Can A Machine Know - Report Example

Can A Machine Know? When contemplating the man-like intelligence of machines, the computer immediately comes to mind, but how does the ‘mind’ of such a machine compare to the mind of man? A human brain assimilates and processes in much the same way as a computer. However, because the mind of man possesses consciousness, it perceives beauty, generates moral judgments and formulates rationalizations which the machine cannot execute. When the computer was in its early development stages, it was thought of as an electronic, thinking device, the mechanical equivalent of the human brain. This misconception is a gross oversimplification of the seemingly limitless boundaries of the human mind. The potential of machines were thought to be able to eventually encompass “an inductive and creative mind, capable of taking initiative, to which human beings could confide all their problems and obtain instant solutions in return” (Ifrah, 1997: 1679). This misconception in the early days of the computer has carried over even to today. This discussion examines the functions of the computer brain along with the similarities and differences to the human brain in addition to the meaning of knowledge and the limitations of machines as compared to the human mind. Simply stated, computers are machines which effectively carry out algorithmic functions. The machine discerns formalized input through a sequence of fixed stages through a predetermined, straightforward set of rules of a standardized and exacting description. This allows computers to perform procedures in a precise number of steps. Mechanical computers, unlike the functions of the computer-like brain do not have the capability to determine right from wrong nor can they make judgments, have no feelings and cannot think on their own. It cannot be denied that some types of intelligence can be attributed to computers but this capacity is very limited when balanced against the boundless intricacies in a human’s brain. However, the computer is superior when considering its capability to process information at a higher speed. This has provided humans a useful tool for a myriad of endeavors. Nevertheless, computers cannot reason, imagine, invent, create, express thoughts, manage ideas, make judgments or possess the ability to adapt to differing situations and therefore cannot solve problems that are new to them. Unlike the human brain, computers aren’t conscious of their own being, have no concept of the world around them and cannot execute voluntary activities (Ifrah, 1997: 1616). Because machines are only able to follow directives, they do not possess the capability to be self-aware. Conversely, if it is accepted that computers do not and will never become aware of their own being, then it is reasonable to ask what enables the human’s biological machine to attain consciousness while the silicon-based computerized ‘brain’ cannot. Possibly, the answer to this question is the fact that the structure of the human brain is self-organizing. It responds to the individual characteristics and the independent nature of interactions between itself and the particular environment. Computers do not have the ability to accomplish this. However other natural, biological systems such as many types of simple ‘animals’ and all plant life encompass a multifaceted, self-organizing interrelationship within its inner mechanism yet are also not aware of themselves. This indicates that though self-organization is an essential precondition for consciousness, it’s insufficient by itself. The solving of a specific problem which requires generalization or searching is usually thought to be an indication of artificial intelligence, which is understood to have an ‘all or none’ characteristic. Biological intelligence, on the other hand, includes progression. Even the less complex brains of animals can be differentiated from computers so as to illustrate the vast difference between the human and mechanized brain. The function of animals depends largely on customary behaviors. These functions define a progression. It can be reasoned that many types of animals possess at least a degree of human-like intelligence because they are able to exist in their biological environment. “In cognitive tasks of the kind normally associated with human intelligence, animals may perform well. Thus rats might find their way through a maze, or dolphins may solve logical problems or problems involving some kind of generalization” (Kak, 2005). In general terms, it is assumed that the activities that differentiate human thought from that of a machine’s conceptualization are best characterized by the understanding of language. Although it cannot be denied that those who are deaf or mute do in fact think, they do not speak at the same level as others. In addition, studies have shown that most types of animal life have the capability to learn and solve problems. The use of language is part of a compartment of a larger inventory of behaviors. Computers do not possess the ability of humans or even of animals to formulate or initiate any type of language on their own. Computer ‘language’ is pre-programmed. The use of uninitiated language, no matter how primitive, is within the realm of biological beings alone. Machines are lacking in two major areas when compared to the human brain. Machines, as opposed to brains, are unable to self-organize via a recursive method. Second, machines are founded on conventional logic but human intelligence depends upon quantum mechanics which provides a means of acquiring information regarding a technique connected with a variety of attributes. “A quantum state is a linear superposition of its component states. Since the amplitudes are complex numbers, a quantum system cannot be effectively simulated by using random numbers. One cannot run a physical process if its probability amplitude is negative or complex” (Kak, 2005). Studies of neuroscience substantiate how particular parts of the human brain are devoted to various cognitive responsibilities. But these parts of the brain do not simply act to control signal processing; each functions within the world of its own unique experience and has the ability to generalize on an individual basis. This generalization process maintains new experiences and relates these to further cognitive activities within the brain. When the neurological method of brain activity is understood, it becomes apparent that the cognitive ability of the human brain cannot be reduced to the algorithmic, mechanical method by which computers operate. Viewed separately, each cognitive process is an operation that integrates into the ‘universal field of consciousness.’ Conversely, machines are based on classical computing principles and have a fixed universe of discourse so they are unable to adapt in a flexible manner to a changing universe” (Kak, 2005). This is why they cannot match biological intelligence. The quantum theory provides an understanding of how biological processes cannot be explained in similar terms as is the mechanical process. The protein sequencing progression is an example. Proteins, which are chains of amino acids, quickly fold into a specific structure that ultimately establishes its particular function within an organism. A high-speed computer would take over ten thousand years, it has been estimated, to apply a realistic set of rules for protein sequencing that would develop into the correct form even in a short chain of amino acids. However, natural biological functions take only a matter of seconds to correctly resolve the problem. This is because quantum natural computations are much quicker than mechanical computations. “The anomalous efficiency of other biological optimization processes may provide indirect evidence of underlying quantum processing if no classical explanation is forthcoming” (Fraenkel, 1999). Though the human mind travels very quickly, somehow, it is able to travel even quicker than studies have shown is possible. Individuals know, or can sense, information they did not previously have access to, commonly called intuition. A machine cannot accomplish this feat. A computer has the ability to discover previously unknown knowledge but it can not crave an answer and cannot conceptualize the existence of unknown knowledge. If individuals could pinpoint the origination of the craving for unknown knowledge in the brain, they could possibly translate this to artificial intelligence mechanisms. But, to date, no one is close to locating these origins. Science has not discovered why the human brain yearns for what it doesn’t know. The fact remains that the phenomenon does exist but not in the computer brain which knows only what it knows and nothing else. Consciousness exists only in the realm of the living which permits the knowledge of what is not known (Rosenblatt, 1982). Consciousness allows for the acknowledgement of beauty which is known only to those that possess biological intelligence. Aesthetics value has very little in common with the processing of information. Beauty is a known, but knowing this information is not a process of mathematical computations. Both the brain and the computer can add numbers but the computer is not impressed with this knowledge nor does it feel pride in accomplishing new tasks such as the biological mind might. The reasoning for why the brain knows to perform a function then knowingly yearns for more knowledge or finds the procedure a fulfilling experience remains unclear. The computer, by contrast, only knows to perform the function when prompted. It has no contemplations regarding the knowing of the experience. The human mind can contemplate its own functions and existence. It may also think that the various functions of it or a computer is a wondrous, beautiful event. This, along with the fact that the machine produces predictable results, remains among the chief factors that separate the two processing entities. However, this viewpoint is a superficial observation of the human mind because there remains much more regarding the mysteries of the brain as opposed to the mechanical function of the computer. The brain has the ability to reject new knowledge where the computer does not. This allows for an aura of individuality that machines do not enjoy (Clear, 2003). The human mind has the ability to know what is morally right or wrong almost instantly without the need for assimilating much information. It can make decisions based on the unknown knowledge and can rationalize, justify and reason which are traits only known to that which is conscious. Knowledge has no life, it is based only on cold facts whereas knowing is uniquely biological in nature. There is much puzzlement regarding knowledge and knowing. “Authentic knowing is much different from knowledge. Authentic knowing cannot really be owned as a possession. It can only be touched and experienced. Real knowing is actually an act of the mind. Unlike knowledge which is a product of the mind” (Kruyff, 2006). The difference between the human brain and a machine of any type is that humans create machines to be used as a tool. Human intellect is extremely intricate and consciousness too mysterious to be duplicated. On the day that a computer can lie or cheat, when it prays to an unknown entity and feels shame or sorrow then, possibly, it can be compared to the human mind. Until then, the only similarity is that both process information but to vastly different extents and by vastly different methods. References Clear, Bruce. (9 February 2003). Knowing What We Don’t Know That We Know. Retrieved 13 January 2007 from Fraenkel, A.S. (1999). “Protein folding, spin glass and computational complexity.” Third Annual DIMACS Workshop on DNA Based Computers. DIMACS Series in Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. Vol. 48, pp. 101-121. University of Pennsylvania. Ifrah, G. (1997). “Historia Universal de las Cifras.” Madrid: Espasa Calpe. Retrieved 13 January 2007 from Kak, Subhash. (16-22 November, 2005). “Artificial and Biological Intelligence.” Ubiquity. Vol. 6, I. 42. Retrieved 13 January 2007 from Kruyff, Jan. (18 October, 2006). “Exploring Beyond the Ego Mind: An Essay on Transpersonal Knowing.” The Intuitive-Connections Network Online Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2007 from Rosenblatt, May. (3 May, 1982). “The Mind in the Machine.” Time Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2007 from Read More