Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and related fields
Artificial Intelligence
Ada Byron wrote, "For the machine is not a thinking being, but simply
an automaton, which acts according to the laws imposed upon it."
John McCarthy once asked, "What is it that a judge does, that
a computer cannot do?" (McCarthy wrote the LISP language for AI.)
Marvin Minsky, a prominent figure in the field of AI, believes that
AI is the field of trying to build intelligence into computers.
Others, like John Searle at UC Berkeley, make the argument that Ada
Byron made, that machines can only mimic intelligence, but can never
be intelligent. (See the Chinese room argument in the textbook.)
Areas Of Investigation
- Turing Test-Can the software fool a human? Example: Eliza (Weizenbaum,
MIT.)
- Games-Can we write software that can make intelligent choices and
learn? Example: IBM's "Deep Blue computer that defeated Chess Master
Garry Kasparov in 1997.
- Can we teach computer common sense? D. Lenat's
"Cyc" project, has been working on this problem. (Originally at the
University of Texas, Austin.)
- Natural Language Analysis-Can we get software to understand human
language?
- Computer Vision-Can we teach computers to see?
- Knowledge Engineering/Expert Systems-Can we create software to replace
or augment human experts?
- Intelligent Agents-Can we create software helpers that can learn?
- Fuzzy Logic-Can we get software to make compromises or weighted
decisions?
- Neural Networks-Can we write software modelled on how the human brain
works?
- Genetic Algorithms-Can principles of Darwinian evolution be applied to
problem solving to generate intelligent solutions to problems?
Robotics
It has been said that we use robots do work that is dirty, dull and
dangerous. Some designers work top-down, that is they try to create
robots that mimic humans. Others work bottom-up, and design much simpler
robots, based on insects or other lower life forms. "Scalability" is
an important aspect of design. Ideally you'd like to create a robot that
can be made any size.
- The term robot comes from a play written by K. Capek, RUR
.
- Leonardo da Vinci designed a "robot" in the late 15th century.
- Stationary (manufacturing)
- Mobile (surveillance) (Mobility is one of the hard problems to solve!)
- Robots are often used in applications too dangerous for humans.
Related Fields
Doug Englebart (inventor of the mouse) once observed that humans
develop skills to adapt to our new technologies. How will humans
adapt (and evolve!) in the future in response to technology?