Introducing Artificial Intelligence

The big questions of “mental processes” tackled by AI are bound to a number of disciplines – psychology, philosophy linguistics and neuroscience. AI’s goal of constructing machinery is underpinned by logic, mathematics and computer science. A significant discovery in any one of these disciplines could impact on the development of AI.

So, for Weak AI, the model is a useful tool for understanding the mind; for Strong AI, the model is a mind

AI has one foot in science and one in engineering

An agent is something capable of intelligent behaviour. It could be a robot or a computer program.

he holy grail of Artificial Intelligence is to understand man as a machine. Artificial Intelligence also aims to arrive at a general theory of intelligent action in agents: not just humans and animals, but individuals in the wider sense.

The AI problem is one of the hardest science has ever undertaken.” AI has one foot in science and one in engineering.

What sets AI apart from other attempts to understand the mechanisms behind human and animal cognition is that AI aims to gain understanding by building working models. Through the synthetic construction of working models, AI can test and develop theories of intelligent action

Artificial Intelligence is a huge undertaking. Marvin Minsky (b. 1927), one of the founding fathers of AI, argues: “The AI problem is one of the hardest science has ever undertaken.” AI has one foot in science and one in engineering.

Imagine being able to leave your body and shifting your mental life onto machinery that has better long-term prospects than the constantly ageing organic body you currently inhabit. This possibility is entertained by Transhumanists and Extropians.

Perhaps our intellectual capacity is limited by the design of our brain. Our brain structure has evolved over millions of years. There is absolutely no reason to presume it cannot evolve further, either through continued biological evolution or as a result of human intervention through engineering.