Inf 103 - Computer Literacy - Artificial Intelligence

Jennifer McCloud

Artificial Intelligence

INF103 Computer Literacy

Professor Harold Fisher

May 14, 2012

Artificial Intelligence

What is Artificial Intelligence? In order to understand what it is, you have to break it down. First, the word artificial, by definition, means "made by human skill; produced by humans" (dictionary.com). Secondly, the word intelligence, by definition, means, "the capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude for grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc" (Bowles, Section 9.2).

Artificial Intelligence is a branch of computer science that deals with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers. AI is used to answer the question "Do machines have the capability to imitate intelligent human behavior?" Intelligence has the ability to interact with the world (i.e. speech, vision, motion, and manipulation). It also has the ability to model the world and to reason about it. Intelligence can also learn and adapt (Baum, p. 5).

As humans, we have the ability to attain knowledge and apply that knowledge and then adapt that knowledge that we have acquired to particular experiences. AI is no different, except for the fact they are not humans. AI's are man-made devices like computers, robots and/or toys. These devices are programmed to do and think as a human would. AI has the ability or capabilities to obtain data that is given to them and then reason with the information and eventually learn and grow through experience; just as a human would (www.humansfuture.org).

Computers today are not just about keyboard entry; computers today can actually respond to voice commands and visual signals (www.humansfuture.org). Voice recognition is a key enabler of human-machine interface. People now can communicate with computers through common everyday speech. "The start of robotic sounding voices has evolved to a highly sophisticated voice technology system that had sales of over $1.2 billion in 2004. Voice technology systems, powered by artificial intelligence, are no longer just an emerging technology, but are being used by companies from BMW to Dell to Frigidaire to Wal-Mart" (www.humansfuture.org).

"One of the first people to consider the philosophical implications of intelligent machines was a mathematician; Alan Turing" (Bowles, Section 9.2). A Turing Machine was developed by Alan Turing in 1937 to prove whether or not a computer was intelligent. "The test or experiment went like this: a judge begins communicating with a person hidden behind one curtain and a computer hidden behind another. If the judge cannot tell the difference between the real person and the computer, then the computer is considered to be intelligent" (Bowles, Section 9.2).

During the same time that Alan Turing proposed his test, a science fiction author by the name of Isaac Asimov popularized his "Three Rules of Robotics" (Bowles, Section 9.2). The word robot means "a computer that looked and acted like a human" (Bowles, Section 9.2). By 1950, Asimov began considering the implications of smart machines in the book I, Robot. "Asimov's three laws are as follows:

(Bowles, Section 9.2). It was said that if these laws were embedded within the machines, there would be nothing to fear.

The goals for AI are to build systems