Vladimir Veselov, computer software developer and
Eugene Demchenko, software engineer, have created the first computer
that fooled humans into thinking they were speaking to a 13 year
old boy.
The University of Reading (UR)
said that 33% of participants in a 5 minute online
conversation with "Eugene Goostman" were tricked into believing
this computer was actually a real-life teenager.
Strikingly, this feat means that Veselov and Demchenko
successfully created a computer program that passed the Turing
Test.
In 1950, Alan Turing wrote a paper entitled
Computing Machinery and Intelligence
that asked the
question:
"Can machines think?"
The Turing Test
establishes a,
"test for intelligence in a
computer, requiring that a human being should be unable to
distinguish the machine from another human being by using
the replies to questions put to both."
With the revelation posed by "Eugene", artificial
intelligence (AI) takes a giant leap forward by way of future
consent for the review of
sentience in computing which paves the way for asking the
question:
Should computers be allowed to decide what actions
they take and when to act on those decisions?
Veselov explained:
"Our whole team is very excited
with this result. Going forward we plan to make Eugene
smarter and continue working on improving what we refer to
as ‘conversation logic.’"
RoboLaw (RL), in
conjunction with UR School of Systems Engineering (SSE) provided
the funding for this event with "Eugene".
RL explains they are a consortium of academia whose,
"main objective… is to
investigate the ways in which emerging technologies in the
field of (bio-) robotics (e.g. bionics, neural interfaces
and nanotechnologies) have a bearing on the content, meaning
and setting of the law."
Their main focus in making robotics more agreeable to the
general public resides in using AI technology in:
-
Assistance to humans
-
Industrial work
-
Medical industry
Charles Bailey, digital artist, librarian and publisher of
Digital Scholarship (DS),
explained that,
"intelligent computers must be able to
reason; however, to be effective, reason may require broad
knowledge about the real world" and be able to "understand
written and verbal communication".
Because,
"we want computers that talk to us", Bailey said AI
must "not only master our native language, but also be able to
translate messages from other languages."
It would be more aesthetically pleasing if the robots had
human-like bodies "equipped with visual, auditory, and other
sensory capabilities that matched or exceeded human abilities"
and could perform tasks such as:
-
Construction
-
Manufacturing
-
Fire fighting
-
Routine office duties
-
Domestic chores
While examining the morality behind creating sentient robots,
Bailey asks the following questions:
-
Will intelligent computers have relationships that
parallel human ones?
-
Will they be constructed to be sexual or alter
themselves to be so?
-
Will they have love relationships?
-
Will they form family units, or will they create complex
new social structures we cannot envision?
-
Will they procreate, or will they allow humans to
produce new intelligent computers?
-
If they procreate, how will they do so, and will the
offspring inherit any of the traits of the parents?
-
Will the offspring be created fully functional or will
there be a period of childhood?
-
Will offspring have any special feelings for their
parents?
-
How fast will each generation be?
-
Will each generation replicate the basic structure and
functionality of the last generation, or will each
generation represent an advance in the design of the
species, causing rapid evolutionary development.
-
Will intelligent computers and humans form love
relationships?
-
Will society recognize the legitimacy of such
relationships?
-
Will they form friendships with each other and humans?
Ultimately, Bailey sees the advent of intelligent computers
placing humanity in the role of,
"making godlike decisions about
a new form of intelligent life" and this necessitates a
"delicate balance between controlling truly intelligent
computers and nurturing them so that they can develop to
their full potential."
