “Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent” (701), referring to the clarity of her mother’s speech. Moreover, she adds, “But I have noticed in surveys... Asian students, as a whole, always do significantly better on math achievement tests than in English” (703-704).
What this means is the things that are being continuously made are changing our critical thinking skills. Thompson central claim is that computers are not as smart as humans, but once you have been using them over a certain amount of time you seem to get better at working them and that’s what really makes you more efficient in using them. The point that I don’t agree with Carr on is “Their thoughts and actions fell scripped, as if they're following the steps of an algorithm (p.328.)” I don’t agree with Carr’s argument here because he’s emphasizing that human thoughts are being scripted and we don’t think about things critically, but not all of our thinking
The title of the article makes you think of how are we stupid using gooing. Carr capture his audience attention using an allusion from Stanley Kubrick movie 2001, A Space Odyssey. He made his point from the movie with the Supercomputer HAL plead. Gaping any reader who has watch A Space Odyssey or interested in any supercomputer stuff to his article. He highlight the fact that a computer could think for you.
She gave an example by comparing a computer software and a human’s mind working similar to one
In Christina Haas and Linda Flower’s article, Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning, Haas and Flower explore the way reading should be seen. They believe that reading is a process that is actually constructive, and not receptive. This means that the meaning of a text being read is not the same for every reader, and is constructed by the reader for themselves. Haas and Flower performed a study to understand how college students interpret college-level reading.
Based upon the analysis, Parnas’ article is geared more towards people involved in the field of Artificial Intelligence where Eldridge’s article is geared towards people who are not necessarily knowledgeable about Artificial Intelligence yet are interested to learn more about the topic. Throughout the article, Parnas maintains the skeptical attitude towards Artificial Intelligence, literally ending with “Devices that use heuristics to create the illusion of Intelligence present a risk we should not accept” (Parnas, 6). Eldridge on the other hand, maintains a positive attitude throughout the article despite the shortcomings of AI. Together, both authors provide compelling arguments for and against Artificial
The Turing test has become the most widely accepted test of artificial intelligence and the most influential. There are also considerable arguments that the Turing test is not enough to confirm intelligence. Legg and Hutter (2007) cite Block (1981) and Searle (1980) as arguing that a machine may appear intelligent by using a very large set of
Artificial Intelligence is the field within computer science to explain some aspects of the human thinking. It includes aspects of intelligence to interact with the environment through sensory means and the ability to make decisions in unforeseen circumstances without human intervention. The beginnings of modern AI can be traced to classical philosophers' attempts to describe human thinking as a symbolic system. MIT cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky and others who attended the conference
Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Ethics: Literature Review The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, authored by Nick Bostrom and Eliezer Yudkowsky, as a draft for the Cambridge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence, introduces five (5) topics of discussion in the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ethics, including, short term AI ethical issues, AI safety challenges, moral status of AI, how to conduct ethical assessment of AI, and super-intelligent Artificial Intelligence issues or, what happens when AI becomes much more intelligent than humans, but without ethical constraints? This topic of ethics and morality within AI is of particular interest for me as I will be working with machine learning, mathematical modeling, and computer simulations for my upcoming summer internship at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Norco, California. After I complete my Master Degree in 2020 at Northeastern University, I will become a full time research engineer working at this navy laboratory. At the suggestion of my NSWC mentor, I have opted to concentrate my master’s degree in Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and Algorithm Development, technologies which are all strongly associated with AI. Nick Bostrom, one of the authors on this article, is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University and the Director at the Future of Humanity Institute within the Oxford Martin School.
The attraction of artificial intelligence for me lies in its breadth of applicability, both as a method of problem solving in itself and in a symbiotic integration with other areas of computer science. A broad spectrum of applications exist within the artificial intelligence field, ranging from intelligent non-player controlled characters in computer game software to a ubiquitous computing solution that intelligently reacts to a variety of users. This diversity is one of the main reasons that I feel compelled to pursue artificial intelligence further. While I have striven to develop my understanding of artificial intelligence during my undergraduate education, the choreographed requirements of a bachelor's degree have restricted my research to only a minute sample of artificial intelligence’s applications. During my exposure to the field, I have often been unsatisfied with the level of interaction artificial intelligence displays in response to prompts of varying complexity.