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- <article class="h-entry">
- <header>
- <h1 class="p-name">Can computers think?</h1>
- </header>
- <section data-field="subtitle" class="p-summary">
- Thinking is a non-trivial process to make a computer develop one. In
- its true essence “thinking” is what a being is capable of. A…
- </section>
- <section data-field="body" class="e-content">
- <section name="1609" class="section section--body section--first">
- <div class="section-divider">
- <hr class="section-divider">
- </div>
- <div class="section-content">
- <div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
- <h3 name="bbbc" id="bbbc" class="graf graf--h3 graf--leading graf--title">Can computers think?</h3>
- <p name="20b6" id="20b6" class="graf graf--p graf-after--h3 graf--trailing">Thinking is a non-trivial
- process. To make a computer 'think’ is thus a non-trivial problem. In its true essence thinking is
- what a <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">being</em> is capable of. A sophisticated process which
- involves past knowledge and <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">free will</em>. Experiments involving
- thoughtful actions can be used to differentiate a machine from human.<br>Computers cannot spawn a <em
- class="markup--em markup--p-em">thought-process</em> like humans.</p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </section>
- <section name="5556" class="section section--body">
- <div class="section-divider">
- <hr class="section-divider">
- </div>
- <div class="section-content">
- <div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
- <h4 name="b9b0" id="b9b0" class="graf graf--h4 graf--leading"><strong
- class="markup--strong markup--h4-strong">Any form of computation is mechanical and doesn’t
- need thinking</strong></h4>
- <p name="3f43" id="3f43" class="graf graf--p graf-after--h4"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">If
- computers can think then what qualities would they express or possess?</em><br>They would converge to a
- decision based on experiences and presuppositions. There would be a bias in its choices for rationality
- may not always be an outcome.<br><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">What is thinking, where does it
- originate, and how does it perpetuate?</em><br>Thought, as a random occurrence in our mind, should have
- a simpler<br>circuitry for computers. Can computers rewire their thoughts by manipulating its programs to
- decide and make choices through their own <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">free will</em>? This process
- may not have a finite number of steps. This discussion hints at self awareness and most importantly <em
- class="markup--em markup--p-em">consciousness</em>. Consciousness in simpler terms means self-awareness.
- The computers becoming self-aware of its existence cannot happen unless programmed to do so. To program
- this, a programmer would have to define cases as to what constitutes consciousness and specify when can we
- arrive at a result to indicate that a being <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">is</em> conscious. This
- may not be an exhaustive list and hence a futile attempt in making computers <em
- class="markup--em markup--p-em">aware</em>.<br><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">What is consciousness
- and how are thoughts related to it?</em><br>When we say that a computer can think and take actions, we
- say that<br>it does with minimal programming or human intervention. It can sense the surroundings through
- its sensors, interpret the physical quantities and formulate actions based on experience.</p>
- <p name="8886" id="8886" class="graf graf--p graf-after--p"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">What makes a
- computer, thoughtful?</em></p>
- <p name="025c" id="025c" class="graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing">An example that could be thought
- here is of a lawn mower. It cuts down<br>grass to keep a garden tidy. So, a lawn mower operated by a
- gardener would just cut down whatever it can get in its way — insects, grass, weed, flowers, anything and
- everything. The onus is on the gardener to control its movement and how much time it spends at a
- particular location. A further advancement to this machine is — whether it can operate in a certain area
- without gardener’s involvement. The gardener’s task is only to fix the boundaries for the mower to
- operate. The mower is now capable of measuring distance from its starting point and gauge the area of
- operation. Also, the gardener may fix operational hours and just let it be. This mower now operates under
- certain program but still cannot make decisions on which grass to cut, whether to skip any earthworms, and
- mow parts depending on a optimal path. The mower with an autonomous computer that could think, would have
- to think like a gardener. For example, the gardener senses environment around them and mows based on
- external factors such as weather and soil conditions. To achieve this same result as the gardener, the
- machine would have to rewire and register memories of new events and pictures of the environment around
- it. It needs to think and assess surroundings; to not get in contact with any insect or human. What
- happens when unknown conditions in environment affects the machine? Would it know when to stop and
- restart? Can it make a decision on its own? Can machine understand and allocate for its own survival and
- longevity? Can a machine consider itself as a living being and take action to nurture itself and avoid
- conflict with nature for its survival? The programming of a machine and its dynamic wiring to make a
- choice or action depends on this process of thinking known as a <em
- class="markup--em markup--p-em">thought-process</em>. It is the key to any problem solving — by using
- one’s experience to pave way for newer solutions. Only by past solution to similar problems can humans
- tend to innovate on solving existing ones. Moreover, after finding a solution how can machine evaluate and
- reassess for its correctness without a verification model designed autonomously?</p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </section>
- <section name="7b68" class="section section--body">
- <div class="section-divider">
- <hr class="section-divider">
- </div>
- <div class="section-content">
- <div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
- <h4 name="6fcd" id="6fcd" class="graf graf--h4 graf--leading"><strong
- class="markup--strong markup--h4-strong">Turing test and its effectiveness</strong></h4>
- <p name="2628" id="2628" class="graf graf--p graf-after--h4"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Is the
- Turing test[1] meaningful and valid?</em></p>
- <p name="41b8" id="41b8" class="graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing">Turing suggested that if a
- computer and a human being were hidden behind a screen, and another human being were given the task of
- interrogating each of them, it would be reasonable to conclude that the computer was conscious if the
- interrogator could not distinguish it from the human being [4]. There have been many variations of the
- Turing test proposed over years, some by Turing himself, and there are annual contests based on Turing
- test. Thus far, no computer has passed the Turing test (by general consensus), although some have come
- close. Several plausible characteristics have been proposed — free will, restricted access (only the
- thinker experiences his thoughts), incorrigibility (only the thinker knows with certainty the content of
- his thought), qualia (raw sensory experience), etc [2]</p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </section>
- <section name="82b2" class="section section--body">
- <div class="section-divider">
- <hr class="section-divider">
- </div>
- <div class="section-content">
- <div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
- <figure name="e79f" id="e79f" class="graf graf--figure graf--leading graf--trailing">
- <div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder is-locked" style="max-width: 250px; max-height: 320px;">
- <div class="aspectRatioPlaceholder-fill" style="padding-bottom: 128%;"></div><img class="graf-image"
- data-image-id="1*FF0Zl7VaunapNP_-L3zf_g.png" data-width="250" data-height="320"
- src="assets/img/Turing_Test.png">
- </div>
- <figcaption class="imageCaption">The “standard interpretation” of the Turing Test, in which player
- C,<br>the interrogator, is given the task of trying to determine which player — A or B<br>- is a
- computer and which is a human. The interrogator is limited to using the<br>responses to written
- questions to make the determination. (Image adapted from<br>Saygin, 2000[4])</figcaption>
- </figure>
- </div>
- </div>
- </section>
- <section name="ba33" class="section section--body">
- <div class="section-divider">
- <hr class="section-divider">
- </div>
- <div class="section-content">
- <div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
- <p name="f076" id="f076" class="graf graf--p graf--leading"><strong
- class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">Intentionality behind computation</strong></p>
- <p name="2e0f" id="2e0f" class="graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing">The classic argument that
- computation inherently lacks intentionality (meaning) can be inferred from Searle’s Chinese Room analogy
- [3]. Intentionality is a primary characteristic of human mind. The actions are driven by it and thoughts
- are the fuel. In case of a computer, it manifests the intentionality of its programmer. The programmer
- could be another program recursively. Yet, the base program would be the one of a human programmer. So it
- derives the intentionality from a human in principle. Searle concludes through his analogy that
- computation has no intrinsic intentionality, but only secondary intentionality imparted by programmers.
- Thus, computation is not <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">thinking</em>, but a mechanical process.</p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </section>
- <section name="98a9" class="section section--body section--last">
- <div class="section-divider">
- <hr class="section-divider">
- </div>
- <div class="section-content">
- <div class="section-inner sectionLayout--insetColumn">
- <p name="0944" id="0944" class="graf graf--p graf--leading"><strong
- class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">References</strong><br>[1] A.M Turing, Computing Machinery and
- Intelligence, Mind, Volume LIX, Issue 236, October 1950, Pages 433–460<br>[2] Michael Egnor, Can a
- Computer Think?, Evolution News, March 2011</p>
- <p name="a00f" id="a00f" class="graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing">[3] Searle, John. R. Minds,
- brains, and programs. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3 (3): 417–457<br>[4] Saygin, A.P.; Cicekli, I.;
- Akman, V. Turing Test: 50 Years Later, Minds and Machines, 10 (4): 463–518</p>
- </div>
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