AI and Automation
A strange, unfamiliar term has recently entered our lexicon. The term is artificial intelligence (AI). How and when did this term first enter our awareness? In 1956 a small group of mathematicians at Dartmouth College held a workshop to focus on the possibility of “thinking machines.” This group is credited with founding the field of artificial intelligence, currently known as AI. Not only is AI an unfamiliar term, but nomenclature related to AI is also unfamiliar to many people. There are many terms related to AI which must be defined and studied in order to understand the benefits and drawbacks of AI.
Acquaintances have joined our personal quest to discover the potentialities of AI. My inquiry took me back to my high school graduation ceremony. I was honored to deliver a student address at my graduation. The topic—Industry—was selected for me by my class adviser. Not only did my adviser assist me in selecting my overall topic but he also suggested I should discuss automation in my address. The term was unfamiliar to me and most of my high school classmates in the mid-20th century.
Industrialists still practice automation, the technology to perform repetitive tasks without human intervention. The term automation was first used in 1946 by executives in the automotive industry. Automation and AI are sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably. AI creates systems able to learn, reason, and make decisions like a human. Even young children use their intelligence to learn from their experience. For example, toddlers learn to walk by observing the effects of gravity on their bodies and making decisions to adjust their muscle movements. The action of children manipulating toys and games is based on their decision-making capabilities. Artificial intelligence, therefore, is not really artificial in the sense that artificial sometimes means “not genuine.” AI is clearly a genuine phenomenon in today’s world.
AI is of genuine concern to many people. When automation became a social issue during the mid-20th century some folks became uneasy. The same is even more true of AI, an exceedingly recent societal phenomenon of the 20th/21st century. It remains to be seen how modern societies ultimately respond to AI, driven as it is by the Information Age in which we are embedded. In particular, cell phones and personal computers affording access to the Internet have proliferated exponentially since 1990. The Information Age commenced at approximately mid-20th century.
Should modern man be fearful of a surfeit ofinformation as members of society living in the Information Age? Our answer,—Yes, and No. We quote from an ACRT Journal article (ACRT stands for AI, Computer Science, and Robotic Technology): “AI is improving the quality of human life, but poses dangers from unintended disastrous and undesirable outcomes if unregulated.”
There are many beneficial aspects of AI relating to efficiency and productivity. Healthcare practices could benefit from AI. Self-driving cars could supply advantages if we convince traditional drivers of their safety. Most residents have been connected to chat rooms at our banks or businesses. Some folks still must be persuaded that the helpful person who chats with us on the other end of the line is not an actual person.
We have encountered several undesirable dimensions of AI. The term AI Agent describes a software program which autonomously performs tasks for the user by perceiving their environment, making decisions, and taking actions to achieve specific goals. These are not personal, human goals. They are the goals of the AI Agent! The software could write an “original” essay, or generate a video which pictures human beings who do not actually exist performing tasks which do not actually happen. A recent example is a video of Barron Trump giving a speech. These outcomes could be the result of algorithms capable of producing novel, original content. These outcomes may be described under the heading of “Generative AI” a term that is largely self-explanatory. Generative AI and machine learning are related concepts.
Intelligence is a gift of The Creator. Likewise, consciousness is God’s gift to advanced forms of living entities. The two concepts are related. We propose that AI mimics the intelligent abilities of humanity. Perceived this way, we propose that bio-scientists inadvertently acknowledge amazing gifts endowed to living beings by The Creator of All Things.
Our previous post from 2-18-23 deals with similar issues. I recommend readers access this link as an addendum to the current post:
