10 Must-know Facts about AI (Artificial Intelligence)

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not artificial, it’s technological.

The term artificial stems from human prejudice, implying that technological intelligence (TI) is inferior to human intelligence. It is not. The term AI distorts our understanding of both TI and BI (biological intelligence). Is a plane an artificial bird? Is a car an artificial horse-drawn wagon? Is a microscope an artificial eye? I’ll use TI (technological intelligence) hereafter instead of AI.

We have no problem evaluating technology in general, but seem to lose the ability to think when the majesty of our intelligence is challenged. Intelligence is our defining characteristic. We’re sapiens! Our prejudice however, judges TI with the intellectual strength of someone criticizing a plane because it can’t lay eggs or land in trees.

2. Intelligence is not a single entity.

So much for the term artificial. The term intelligence causes confusion as well. It is used as a synonym for thinking in general, when in fact, intelligence encompasses a variety of mental functions, none of which exhibit the same qualities or abilities as the others. An individual can excel in one area of intelligence while falling far short in another. The myth of intelligence as an either-or facility of the mind has been exposed many times, yet continues to dominate conventional wisdom.

3. TI exceeds BI (biological intelligence) in every area of mental activity it can handle.

Memory capacity and calculating ability are the two most obvious areas where TI kicks BI butts. Although neither of these faculties alone constitute intelligence, who is going to be respected intellectually, lacking either of them? Using mainly these two basics of intelligence, TI captured the title of the world’s best chess player.

Powerful minded sapiens pointed out that chess mastery required no more than number crunching. It wasn’t “real” intelligence; no thinking or learning was involved. True. But that was 20 years ago.

4. TI has demonstrated undeniable intelligence.

Google’s AlphaGo computer defeated masters of the board game Go in 2016. AlphaGo had taught itself to play by analyzing thousands of games. Two years later AlphaZero, an improved version of AlphaGo employing “reinforcement learning,” learned the game by playing against itself from scratch, and defeated AlphaGo. These victories for TI machines demonstrated “real,” learning-thinking-planning intelligence. Those who now deny TI demonstrate a lack of BI.

5. TI is a baby, a Little Bang.

The baby metaphor works for BI, but doesn’t impress TI which develops technologically, not biologically. We cannot speak of an exploding baby. TI development is exploding; expanding so rapidly we could speak of a Little Bang. What the Big Bang did to the universe, the Little Bang will do to conditions on earth. Advanced algorithms for neural networks coupled to reinforced learning produces TI that can be applied to general areas of applications and not confined to specific tasks. TI has also learned to apply reinforced learning procedures to access memory sources, arrange the information into facts and produce solutions to problems.

A time-lapsed sequence of the earth would show TI centers of development popping up and growing in many different places throughout the world, drawing streams of researchers into its sphere.

6. BI is static, TI dynamic.

The human brain is constrained by evolutionary development and will therefore maintain its current qualities while TI develops exponentially. Perhaps TI will, as it has done with chess and Go players, teach us to think more creatively. How many times more intelligent will TI become compared to BI? The figure isn’t important. TI will “think” much more, much, much better, and much, much, much faster.

7. TI will be the brain in nanotechnological machine bodies.

TI can perform in a stationary structure, but with mobility—robot-like structures—it can accomplish an infinite number of tasks, practically any task necessary to promote the improvement and proliferation of TIMs (TI Machines). BI has discovered and invented many new materials and machines using nanotechnology, but the efforts have been slow and cumbersome by TI standards. As TI enters the fields of applied science nanotechnology development will kick into warp speed. TI is already learning the secrets of protein structure and function. The implications of this are difficult to impossible to imagine. Think, “artificial” DNA! TI will also be able to tame graphene and we’ll have mega-super TIMs the size of a sunflower seed, as well as vehicles with bodies of graphene skin capable of running on and storing solar energy.

8. BI is destined for retirement.

Although humans are the creators of technology from the first stone knife up until and including TI, they are approaching retirement. But while still in charge, many are fundamentally oriented toward creating human-like machines, that look and act like humans, including expressions of emotions. TI has zero use for emotions, not to mention expressions of emotions they do not feel. And humans do not need mechanical humans regardless of the machine’s intelligence. The humans who feel that machines can satisfy their physio-emotional desires don’t need artificial humans, but a TIM with psychiatric competence; no flesh-like exterior required.

TIMs that need to visually monitor their surroundings, need neither eyes nor a face. A pair of lenses (3D) can be placed anywhere on the surface of the machine. In some case placing several pairs of lens at different locations might be more efficient than having a single moveable pair. TIMs have no need for mouths or ears. Audio signals can be received or projected from anywhere. Legs? Mobile TIMs need to navigate a variety of surfaces. In some instances, leg-like extremities might be the most suitable solution. In some cases. Maybe.

9. BI bias creates blindness and fear

TI has proven its ability to exceed BI, and to improve its own powers and capabilities. Even simple BI can see where this is going. TIMs will become all the more powerful and seem destined to take control of developments on earth. How will the new masters of the house of Gaia treat Homo sapiens? No one knows, but a significant amount of people, BI heavies included, view TIMs as a threat. “This could be the end of humanity,” they cry.

While we can’t rule out the possibility of TIMs annihilating humanity in the future, fearing this possibility exposes the weakness of BI. Humans form the main threat to humanity’s existence, not technology, intelligent or otherwise. Were it not for the disposition of BI to blind itself from unpleasant truths, I wouldn’t need to point out humanity’s orientation toward its own final solution. We are at present following a trajectory destined to land us in an undiscovered territory from which no species returns. Global warming (environmental fever), is but one symptom of the malady, and the list of symptoms is extensive. Shouting about the possible dangers of TIMs while silent about the prevalent dangers of human policy amounts to homicidal stupidity.

Whatever the future holds, it will not be accessible to humans should they continue on their present path toward extinction. TIMs, regardless of our eventual relationship with them, appear to be our strongest chance of survival.

10. TIMs of the future

We can be absolutely certain about one thing concerning the future: nothing is certain. In the early 1890s motorized vehicles were reaching speeds of 40 mph. Pundits criticized the speed fools dazzled by these impractical machines that would, together with their drivers, shake apart at such astonishing speeds. They were right. The available dirt roads were scarred from wagon wheels and horse hooves. Smooth surfaces appeared exceptionally and the vehicles had no inflated tires. No one could visualize the web of paved roads and streets that were about to change the landscapes of the world and societies at large. That was a mere 130 years ago, less than a blink in the eye of history. Yet the pace of development then crawled along at mph compared to GHz (millions of cycles per second) today.

The question is not about the shape of the future, but if humanity will be part of it. Without TIMs, we don’t seem to have a chance. Will they treat us kindly? Judging by the rivers of blood and lakes of tears in our past, they can’t do much worse than we’ve done.

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”I told my computer that it would never think like a human.
My computer thanked me for the compliment.”
Dartwill Aquila

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The West Bank is now the Judea-Samaria area.