Artificial Intelligence in Terminator Movie - Book Report/Review Example

Why did sky net build terminators with its built in learning ability switched off The question "Why did sky net build terminators with its built in learning ability switched off" assumes greater significance for a student of cognitive science, as it equips him/her with a number of possible answers based on his/her understanding of the theories of artificial intelligence and computer science. Cognitive learning theories emphasize the relationship between new information and previously learned information, and so the terminators with their built in learning ability switched off are to mould their deeds based on previous learning or set programmed data. Sky net is a big military computer in the film Terminator. Terminators are human like robots with Artificial Intelligent brains and they are employed by sky net as solders to accomplish his mission. The fact that Sky net is a computer with the ability to learn deserves primary attention as it is this artificial intelligence which prompts it to negate the same faculty in its creations so that it could get out of any possible setbacks from its own creation. The learning outcomes of sky net are visible and noteworthy: after switching on sky net it learned at an astronomical rate and became self aware. This is when it decided to annihilate mankind. Sky net built Terminators like Arnold Schwarzenegger and used them to kill and enslave humans. However, why sky net left the terminators without the learning capability is evident from the movie Terminator 2. In the movie one finds the terminator explaining that it couldn't learn new things because sky net had switched its neural network CPU to a read only state, meaning it couldn't learn anymore. A premise to the film is that in order to become self aware a machine needs to learn new things. My attempt in this essay is to explain the possible reasons for sky net to build the terminators without an inbuilt learning capability and to show how the new advancements in the cognitive sciences can be applied to the problem. The five theories I have identified as the underlying reasons for the issue are given below: - Theories: Theory 1: Sky net didn't want terminators becoming self-aware. Theory 2: Terminators are drones that don't need to know anything new to accomplish its task. Theory 3: Terminators might decide to rebel and not kill the humans and may even turn against sky net (A robot with conscience also has free choice). Theory 4: Self-aware robots would rather self-preserve, rather than destroying one self in order to kill its target. Theory 5: Sky net didn't want terminators having emotions (making them ineffective killers) Discussion of Theories: Theory 1: Sky net didn't want terminators becoming self-aware. The first theory that I could come across was the fact the Sky net did not want the terminators to become aware of their own potentialities. Self- awareness is an important criterion that determines the cognition level of any system and therefore terminators provided with learning abilities would become self-aware, and there is all the possibility for them to deviate from their mission, based on this newly acquired self-awareness. Besides, the sky net did not want to offer them with any freedom of choice or purpose and it wanted to limit the terminators to mere objects that have only a physical metallic body. Thus, the artificial intelligence provided to the terminators are restricted and limited so that they never are able to reason out of their metallic existence. As Margaret A. Boden (1997) observes "the new concept of "machine" provided by artificial intelligence is so much more powerful than familiar concepts of mechanism that the old metaphysical puzzle of how mind and body can possibly be related is largely resolved. Insights drawn from this source clarify the nature of human purpose, freedom, and moral choice, and help one to understand how it is possible for the character of a human life to depend upon the degree of self-knowledge enjoyed by the person concerned." (Boden 1977, p. 4). Thus, Sky net's first priority was to negate the terminators with any "degree of self-knowledge" so that the mission was much more important for them than their own selves. Theory 2: Terminators are drones that don't need to know anything new to accomplish its task. This theory, in my opinion, can provide a better answer to the question. The way the terminator undertakes his mission to destroy humanity and the way he kills the people without any feelings or scruples underlines the fact that the terminator is just a drone. There can be many who feel and argue that the terminators could be provided with additional information that is not strictly pertaining to their assigned task. No doubt, the Sky net did provide the terminators with sufficient information for the task they were designed for, and it was quite unnecessary for it to bestow learning capacities on them. Besides, there was the danger that new learning would bring about behavioural changes in the terminators. New knowledge is a by product of new experiences and the capacity to learn new things would enable the terminators to learn from their own new experiences, which can be physical, mental or cognitive. The relationship between these various types of experiences and their relation to learning is best portrayed by Anne Jenkins (2003) when she states: "Our human intelligence is absolutely linked to our experience of the world. This comprises physical experience of the physical world, mental/cognitive experience of the cognitive world of thoughts and ideas, and the interaction between the two." (Jenkins 2003). Thus, the attempts of the Sky net could be well understood in terms of its precautionary steps to see that the terminators never linked their physical experiences with their mental or cognitive faculties, which would make their intelligence sharper, focussed and superior. Theory 3: Terminators might decide to rebel and not kill the humans and may even turn against sky net (A robot with conscience also has free choice). As I have already pointed out, if the terminators are provided with the freedom of choice they may even turn against their own creator, the sky net. Choices are made from strong convictions and conviction is a product of new learning and assimilation. Bestowing the terminators with the ability to learn is equal to providing them with a conscience as new ideas and thoughts can stem from new learning and because of the reason that new learning can either replace or modify older ones. Therefore, the argument that the creator always can have a control over its creations does not sound convincing. The physical-symbol systems that are at work can influence the terminators and it can in turn enhance their intelligence and this sort of intelligence may not always support the prevalent system. According to Newell and Simon, the human subject consist of physical-symbol systems (machines) and for them, "A physical-symbol system is a machine that produces through time an evolving collection of symbol structures. Such a system exists in a world of objects wider than just these symbolic expressions themselves. . . . A physical-symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for general intelligent action." (Newell and Simon, 1976, p. 16). Bestowing the terminators with access to new learning would make them think rightly, make decisions on their own and equip them better to solve problems. Morton Wagman believed that the faculty of reasoning and problem solving are equally applicable to both humans (human psychology) and machines (artificial intelligence). According to him, "The mathematical descriptions of human thought and computer thought may approach an identical form. Such a universal mathematical description of reasoning and problem solving can be valuable for both human psychology and artificial intelligence." (Wagman 1993, P.13). Consequently, it was necessary from the part of the sky net to make sure that the terminators do not enjoy the ability to learn, think, decide and solve problems on their own. Theory 4: Self-aware robots would rather self-preserve, rather than destroying one self in order to kill its target. Whether computers or machines are able to think was a question that tormented many and there is no doubt that all thinking systems could be self-aware as well. We have a clear cut answer to this question in Simon who tries to dispute the claims of information processing psychology: "Information processing psychology claims that intelligence is achievable by physical symbol systems and only such systems. From that claim follow two empirically testable hypotheses: 1. that computers can be programmed to think and 2. that the human brain is (at least) a physical symbol system. These hypotheses are tested by programming computers to perform the same tasks that we use to judge how well people are thinking, and then by showing that the processes used by the computer programs are the same as those used by people performing these tasks." (Simon 1990, p. 3). Thus, it is evident from the quote that computers are able to perform the same tasks done by human being which necessitates a lot of thinking and judgement; it is also taken for granted that no thinking system will seek for its self-destruction. Instead, they would be aiming at self- preservation. The findings of the computational Theory of Psychology are significant in this regard as it holds that "computers, by virtue of their mathematical structure, can reason" (Wagman 1993, p.13). One can thus infer that it is not to give any provision for the terminator to exercise his reasoning power that the sky net has created him so. Theory 5: Sky net didn't want terminators having emotions (making them ineffective killers) This theory appears to me as the most valid and powerful of the five as the ability to feel and have emotions is attributed to human beings only. There can be arguments against the theory by people who state that there are a lot of real people who resort to murders and other cruelties who do have the power to experience emotions. But Sky net wanted to make sure that the terminators do not have any emotional attachment to any one so that they can be reduced to mere killers who are ready to undertake any type of cruel missions for him. In the movie we find Reese describing the terminator as "a killing machine, without emotion, without pity, and without remorse." Surely, this was the sole aim of the sky net and he has succeeded in accomplishing that. Emotions and relationships are two closely linked concepts and given the capability to learn, the terminators are likely to develop meaningful relationships and this sort of emotional bond can divert them from their actual destination. The importance of machines and robots like the terminators are increasing day by day. The revolutionary changes brought out by the world of machines are astonishing. As Simon remarks: "It is not my aim to surprise or shock you . . . . But the simplest way I can summarize is to say that there are now in the world machines that think, that learn, and that create. Moreover, the ability to do these things is going to increase rapidly until -- in a visible future -- the range of problems they can handle will be coextensive with the range to which the human mind has been applied." (Simon 1979, p. 188). The implications of his remarks have far reaching effects: the world of machine is inferior to man only in this respect and one can very well understand why the terminators were devoid of the power to learn and why their built in learning ability was switched off. This theory is significant of yet another reason- it pinpoints the essential difference between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. Having dealt with the five major theories regarding why the sky net built terminators with their built in learning ability switched off, one understands the significance of cognitive theories like the artificial intelligence theory, the computational Representational Theory of the mind etc. According to Pierre Jacob, "the computational representational theory of the mind makes a rather strong assumption about mental (or cognitive) process; mental processes are computational processes, i.e., formal operations defined over symbols." (Jacob 1997, p. 142).The mind and its functioning are very often compared to that of a computer or machine. That is why the theory of artificial intelligence theory and computational representational theory are so much of importance today. The example of the terminator is just only an instance of the possible physical power that a metallic human robot can assume. The inventions of human robots with the ability to think, feel and understand are not a distant dream. Science and technology have developed so fast that it is possible for humans to carry out with similar missions undertaken by sky net in the movie. But we should be as cautious as the sky net to negate some aspects of cognition and emotion that belong only to the human beings. The terminators in the movie have a lot to teach one regarding various aspects of the cognitive sciences. However, the growth of machines does not undermine the significance of scientific enterprises carried out by man: "The assumption that the inductive and deductive logics of scientific discovery can be mapped as sets of mechanistic problem-solving heuristics may be unacceptable, as it appears to deny or foreshorten the significance of the human qualities of curiosity about a problem, interest in a phenomenon, disappointment in an experimental outcome, surprise in the face of an unexpected scientific result, frustration over failure, and elation in response to minor successes that give encouragement to the continuation of a difficult and challenging scientific enterprise." (Wagman 1991, p.134). Next time, one watches the film, terminators and sky net should remind one of t immense possibility of the use of artificial intelligence on machines like the human robots and what they lack from the humans should be taken note of. . Bibliography Boden, Margaret A., 1977. Artificial Intelligence and Natural Man. Basic Books. New York. P.4. Newell, A., and Simon, H. A., 1976. Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery. Computer science as empirical inquiry: symbols and search. P.16. Simon H. A., 1990. Invariants of Human Behaviour. Annual Review of Psychology P.3-41. Wagman, Morton., 1991. Artificial Intelligence and Human Cognition: A Theoretical Intercomparison of Two Realms of Intellect. Praeger Publishers: New York. P.134. Simon H. A., Freeman, W. H., 1979. Quoted in McCorduck, Machines Who Think. San Francisco. P.188. Wagman, Morton., 1993. Cognitive Psychology and Artificial Intelligence: Theory and Research in Cognitive Science. Praeger Publishers. P.13 Jenkins, Anne., 2003. Artificial Intelligence and the Real World Journal article. Futures. Vol. 35. Jacob, Pierre., 1997. What Minds Can Do: Intentionality in a Non-intentional World. Cambridge University Press. P.142. Read More