2 What is artificial intelligence
Smart home devices, combined with the rise of useful generative AI services like Microsoft Copilot turned AI into a popular conversation topic. You now see AI isn’t new; it’s been part of our lives for years. At times, AI might seem like a new transformative force, but the evolution of AI spans decades. Along the way, it became more intertwined in our everyday lives. At its core, AI is the capability of a computer system to mimic human cognitive functions such as learning and problem solving. By using math and logic, AI systems can simulate human reasoning, make predictions, and take actions based on patterns in existing data.
In this video, you’ll discover what AI is and how it was first explored back in the 1950s.
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Transcript: Video 2
Voice Over:
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has become a buzzword you might have heard recently through social media, in conversations, or even on TV. However, it is not new.
In fact, you have been using AI for years and might not even realise it.
At times, AI is portrayed as a force capable of changing the way we live, work, and interact.
But beyond the hype, AI is a tool, one that has been evolving over decades, shaped by the contributions of countless individuals across various fields. And AI is not just for those who work with technology, it is for all of us.
So, what is artificial intelligence?
AI is the ability of a computer system to learn from past data and errors, enabling it to make increasingly accurate predictions for future behaviour.
This encompasses a broad range of activities, such as problem-solving, speech recognition, learning, and decision-making.
So, what makes AI ’intelligent’?
At its core, AI is the intelligence demonstrated by software or machines in performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.
These tasks can include recognising patterns, solving problems, or making decisions.
For example, when you interact with Siri on your mobile phone, it is not exhibiting intelligence in the same way a human would.
Rather, humans have programmed it to respond to certain prompts and execute functions, such as providing the latest weather update in your area or letting you know your local news.
So, is it actually intelligent, or is it simply trained to respond to your prompts?
Consider a robot playing chess with a human. We observe it making strategic moves, but does that mean it is ‘intelligent’ in the human sense? Well, the answer is no.
The robot is merely following algorithms and strategies it has been programmed with, and it learns from past games through machine learning, which allows it to improve its performance over time.
The question of whether a robot’s actions during a chess game equate to intelligence, or if it is just executing a programming process, is not a new one.
Back in 1950, Alan Turing, a well-known mathematician and computer scientist, asked the question: 'How can we determine if a machine is intelligent or not?'
To answer this question, he created the famous Turing Test, in which a human questioner would interact with either a human respondent or a computer.
The questioner would then have to evaluate whether it was a computer or a human being that was responding.
The purpose of the test was not to see if the answer was correct. For example, when asking a question like 'what is the sum of two plus two’, Turing did not seek to assess if the answer would be four, but more specifically, to evaluate whether the respondent was a machine or a human.
Back then, when Turing created this test, he was trying to reach the point where it would no longer be possible to distinguish between responses from machines and humans, where machines would be able to respond with the same functionalities and nuances that human beings have.
And this analysis of intelligent systems did not stop in 1950 with Turing.
AI has advanced significantly over the years and is increasingly present in our daily lives.
Take for instance your interaction with social media apps, like Instagram. The app uses machine learning, a subset of AI, to determine the content to show you next based on your recent activity.
A similar process is at work when you finish looking at a program on certain streaming apps too.
Even though AI is all around us, it can be portrayed inaccurately, a common occurrence in Hollywood films.
Some films depict AI as having feelings or being superior to humans.
Usually, these narratives serve to provoke thought rather than accurately represent how humans interact with AI.
These representations are artistic interpretations and do not actually reflect AI’s capabilities.
So, while AI can mimic certain aspects of human intelligence, it is important to remember that it operates very differently from human intelligence.
AI does not have consciousness, emotions, or the ability to understand context in the same way humans do.
It is a tool created and controlled by humans, and its capabilities are limited to what it has been programmed to do.
That is why it is so important to understand what AI is - it allows you to discern fact from fiction.
Video 2
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Activity 1 Knowledge and intelligence
Timing: Allow approximately 5 minutes
Now that you know what AI is, another compelling topic is the distinction between knowledge and intelligence. While often used interchangeably, they’re different concepts. In the this video, you’ll learn about the distinct differences between both.
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Transcript: Video 3
Voice Over:
Continuing with the question, 'Can a machine ever truly be considered intelligent?' In 1980, John Searle, an American philosopher, created a test to answer this question.
Correct, artificial intelligence is not a new concept, as it has been developed and tested throughout history.
This test is called the 'Chinese Room Argument'. Let’s dive in.
Imagine you know how to speak Mandarin, but your friend does not.
Your friend enters a room filled with symbols and a rulebook.
The rulebook states: 'When you see this symbol, answer with that symbol'.
You are outside the room, sending your friend a message in Mandarin.
Your friend, inside the room, does not understand Mandarin, but follows the rulebook. They look at the symbols, figure out the pattern and respond accordingly.
When you receive their response, you may think your friend understands Mandarin, but in reality, they are just following a set of rules without understanding the language.
This test is intended to show that knowledge and intelligence are two very different things.
When it comes to AI, a machine may not know Mandarin, but it knows how to recognise the pattern and answer with a message.
Perhaps this analogy with Mandarin is not part of your daily routine, but interacting with AI virtual assistants like Siri might be.
Who has not asked Siri to tell a joke or share a story?
A woman uses a laptop. A phone icon connects to an exclamation mark, then to another phone icon.
At the end of the day, these systems convert our language into something they can recognise.
They are constantly searching for matches in their databases, but they don’t truly comprehend our language. Let’s look at another example of this.
Imagine you are not feeling well, and you arrive at a doctor’s office for a visit. You will go through a series of questions asked by nurses, ’How long have you been feeling like this?’ 'What is your pain like, on a scale from 0 to 10?’
They would check your vital signs, and then when you finally see the doctor, you’d repeat much of the same information.
It is a repetitive process that takes up time and resources.
So, understanding the difference between knowledge and intelligence can help us make these processes more efficient.
Now, imagine a second situation: Upon arriving at the doctor’s office, an AI system asks all these questions.
It swiftly analyses your responses, takes your vital signs, and any other relevant information.
By the time you meet with the doctor, the system has already generated a preliminary diagnosis based on the patterns it identified.
It streamlines the process, allowing the doctor to address your needs more efficiently.
This system operates intelligently by identifying patterns within the collected data thereby accelerating the diagnosis and treatment process.
As we have seen, knowledge and intelligence, while interconnected, are fundamentally different.
Knowledge is about understanding the world around us, while intelligence is about applying that knowledge in new and innovative ways.
But what fuels this programming? What allows AI to recognise patterns, make predictions, and learn from past experiences?
The answer is data.
Video 3
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Discussion
Knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts, information, and skills gained through education or experience. Intelligence is the ability to apply knowledge to think abstractly, as measured by objective criteria such as problem-solving.
AI isn’t knowledgeable in the way humans are. AI systems can process, analyse, and make predictions based on the data they receive. This ability might give the impression that AI is knowledgeable, but it’s different from human intelligence. AI can only simulate knowledge based on the parameters set by its programming and the data it was trained on. AI doesn’t work without data; it forms the foundation of AI’s abilities and determines how well it can simulate knowledge.