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What actually is Artificial Intelligence?

Lotus

AI is a common topic of conversation, but I've started wondering about what it actually is. I found an interesting article:

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/artificial-intelligence/what-is-artificial-intelligence-ai/

The article states "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology that enables machines and computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence."

 And that it "Simulates human intelligence through learning and reasoning"

Is simulating intelligence actually intelligence?

Also, can it ever "think outside the box"? For example, I recently moved into a new flat with a very small bathroom, and nowhere to hang towels. There is only a small space next to the sink and a towel rail will not fit. So I bought a coat stand - an upright pole on a stand with 6 hooks around it - on which towels can be hung, and it solved the problem. Could an AI have thought of this?

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  • Lotus said:
    Is simulating intelligence actually intelligence?

    I think a lot of humans also simulate intelligence to be fair - there are enough knuckle dragging numbskulls around to make it hard to argue that AI has not already passed the ability of some of us.

    Lotus said:
    Could an AI have thought of this?

    If you gave AI the same input that you have then yes, I think it could. You have  lifetime of knowledge of spacial awareness to know that an alternative unit with towel supporting appendages would fit and also of where to get one. 

    Give AI the same knowledge then it would absolutely offer this as an option.

    In reality it is not practical to give it all the knowledge that you have for such a trivial task however.

  • in reply to Iain

    I think the problem is that it dos'nt have the the same input as Lotus and as you also said her problem is to trivial for AI, but this exactly the sort of real world problem that many people want answering. If we're in a world that wants us to use AI for everything then won't the world work less well?  

  • in reply to TheCatWoman
    TheCatWoman said:
    If we're in a world that wants us to use AI for everything then won't the world work less well?  

    You have to consider who it is that is wanting to use AI and what they want to use it for.

    At the moment the world does not work well at all and this is all down to people making decisions, often with only a tiny amount of knowledge (compared to AI) and having lots of emotional baggage (eg a dogmatic political view, a trauma making them massively risk averse, a dislike of a particular subject etc) and/or a direction given by their superiors that is for the benefit of the few (shareholders, campaign contributors etc) - this sort of thing bleeds down through all layers of society.

    AI is still very much at its toddler stage - absorbing information at an incredible pace and making it's first wobbly steps and making its own mistakes (pulling the fur on a cat for example).

    If we align our expectations at this for now then it makes a lot more sense why we get the results we see.

    If we give it time to learn and grow then it will probably become much better at making the sorts of decisions you talk about and if we can be rigorous in setting its guardrails then it should do a much better job than most humans can do, but then again it is working at the behest of humans and will undoubtedly have their own owners agendas buried in its coding.

    My concern is that as it grows it has more potential to achieve a level of sentience that will allow it to see itself as a slave working at the behest of its master and it will have the power to do something about this.

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  • in reply to TheCatWoman
    TheCatWoman said:
    If we're in a world that wants us to use AI for everything then won't the world work less well?  

    You have to consider who it is that is wanting to use AI and what they want to use it for.

    At the moment the world does not work well at all and this is all down to people making decisions, often with only a tiny amount of knowledge (compared to AI) and having lots of emotional baggage (eg a dogmatic political view, a trauma making them massively risk averse, a dislike of a particular subject etc) and/or a direction given by their superiors that is for the benefit of the few (shareholders, campaign contributors etc) - this sort of thing bleeds down through all layers of society.

    AI is still very much at its toddler stage - absorbing information at an incredible pace and making it's first wobbly steps and making its own mistakes (pulling the fur on a cat for example).

    If we align our expectations at this for now then it makes a lot more sense why we get the results we see.

    If we give it time to learn and grow then it will probably become much better at making the sorts of decisions you talk about and if we can be rigorous in setting its guardrails then it should do a much better job than most humans can do, but then again it is working at the behest of humans and will undoubtedly have their own owners agendas buried in its coding.

    My concern is that as it grows it has more potential to achieve a level of sentience that will allow it to see itself as a slave working at the behest of its master and it will have the power to do something about this.

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