The fear of technological advancement has been one of the few constants throughout history, and as Artificial Intelligence becomes an increasing part of how we collect data, many are beginning to wonder how the proliferation of AI will affect our privacy, our workforce, and our day-to-day lives. Artificial Intelligence is broadly defined as the ability for computers and software to exhibit intelligent behavior, which can include reasoning, planning, data collection, and natural language processing. Its critics are as fierce as its supporters, with individuals such as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk voicing concerns that Artificial Intelligence could alter human existence in unforeseeable ways with vast negative effects. In a recent talked titled, “Making AI More Human,” Gary Marcus, the Director of the NYU Infant Language Center, discussed the increasing role of Artificial Intelligence in our lives.
The common assumption with Artificial Intelligence is that AI is trying to replicate, and by extension replace, human intelligence. But Marcus sees the opportunity for Artificial Intelligence to thrive in spaces where human intelligence is flawed. Marcus stressed that there are multiple dimensions of what is broadly defined as intelligence, and that humans and machines vary in their strengths. He used the example of setting tasks and using logic to fulfilling those tasks: this is something humans are adept at performing. We can easily see problems, use logic and reason to find a solution, and then enact that solution to fix the problem. However, computers are not, generally speaking, competent at these sorts of problems. Computers are more adept to be given a task and perform it, as opposed to creating a task for itself. Marcus used the example of arithmetic as something that humans frequently miscalculate (think about the last time you tried to split the bill at a restaurant, or calculate the tip), whereas machines excel in performing these sorts of calculations.
Marcus made the claim that, in some ways, airplanes in comparison to birds are analogous to artificial intelligence when compared to human intelligence. Airplanes borrow certain ideas and concepts about flight from birds, but ultimately, airplanes are not trying to replicate birds. In a similar vein, Artificial Intelligence works best as a method of filling in the gaps of human intelligence, not replacing it.