Smart Machines—Part 1

There are some amazing advances currently being made in two related scientific fields—both of which are exploring ways to create machines that mimic (and even surpass) human cognitive and physical capabilities. In each area researchers have built robots that exhibit stunning skills. Engineers and scientists have tried for several decades to manufacture robots and computers that are as proficient as human beings, with very little success. In the last few years breakthroughs have occurred.

The two similar fields are artificial intelligence (AI) and embodied cognition (EC). The holy grail for many years in AI has been to create a computer that has cognitive abilities equal to that of the human mind. Computers can process data far faster than the human brain can, but the problem has been figuring out how to program a computer to be able to preform the nimble, parallel processing that the brain does; which allows it to instantly recognize faces, or exhibit impressive learning capabilities. That problem is now being solved.

The second smart machine accomplishment has seen the construction of robots that feature embodied cognition. This breakthrough had to wait until scientists could fully appreciate what EC is. In humans (and most animals) most of the things that we do—walk, breathe, swim, or just move the body—are accomplished without any conscious effort on our part.

Do you consciously think and guide your body through every move, when you walk into the kitchen to get a drink of water? What is required to do so is a long and complex string of interacting movements and nerve signals that pretty much do the job on their own. Otherwise, we'd literally be moving in ultra-slow motion, unable to accomplish but one or two activities in a day's time. What allows us to do so many things and to do them fluidly and quickly is EC—wherein the major part of our brain unconsciously engages in myriad activities, so as to free up our thinking brain to ponder more esoteric things like yesterday's events and planning tomorrow's.

The recent AI computers use what is referred to as “deep learning,” where the computer teaches itself. Earlier attempts at AI used the capabilities of super computers to make lightning-fast computations using incredibly complex software programs, but these machines could only do what the human programmers decided to program into them. If the AI computer encountered a novel situation, it was stumped, because nobody had thought to program that particular scenario.

The algorithms being used in the latest AI computers are far less complex (because they do not need to cover every scenario imaginable), but are fundamentally more flexible—like the human brain. The computer teaches itself. Give it the simple rules of chess or Go or Jeopardy!, and it will teach itself by running millions of practice sessions. It even invents novel moves in these games that a human had never thought of. World champions of these three games have recently been humiliated by AI machines.

More smart machines next time...