What AI Is Not…
We have spent a couple blog posts now discussing what AI and machine learning as well as what our AI and technology can do. What about what Artificial Intelligence is not? Is AI going to take over the world? Are robots going to become sentient and destroy the need for true human interaction?
To put it bluntly, no. AI is simply algorithms decided, designed, and programmed by humans to behave only the way in which they are designed.1 While yes, they do learn more as they are given more data, they do not suddenly decide, “I just want to learn about penguins!” when given datasets of tropical birds. As humans, we have that choice to go further down a rabbit hole and derail when researching something we may find interesting. The AI in question, on the other hand, would become a great expert on many tropical birds, and only tropical birds.
AI has no sense of common sense, and that is a huge defining factor of what makes humans, humans. You and I both know leaving late for an event during rush hour is not the best idea, or that if you want to quickly cool down a beverage you put ice in it, not leave it in the fridge for a few hours. Due to the lack of common sense, this prevents AI from being more human.2 That is not to say people do not want their AI to head in that direction, but for right now it is not within our current technology limits.
It also stands to reason that AI...simply cannot reason. Given that AI is programmed to learn and focus on a specific task, it is unable to decipher if X is because of Y or if Y happened because of X; it just knows that X and Y occurred.2 As humans, we can see the bigger picture and understand what is essentially cause and effect.
While AI is smart, always learning and adapting, it can only learn what humans program it to learn. While it is possible that people may program AI to do sinister things, the AI itself will not suddenly decide to do these things without interference.
Smith, Rob. “What Artificial Intelligence Is Not.” TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 14 Dec. 2014, https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/13/what-artificial-intelligence-is-not/.
Toews, Rob. “What Artificial Intelligence Still Can't Do.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2021/06/01/what-artificial-intelligence-still-cant-do/?sh=2443856b66f6.
