by Paul Big Bear
Dear Friends,
There are so many things any more that are artificial, football is played on artificial turf, Perhaps you have a jacket, coat, or even a suit of artificial leather, the seats in your car or the chair you are sitting on may be artificial leather (naugahyde). Artificial sweeteners, artificial coffee creamer, the list goes on and on, now the big subject is AI and I am not speaking of Allen Iverson, I am referring to “Artificial Intelligence”.
What exactly is it? Will it one day destroy the world? How many books and movies have taken this topic and scared readers and viewers? Are we being spied on by our cellular phones, smart TV’s, computers, how about drones and security cameras? Is artificial intelligence smarter than humans? This past week, at the Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon, we had a talk from three men who deal with artificial intelligence; medically, research, and business. Will it one day fill jobs now held by people? It is doing that, self check outs, some restaurants you electronically fill out you meal request and in some instances a robot brings it to your table. Order a pizza and it may come to you via a drone or an electric self driven car. Make a phone call and it is answered by a computer; Make a choice from the following list, in a few words what do you need help with – if you know your parties number enter it now – enter your parties name, on and on until you reach someone or give up. Look it up on your computer, check for size – color – make – cost – payment options – delivery then order it without ever speaking to a human being.
So is artificial intelligence smarter than humans? No! The next time you receive a call from a computer ask it “What is the value of Pi?” Artificial intelligence cannot create original thought, it can and does store data, information and is able to retrieve it faster than we can (the only thing other than a fast storage system is they have put Evelyn Wood out of business) but once it retrieves the information that is it. It is nothing more than a very efficient and fast Encyclopedia Britannica, the difference is that if the power goes out you may still open, search, and read a book. Information is gathered and stored, categorized, and saved, until it is opened and put to use when it becomes knowledge. Knowledge shared is wisdom. Ask your electronic devise to turn on a light and it will, if the light does not come on ask it why? Is the plug out? Perhaps the bulb is dead. It is helpless. So, is artificial intelligence smarter than me? Again no, I asked for my glass of Ovaltine an hour ago and the glass still sits there empty so I guess even though Siri knows where the glass is and the Ovaltine, and the milk and spoon I will ultimately have to get my drink myself.