The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence

As humanity continues to flourish, so do our innovations. Technological advancements exemplify humanity’s intelligence as well as creativity and are a component to our society’s existence. While technologies assist us in our daily lives, there is speculation as to when or if our electronic creations will eventually surpass us in terms of intellect. The mere creation of machines that are created to be able to learn for themselves is a concept that was once dismissed as unattainable. While humans have not yet perfected the art of artificial consciousness, the trend seen with recent technological advancements suggests that we are close to achieving this goal. With multiple billion dollar companies pouring large amounts of money into advancing this field and technology like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa, it is apparent that the idea of artificial intelligence is now in the present.  

The concept of artificial intelligence has humble origins. In June of 1956, scientists and mathematicians from around the United States of America gathered at Dartmouth for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence (McCarthy, J., et al). The workshop met for a few weeks to explore the possibilities of machine learning: a concept unknown at the time. The project concentrated on automatic computers, how computers can be programmed, neuron nets, abstractions, and more (McCarthy, J., et al). These concepts would eventually grow into artificial intelligence or “AI” as we know it today. Artificial intelligence can be described as a “self – teaching system that can outperform humans across a wide range of disciplines”. To fully grasp the concept of artificial intelligence, one should break down the composition of the term itself. Artificial can be defined as an agent, something that is not biologically created in nature. This agent could be a computer program, robot, or a personified computer program that has to cooperate with an environment through sensory input or other forms of interactions (Shanahan). Shane Legg, a machine learning researcher, defines the word intelligence by saying, “if you take an agent that is able to deal with a completely novel, unseen type of environment and adapt itself to be able to deal with that, then that is a sign of intelligence” (Shanahan). Therefore, artificial intelligence encompasses a vast array of technologies that are meant to have the ability to learn on their own, much like humans do.

With the growth of artificially intelligent machines, speculation across the general public regarding machine takeover has become popular. The idea that technology will surpass the intellect of human beings is commonly referred to as “the Singularity”. Ray Kurzweil, an award winning American inventor and developer, defines "the Singularity" as the combination of human as well as machine intelligence. He explains how machine intelligence will be indistinguishable from humans and that once the Singularity has fully come to fruition, machines will be more powerful than humans. Along with this, he believes that the next step in the evolution of mankind is to utilize the technology to amplify our own intellectual powers. Artificial intelligence will then continue to radiate throughout the rest of the planets until it floods the universe (Kurzweil). The Singularity can also be defined by Vernor Vinge, an American science fiction author and professors, as "…a point at which the present human – life era ends as the first superhuman AIs take charge of their own development and begin to hyper – evolve in ways we can scarcely imagine". This would essentially be the time at which the computerized beings that we create would transcend us. The mere idea of machine overpowering humans has mixed views in the science community with many not believing that it will become reality. 

The use and development of artificial intelligence have been exponential throughout the past year. During the third quarter economic period in the United States in 2019, 695 artificial intelligence-related companies raised a total of $13.5 billion (USD). In 2020, it is expected that $49.2 billion will be spent on AI systems which is a 31% increase from 2019, showing a growth in this technology industry. Chad Meley, VP of Marketing at Teradata, says that retailers are investigating AI-enabled computer vision that could gather data regarding store traffic patterns as well as the dwell times of customers. This information could then be used for sentiment analysis which utilizes facial recognition to evaluate a customer’s emotions when shopping. Flavio Villanustre, VP of Technology CISSO at Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions, describes another development of machine learning known as Geoffrey Hinton’s Capsule Networks. These Capsule Networks earned computer scientist, Geoffrey Hinton, the 2018 Turing Award for his work on deep neural networks. Capsule neural networks are complex artificial intelligent networking systems built to model hierarchical relationships. Villanustre believes that the neural networks can be directly applied to artificial intelligence in areas such as "…medical diagnostics, structural analysis, and autonomous and assisted driving vehicles". In addition to this, researchers at Brown University are partnering with Hasbro, a gaming company, to develop a “robo – cat”. This cat is going to be able to assist the elderly in daily tasks such as reminding the owner to take their medication and locating their glasses.

While it is true that humanity is one of a kind, humans are still on the hunt to develop artificial intelligence, a topic heavily scrutinized or examined in society today. At the rate that technology is advancing, it seems as though humans are on track to fulfilling the concept of  artificial intelligent machinery. In 2019 alone, companies have invested millions in the continuation of machine learning research. The technical skill of developing algorithms and embedded programs that are able to learn from experience is in high demand. The question as to whether or not artificial intelligence is the future is one that we already know the answer to. Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is growing at an exponential rate and there is no telling when technology will transcend us.  

Works Cited:

Kurzweil, Ray. “THE SINGULARITY: A Talk With Ray Kurzweil.” THE SINGULARITY | Edge.org, 24 Mar. 2001, www.edge.org/conversation/ray_kurzweil-the-singularity.

McCarthy, J., et al. “A PROPOSAL FOR THE DARTMOUTH SUMMER RESEARCH PROJECT ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.” Stanford, 31 Aug. 1955, pp. 1–13., jmc.stanford.edu/articles/dartmouth/dartmouth.pdf.

Shanahan, Murray. “The Space of Possible Minds.” The Space of Possible Minds | Edge.org, 18 Apr. 2018, www.edge.org/conversation/murray_shanahan-the-space-of-possible-minds.