Why true AI requires more than pattern recognition
Published in · 7 min read · Nov 24, 2019
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When I hear news about “AI” these days, what is often meant are methods for pattern recognition and approximations of complex functions, most importantly in the form of Machine Learning. It is true that we have seen impressive applications of Machine Learning systems in a number of different industries such as product personalization, fraud detection, credit risk modeling, insurance pricing, medical image analysis, or self-driving cars. But originally, AI is a field of research that tries to answer a much deeper question:
What is the origin of intelligent behavior?
Intelligent behavior is the capability of using one’s knowledge about the world to make decisions in novel situations: people act intelligently if the use what they know to get what they want. The premise of AI research is that this type of intelligence is fundamentally computational in nature, and that we can therefore find ways to replicate it in machines.
The Tabula Rasa problem
One of the most promising ideas in AI today is that of Reinforcement Learning, a system in which the artificial ‘learner’ interacts directly with its environment, receiving rewards for actions that have favorable outcomes, and progressing in skill…
