Critical Thinking Blog #2

Many people are looking forward to the upcoming technologies that will help improve human nature. Or is it? Artificial Intelligence has been advancing over the years, researchers and scientists are moving at a fast pace to improve versions of robotics. And I must say, that they’ve done a marvelous job so far, robotics are becoming so ‘high-tech’ that its become difficult to distinguish ‘us’ from ‘them’. In my lib 110 course, we were shown video clips of robotics at its highest. The kinds of robots that I’ve saw was the most ‘high-tech’ thus far. These robots were able to share emotions through actions and even facial expressions. Mechanisms are currently being built to share human like qualities. Or is it? My study in philosophy has helped me to wonder whether mechanisms are like us humans even if they shared the same mental states. Scientists will sooner or later build robots to have consciousness like us. Would that be entirely good? That’s the type of questions some can’t help but question. Some are extremely against this idea, merely because this may change our way of life entirely. David Gelernter states in his essay Dream-Logic, The Internet and Artificial Thought he addresses his position on what is being said about consciousness within robotics. "Here is an unfortunate truth: today's mainstream ideas about humans and artificial intelligence thought lead nowhere" (Gelernter 202). In the quote previously given Gelernter shares his thought on artificial intelligence, that being he thinks that thought in robots is not going to happen. Gelernter also states that a machine will not be able to think without free-association which humans do and are able to do daily. Free-association is when one can let their mind wander, in a way like day dreaming. He states they machines will not be able to do that therefore they cannot be build to have a consciousness (Gelernter 202). With that being said, I will reference another authors view point on artificial intelligence with a whole different output. Ray Kurzweil wrote "The Singularity is Near" He argues that "Artifical Intelligence at human levels will necessarily greatly exceed human intelligence for several reasons" ( Kurzweil 138). Kurzweil believes that artificial intelligence will be smarter and will have a huge advantage for the  way of life. He states many reasons to this, one which is that humans are able to only develop their skills in ways that have been encouraged by evolution whereas artificial intelligence can advance us even further with their systematic and well equipped ways. There are many more perspectives on this topic. Here I’ve listed only two views that were contrary. I believe the same thought as Gelernter, I do not think that artificial intelligence can be built like humans no matter how hard we try. Humans are mechanisms with very diverse parts and functions that cannot be copied. And even if someone were to invent a mechanisms with sorts similar to us I am morally against this idea merely because with items and products like robots with high functioning capabilities it will become even more difficult for humans to perform certain tasks and limit our accessibilities. For instance, It will become even tougher to get a job if mechanisms far beyond our expectations to be invented, because if they functioned even close to how humans performed than it will be easy to put unethical robots to do the job with no pay than to give to humans. That’s another issue one worries about.