The Dangers of the Thinking Machine
If computers can think, then I am terrified.
Human beings thoughts, and in turn actions, are largely restrained by emotions, such as empathy. Imagine a sociopath without the limits of intelligence that human beings possess. Sure, computers lack mobility. However, they have access to infinite networks of information. A thinking machine, acting in its best interest, could potentially take over the world.
This theme has been explored numerous times in science fiction. In The Terminator, a war occurs in the future between man and machine. ‘Skynet’, an artificial intelligence created by the military, spontaneously becomes conscious of his self. Fearful of the power of this suddenly conscious machine, the military attempts to destroy it. This ultimately leads to nuclear war, as ‘Skynet’ tries to preserve his existence.
If a machine can think, then there is always the threat of it becoming self-aware. Self-awareness is the realization of ‘I’, or the subjective self. If a machine can think, and it has memory of events, then it is only inevitable that it will realize that these past events make up his subjective self.
A. M. Turing argued in his article Computing Machinery and Intelligence that digital machines have the ability to think. His argument is based on a very narrow view of thinking. Ultimately his conclusion is that if a computer can imitate thinking, then it is in fact thinking.
However, it is my faith in the computers ability to recite, rather than think, that prevents me from worrying too much about the fate of mankind at this point in history. Of course, mankind has been known to stop at nothing in the name of discovery.
Human beings thoughts, and in turn actions, are largely restrained by emotions, such as empathy. Imagine a sociopath without the limits of intelligence that human beings possess. Sure, computers lack mobility. However, they have access to infinite networks of information. A thinking machine, acting in its best interest, could potentially take over the world.
This theme has been explored numerous times in science fiction. In The Terminator, a war occurs in the future between man and machine. ‘Skynet’, an artificial intelligence created by the military, spontaneously becomes conscious of his self. Fearful of the power of this suddenly conscious machine, the military attempts to destroy it. This ultimately leads to nuclear war, as ‘Skynet’ tries to preserve his existence.
If a machine can think, then there is always the threat of it becoming self-aware. Self-awareness is the realization of ‘I’, or the subjective self. If a machine can think, and it has memory of events, then it is only inevitable that it will realize that these past events make up his subjective self.
A. M. Turing argued in his article Computing Machinery and Intelligence that digital machines have the ability to think. His argument is based on a very narrow view of thinking. Ultimately his conclusion is that if a computer can imitate thinking, then it is in fact thinking.
However, it is my faith in the computers ability to recite, rather than think, that prevents me from worrying too much about the fate of mankind at this point in history. Of course, mankind has been known to stop at nothing in the name of discovery.
posted by Lara Souter at 8:13 PM
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