Artificial intelligence refers to making computers, devices and robots as ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’ as humans. This is pretty huge task because computers are dumb beings. You give it a command and irrespective of its consequences, it executes it. It has no real thinking. If you type wrong, it will type wrong. However, you might say that it ‘suggests’ you the correct spelling but that suggestion routine has been programmed into it. It is not its own thinking.
The concept of artificial intelligence is pretty hard to understand because it was hard for me too. I was thinking of making a software program with a lot of exceptions, event handlers and error handlers so that it ‘looks like’ the computer is thinking. Consider a case in which you are a typist. Now, let’s say, you daily start the computer, open Microsoft Word, type your thing, and take a print out. Suppose you are given a highly intelligent computer with ‘so called’ artificial intelligence. You log on and the computer, based on what you’ve been launching frequently, immediately opens Microsoft Word and puts your cursor on the first line. You start typing. Then you quit. The computer asks you if you want to print the document you just typed. This is also based on the past experiences you’ve had with your computer. You tell ‘yes’ and your thing is done.
You might say that this is artificial intelligence. But I must tell you, this isn’t it. Artificial intelligence is something which is not to be programmed. Before running the computer as taken in the above example, the computer needs to be programmed to keep a watch on what are you doing often and what not. It has to be programmed when to open Microsoft Word and when to not. Artificial intelligence is something which needs no instructions. It works anonymously using its own thought.
We are intelligent beings, aren’t we? Let’s take our own example. Have you ever told your child or kid not to jump from really high building? Even if he/she goes up there for first time, on seeing the height, your kid will think that this is going to harm him. Hence, he stops the procedure and returns. Have you told him not to stab himself with knife? No. Your kid will see the sharpness of knife and softness of his skin. He’ll visualize the results and stop doing it. Such has to be artificial intelligence. Programming is not the only solution. The solution lies within us. The key is to observe minutely, like I did. I strongly believe that it is absolutely possible for us to develop such technology.
Computers with brains! Just imagine!
