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I, Robot

We have the technology but do we have the intelligence?
20151214 computers walton
computers used in first moon landing

I was reading an article on Artificial Intelligence the other day which described the eventual evolution of man to machine, according to the author, when he dropped that intriguing word, ‘Singularity’ into his equation. Science fiction readers will have bumped into that word a number of times but those of us more comfortable with the current reality may not have given the word much consideration. The more mundane use of the word is just what it appears to be - unique, unusual, distinctive.

However in the physics and mathematics world, the definition gets a little more complex: “a point at which a function takes an infinite value, especially in space-time when matter is infinitely dense, as at the center of a black hole.” The article I was reading proposed a definition somewhere between those two. The writer’s idea of a singularity was the melding of the human mind with a mechanical entity. This meeting of mind and matter seemed to him to be quite an evolutionary event, a natural progression or next step in the homo sapiens experiment.

The author of course traced our evolution through the ages, from when we emerged from the primordial soup, crawled up on shore and sprouted appendages. You know the rest of the story.

The idea expressed in the article was that at sometime in the not too distant future we would create a machine that could think for itself (artificial intelligence) and even know how to repair and replicate itself. All we had to do was supply the initial software. Indeed, that machine or robot would eventually be able to write its own software and thus have achieved true artificial intelligence. If that sounds like your life experience - it is meant to.

Of course we have a myriad of examples of robots all around us. Little machines that sweep the floor; automobiles that have sensors which control the vehicle and suggest to the automat that is sitting behind the wheel that it ought to take some evasive action; fake cats that purr and meow and smart phones that are smarter than the average bear. We walk around with communication devices that we have programmed to do things like tell us where we are on the earth; advise the person on the other end that we are temporarily unavailable or some other important information accompanied by the appropriate emoticon or even a selfie; send the doctor your vital statistics, and tell you what the weather is like outside. These robots operate on software from human minds, extensions of our logic, memory and technique.

We have programmed machinery to manufacture things, store them in warehouses and fly and land aircraft. Big Blue could play chess and compete on Jeopardy! How long before we reach the point in our evolution where we can create a machine with artificial intelligence? How far are we from the technological singularity - a time when machines will make decisions for us and we meekly follow along? Or are we already on that doorstep?

Most of us are still comfortable with the advances made by the ilk of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon as the programs tell us  to buy this, use this spelling of a word, store information on a  Cloud (which cloud is that - the one that looks like a puppy?) and that the stock market is trending up or down but don’t worry it is only a correction. After all, these systems are using man-made software instructions. Or are they? At what point in the logarithm does the machine take over and based on past historical data, predict what it (and you) will or should do next?

The thing is - we are already there. What are we, but robots, operating on acquired (artificial) intelligence, using our attached tools (grasping hands, winking eyelids) and unattached devices or tools (hammers, knives, computers) to exist now and into the future? Our minds, housed in the computer chip array called a brain, acquire intelligence through experience and study. We have the means of replicating ourselves but so far have only managed to carry our being around in an animalistic body that is rather frail and will deteriorate over time. All we need to do is find a more durable case. We have started this evolution with metal hips, knees, and other aids to improve chewing, hearing and seeing. We have extended the average lifespan from a Biblical three score and ten to four score and more. The next huge step will be to transfer that thing we call a mind into a more durable and self-replicating case.

Or, and this is just saying, are we already part of the whole, part of the Singularity I call existence? I, robot, suspect we are.





Bill Walton

About the Author: Bill Walton

Retired from City of North Bay in 2000. Writer, poet, columnist
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