When I went to university in September 1969 to study philosophy, I started in Utrecht. The philosophy faculty turned out to be very old-fashioned. The subject logic consisted of reading two small books plus an exam.
In 1970 I moved to the University of Groningen. The philosophy faculty there was 100% more modern with subjects like epistemology, philosophy of science, and logic.
That logic was not reading a few books, but a three-semester long course, in which you learned to use syllogistic logic, propositional logic, and predicate logic.
Those were the years, that logic was really discovered and that the step was made to expert systems based on the celebrated logical IF...THEN statement.
In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system emulating the decision-making ability of a human expert.
Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning through bodies of knowledge, represented mainly as if–then rules rather than through conventional procedural programming code.
Expert systems were among the first truly successful forms of AI software. They were created in the 1970s and then increased in the 1980s, being then widely regarded as the future of AI, before the advent of successful artificial neural networks.
An expert system is divided into two subsystems: 1) a knowledge base, which represents facts and rules; and 2) an inference engine, which applies the rules to the known facts to deduce new facts, and can include explaining and debugging abilities.
You may recognize again here the Cartesian, rationalist approach: a ratio full of knowledge and rules, applied to understand the real world.
In machine learning, a neural network is a model inspired by the structure and function of biological neural networks in animal brains. The picture behind me shows a simplified model of such a network.
It shows only one hidden layer, but it easily could have five or more. The input is transferred to those layers from node to node, evaluated, and transferred to the next. Thus the nodes learn how to handle the input.
This is what we have called the empiricist approach to artificial intelligence. These days, it is the leading paradigm for AI.
Top soccer player Maradona earned millions with his sport. He lives in a society that values and rewards his qualities.
As economist and philosopher Michael Sandel notes: "It is not his own merit that he lives in this age when people are crazy about the sport he plays, rather than in Renaissance Florence when fresco painters were in high demand, not soccer players."
And so it was in my early days as a philosophy student. There happened to be, especially in the 80s, affordable computers and the rise of mathematical logic. The perfect mix for the rise of artificial intelligence.
But still. The intelligence and understanding that AI often lacks compared to humans, causes AI to run into limitations.
Given these limitations, there are, regarding the future of AI, three positions. First of all, there are the radical optimists. They believe it is just a matter of time before AI makes all our dreams come true.
You know, more data, better computers, better neural networks for deep learning. Just look at ChatGPT-3. The founders of deep learning do acknowledge that people, for example, learn different things faster and operate better in new, unfamiliar situations, to name just a few points of interest.
Then, we have the moderate optimists. They strive for better methods for deep learning because for example, teaching a system to recognize faces by training it with millions of photos is reaching its limits. That has to change. A baby is a much faster learner.
Finally, there is the group of critics. They are skeptical about the current state of affairs. For the critics, there is no fertile ground to overcome the limitations of AI.
As someone noted, "Until computers grow up, belong to a culture, and act in the world, they will never acquire intelligence comparable to human intelligence."
Well, this is the position of Artificial Intelligence at the moment. Figure out to which of these groups you belong.
Thank you for your attention again....
Main Sources:
MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
TABLE OF CONTENT -----------------------------------------------------------------
1 - 100 Philosophers 9 May 2009 Start of
2 - 25+ Women Philosophers 10 May 2009 this blog
3 - 25 Adventures in Thinking 10 May 2009
4 - Modern Theories of Ethics 29 Oct 2009
5 - The Ideal State 24 Febr 2010 / 234
6 - The Mystery of the Brain 3 Sept 2010 / 266
7 - The Utopia of the Free Market 16 Febr 2012 / 383
8. - The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism 5 Sept 2012 / 413
9. - The Art Not to Be an Egoist 6 Nov 2012 / 426
10 - Non-Western Philosophy 29 May 2013 / 477
11 - Why Science is Right 2 Sept 2014 / 534
12 - A Philosopher looks at Atheism 1 Jan 2015 / 557
13 - EVIL, a philosophical investigation 17 Apr 2015 / 580
14 - Existentialism and Free Will 2 Sept 2015 / 586
15 - Spinoza 2 Sept 2016 / 615
16 - The Meaning of Life 13 Febr 2017 / 637
17 - In Search of my Self 6 Sept 2017 / 670
18 - The 20th Century Revisited 3 Apr 2018 / 706
19 - The Pessimist 11 Jan 2020 / 819
20 - The Optimist 9 Febr 2020 / 824
21 - Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream 8 Oct 2020 / 872
22 - A World Full of Patterns 1 Apr 2021 / 912
23 - The Concept of Freedom 8 Jan 2022 / 965
24 - Materialism 7 Sept 2022 / 1011
25 - Historical Materialism 5 Oct 2023 / 1088
26 - The Bonobo and the Atheist 9 Jan 2024 / 1102
27 - Artificial Intelligence 9 Feb 2024 / 1108
The Discussion
[13:17] herman Bergson: And this opens the door to a new project :-)
[13:17] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i say im in between 2 and 3
[13:18] Max Chatnoir: I think I'm a moderate optimist.
[13:18] herman Bergson: I think I join Bejiita :-)
[13:18] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): like sure it's useful but it can only reuse existing data
[13:19] Sooki (sookicatalina): I think AI development right now is at the "strive for better methods" stage. As soon as those methods are discovered or developed, there will be a huge leap in AI intelligence and learning.
[13:19] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): + jobs have already been lost en masse to AI in some areas
[13:19] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): its a 2 edged sword
[13:19] herman Bergson: Just imagine ...to learn AlphoGo to become a worldclass player it took millions of games and 4.6 million dollars
[13:20] Lukkie Sands: There are also no more carriages and coachmen because of the car, Bejiita
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well that is true
[13:21] herman Bergson: True... :-)
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): things change that's true
[13:21] herman Bergson: yes
[13:21] herman Bergson: Due to email there are less postmen.
[13:22] Max Chatnoir: Is that true, Herman? I still get mail nearly every day.
[13:22] herman Bergson: OK, Max...:-)
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): so do I
[13:23] herman Bergson: Not in the Netherlands
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ha
[13:23] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i almost never get mail
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): you don't get e-mail anymore?
[13:23] herman Bergson: They even canceled one delivery day
[13:23] Max Chatnoir: True, about 1/4 of the mail is somebody who wants to buy my house.
[13:23] herman Bergson: I don't get snail mail either, Beertje
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh yes snail mail
[13:23] Sooki (sookicatalina): There are some who think that AI will indeed take over most of the jobs that humans do. So there will need to be a new paradigm that is different from the current concept of working a job to make money to pay for the things you need. Something like a universal basic income
[13:23] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): but your e-mail does not work??
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): what I'm a bit worried about is AI will replace artists in general like u just need to type a few words in a prompt and BAM the next battlefield game or such, no creators needed of any kind
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): + what is the fun in that
[13:24] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i'm talking about mail Gemma, not e-mail
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ok
[13:24] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): thought he said e-mail too
[13:25] herman Bergson: AI will take over some jobs indeed...but I guess a new kind of jobs will emerge
[13:25] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): we still get all the junk mail .. catalogs.. requests for charity etc
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but sure I use AI myself in my creations but combined with my own things. then it's a great mix
[13:25] herman Bergson: `Like we now have mechanics that repair cars
[13:26] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): AI will not go away but I think will grow and improve and have issues just like any other improvement in life
[13:26] herman Bergson: yes....and there still are serious problems to solve regarding AI
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): very serious
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and if no one need to learn actual programming cause AI will take over completley then no one will anylonger in the end understand how things work
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): someone has to start the thought Bej
[13:27] herman Bergson: for now we have had at least three scandals because of biased AI systems in the Netherlands
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): to get it to work
[13:27] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh we too in the USA
[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): everything will balance out in the end i guess
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): misuse of photos invented with AI
[13:28] Max Chatnoir: Yes, we've had some false political messaging.
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): political interference
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yep
[13:28] herman Bergson: AT least one thing is clear...the classic expert systems were way more tranparant than the neural network systems
[13:29] Max Chatnoir: Because of the complexity of the latter?
[13:29] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): I always go back in my mind to the problems even the printing press caused
[13:29] herman Bergson: Russia medling with US elections....
[13:29] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): first bookd printed
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but it made reading available to the masses
[13:30] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): = education
[13:30] herman Bergson: yes
[13:30] Sooki (sookicatalina): Yes, Herman. Nobody really understands how the AI neural networks work. It's the "black box" problem where we don't really understand what is going on inside the box.
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): probably it happened when the various alphabets were invented
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:30] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): true Sooki
[13:31] herman Bergson: Yes, Sooki, a weird situation
[13:31] herman Bergson: in fact it is caused by flawed coding and programming
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): do you have the new project in mind??????
[13:31] herman Bergson: the work of humans
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i am sure you do
[13:31] herman Bergson: yes yes Gemma.....:-)
[13:31] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): reveal??
[13:31] Max Chatnoir: Is it a secret?
[13:32] herman Bergson: Something COMPLETELY different :-)
[13:32] herman Bergson: But very philosophical
[13:32] Max Chatnoir: ....bated breath...!
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaaa
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ohoh
[13:32] herman Bergson: It is a secret till Thursday, Max :-)
[13:32] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): sigh
[13:33] Max Chatnoir: I guess I'll last until then....
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): he loves this...
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:33] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): right
[13:33] herman Bergson: :-)))
[13:34] herman Bergson: I guess you will like the new project....
[13:34] Max Chatnoir: Just checking my calendar! No conflicts, fortunately!
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): how to bake bread...
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): my favorite so far was the women philosophers
[13:34] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): way back
[13:35] herman Bergson: Yes, I likesd that one too
[13:35] herman Bergson: it was the second project, Gemma...2008?
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): yep
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): 2009 maybe
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): after the 100 Philosophers
[13:35] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): can you give us a hint?
[13:35] herman Bergson: yes....
[13:36] herman Bergson: 100 philosophers...98 men and 2 women....ridiculous :-)
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:36] herman Bergson: no hints, Beertje :-)
[13:37] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): you said yes..
[13:37] herman Bergson: lol
[13:37] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): [13:35] Beertje Beaumont: can you give us a hint?
[13:35] herman Bergson: yes....
[13:37] Max Chatnoir: I think the yes was for something else.
[13:37] herman Bergson laughs
[13:37] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): shhh Max
[13:37] herman Bergson: Nice try Beertje :-))
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ha
[13:37] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): sneaky
[13:38] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :))
[13:38] Max Chatnoir: Well, I think you will have a full house, Herman!
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:39] herman Bergson: ok...seee you at the nex project..
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ♥ Thank Youuuuuuuuuu!! ♥
[13:40] herman Bergson: Class dismissed..:-)
[13:40] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yay3
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): YAY! (yay!)
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