There is little
doubt that future A.I. will be capable of doing significant damage. For
example, it is conceivable that robots could be programmed to function as
tremendously dangerous autonomous weapons unlike any seen before. Additionally,
it is easy to imagine an unconstrained software application that spreads
throughout the Internet, severely mucking up our most efficient and relied upon
medium for global exchange. But these scenarios are categorically different
from ones in which machines decide to turn on us, defeat us, make us their
slaves, or exterminate us. In this regard, we are unquestionably safe. On a
sadder note, we are just as unlikely to someday have robots that decide to
befriend us or show us love without being specifically prompted by instructions
to do so. This is because such intentional behavior from an A.I. would
undoubtedly require a mind, as intentionality can only arise when something
possesses its own beliefs, desires, and motivations. The type of A.I. that
includes these features is known amongst the scientific community as ‘Strong
Artificial Intelligence’. Strong A.I., by definition, should possess the full
range of human cognitive abilities. This includes self-awareness, sentience,
and consciousness, as these are all features of human cognition.
On the other
hand, ‘Weak Artificial Intelligence’ refers to non-sentient A.I. The Weak A.I.
Hypothesis states that our robots—which run on digital computer programs—can
have no conscious states, no mind, no subjective awareness, and no agency. Such
A.I. cannot experience the world qualitatively, and although they may exhibit
seemingly intelligent behavior, it is forever limited by the lack of a mind. A
failure to recognize the importance of this strong/weak distinction could be
contributing to Hawking and Musk’s existential worries, both of whom believe
that we are already well on a path toward developing Strong A.I. To them it is
not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’. But the fact of the matter is that all
current A.I. is fundamentally Weak A.I., and this is reflected by today’s
computers’ total absence of any intentional behavior whatsoever. Although there
are some very complex and relatively convincing robots out there that appear to
be alive, upon closer examination they all reveal themselves to be as
motiveless as the common pocket calculator. This is because brains and
computers work very differently. Both compute, but only one understands—and
there are some very compelling reasons to believe that this is not going to change.
It appears that there is a more technical obstacle that stands in the way of
Strong A.I. ever becoming a reality.
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