The emergence of artificial intelligence has caused differing reactions from tech leaders, politicians and the public. While some excitedly tout AI technology such as ChatGPT as an advantageous tool with the potential to transform society, others are alarmed that any tool with the word "intelligent" in its name also has the potential to overtake humankind.
The University of Cincinnati's Anthony Chemero, a professor of philosophy and psychology in the UC College of Arts and Sciences, contends that the understanding of AI is muddled by linguistics: That while indeed intelligent, AI cannot be intelligent in the way that humans are, even though "it can lie and BS like its maker."
According to our everyday use of the word, AI is definitely intelligent, but there are intelligent computers and have been for years, Chemero explains in a paper he co-authored in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. To begin, the paper states that ChatGPT and other AI systems are large language models (LLM), trained on massive amounts of data mined from the internet, much of which shares the biases of the people who post the data.
"LLMs generate impressive text, but often make things up whole cloth," he states. "They learn to produce grammatical sentences, but require much, much more training than humans get. They don't actually know what the things they say mean," he says. "LLMs differ from human cognition because they are not embodied."
The people who made LLMs call it "hallucinating" when they make things up; although Chemero says, "it would be better to call it 'bullsh*tting,'" because LLMs just make sentences by repeatedly adding the most statistically likely next word -- and they don't know or care whether what they say is true.
And with a little prodding, he says, one can get an AI tool to say "nasty things that are racist, sexist and otherwise biased."
The intent of Chemero's paper is to stress that the LLMs are not intelligent in the way humans are intelligent because humans are embodied: Living beings who are always surrounded by other humans and material and cultural environments.
"This makes us care about our own survival and the world we live in," he says, noting that LLMs aren't really in the world and don't care about anything.
The main takeaway is that LLMs are not intelligent in the way that humans are because they "don't give a damn," Chemero says, adding "Things matter to us. We are committed to our survival. We care about the world we live in."
FAQs
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Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing every sector and pushing humanity forward to a new level. However, it is not yet feasible to achieve a precise replica of human intellect. The human cognitive process remains a mystery to scientists and experimentalists.
Does AI always give true answers? ›
Although many responses produced by AI text generators are accurate, AI also often generates misinformation. Oftentimes, the answers produced by AI will be a mixture of truth and fiction. If you are using AI-generated text for research, it will be important to be able to verify its outputs.
Is AI about making a machine intelligent? ›
What is artificial intelligence? A. It is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable.
Does AI have all the answers? ›
As reliable as AI often is, it's far from perfect. AI can only identify and respond to trends in data. It can't technically judge truth from fiction.
How to outsmart AI? ›
To be able to outsmart a misleading AI model, it is critical to have a fundamental understanding of AI. Black says, “Comprehending the underlying technology helps in detecting when an AI model might be trying to deceive you.”
Will AI override human intelligence? ›
While AI can process vast amounts of data and identify patterns that humans may miss, it cannot replace the value of human intuition and creativity in decision-making. It's important to understand that AI isn't a replacement for human intelligence.
Is it possible for AI to lie? ›
Researchers believe there are several ways in which specific AI models have shown that they can deceive effectively: they can manipulate as in Diplomacy, pretend by saying they will do something knowing they will not, bluff as in poker, haggle in negotiations, play dead to avoid detection and trick human reviewers into ...
Is AI 100% accurate? ›
Ai-Complete - Is AI 100% accurate? It is still difficult to guarantee the accuracy of content generated by AI, despite recent advances in this area. The inability of AI systems to grasp subtlety, cultural allusions, and context makes them incredibly error-prone.
Who is the father of AI? ›
John McCarthy (1927–2011), an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist, often hailed as the "father of artificial intelligence" (AI), made significant contributions to both AI and computer science.
Can AI take over the world? ›
The fear of AI taking over the world and threatening humanity is a common theme in science fiction, but in reality, it's highly unlikely to happen in the way portrayed in movies or books. AI doesn't have inherent desires or motivations like humans do.
In short, today's AI can't actually think for itself, so I wouldn't call it truly intelligent. That's why computer scientists came up with another term: artificial general intelligence (AGI). This is the real deal when it comes to intelligence. The thing is, we don't actually have anything like that yet.
How smart is AI in IQ? ›
AI, does not have an IQ in the traditional sense. IQ is a measure designed specifically for humans to assess certain cognitive abilities like reasoning, problem-solving, and understanding complex ideas. It's based on standardized tests that are tailored to human thought processes and cultural contexts.
Can AI read our minds? ›
Now, groundbreaking studies from researches like Jerry Tang at the University of Texas at Austin have found that rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technology can potentially decode human thoughts.
What questions can't AI answer? ›
AI cannot answer questions requiring inference, a nuanced understanding of language, or a broad understanding of multiple topics. In other words, while scientists have managed to “teach” AI to pass standardized eighth-grade and even high-school science tests, it has yet to pass a college entrance exam.
What is the hardest question in AI? ›
However, some of the hardest questions to ask AI are those that require human-like intelligence, creativity, and intuition, as these are still areas where AI falls short. For example, questions that require understanding and interpreting complex emotions, such as sarcasm or irony, can be challenging for AI.
Who is more intelligent, AI or human? ›
Humans are responsible for designing and coding the algorithms which allow computer systems to handle complex problems and learn from the environment, making AI more versatile. However, when it comes to multitasking, social interactions, and self-awareness, human intellect is much more advanced compared to AI.
Is the AI really intelligent? ›
In summary, yes AI is intelligent, but only because humans are intelligent. It can only learn what humans program it to learn and is restricted by the human's intelligence.
Can AI have an IQ? ›
AI, does not have an IQ in the traditional sense. IQ is a measure designed specifically for humans to assess certain cognitive abilities like reasoning, problem-solving, and understanding complex ideas. It's based on standardized tests that are tailored to human thought processes and cultural contexts.
Is GPT-4 smarter than a human? ›
Out of 1023 questions, GPT-4.0 achieved the best score (82.4%), followed by humans (75.7%) and GPT-3.5 (65.9%), with significant difference in accuracy rates (always P < 0.0001).
