When admiration for artificial intelligence turns into a rut
Our journey through the history of artificial intelligence, reflections on the nature of AI and analysis of Moravec's paradox leads us to another fascinating phenomenon - the AI effect. This is a phenomenon in which what once seemed like an amazing manifestation of machine intelligence, over time begins to be seen as "just computation."
The essence of the AI effect
The AI effect is the tendency to depreciate the achievements of artificial intelligence as they become commonplace and understood. When a computer learns to perform a difficult task that previously required human intelligence, we often begin to think of it as a mere process, overlooking the complexity of the algorithms and technology behind it. What once seemed like a breakthrough becomes "just computing." As Nick Bostrom (a Swedish philosopher) aptly pointed out, AI is anything that surprises us at any given moment, and when we are no longer impressed, we simply call it software.
Our earlier discussion of the nature of artificial intelligence showed that the lack of a precise definition of intelligence makes it difficult for us to clearly determine when we are dealing with "real" intelligence and when we are dealing with an advanced algorithm. Definitions of AI that speak of "mimicking human abilities" are often too vague and do not clarify what specific abilities are involved.
Examples of the effect of AI in practice
Chess and mathematics
When considering the evolution of perceptions of artificial intelligence, it is worth recalling that the victory of the Deep Blue computer over Garri Kasparov was once seen as proof of machine intelligence. Today, even though chess programs are much more powerful, we consider it "just computation." Chess is a mathematical problem with clear rules and a finite set of possible moves, not a manifestation of true intelligence.
Image recognition
The phenomenon of Moravec's paradox perfectly illustrates that object recognition is natural for humans thanks to millions of years of evolution. For computers, it's a complicated task requiring analysis of thousands of pixels and complex algorithms. However, when this technology became commonplace in our smartphones, we stopped seeing it as a manifestation of artificial intelligence.
Language processing
Automatic text translation, which was a difficult task not so long ago, is becoming more precise today, thanks to models such as GPT. However, we see it as a standard function, not evidence of machine intelligence.
Consequences of the AI effect
The AI effect can lead to reduced enthusiasm for new developments in artificial intelligence and an underestimation of its true potential. The history of AI development shows that every technological breakthrough becomes ordinary over time, which can lead to overlooking further innovations.
How to counteract the AI effect
The key to countering the AI effect is education and understanding how artificial intelligence works. We must learn to critically analyze AI's achievements instead of automatically depreciating them. It is also worthwhile to look at AI from a new perspective, beyond the prism of human intelligence. The concept of a "prediction machine" may better capture the essence of modern AI than the traditional notion of intelligence.
Summary
The AI effect is a natural phenomenon that shows how our perception of technology is changing over time. However, being aware of its existence can help us better understand and appreciate advances in artificial intelligence. Let's remember that AI is not just "computing," but advanced technologies that have the potential to significantly change the world
Attention!
This article was prepared with the support of Claude 3.5 Sonnet, an advanced AI language model, which helped organize and present content while maintaining an authentic message and educational value.This article has also been automatically translated from Polish using DeepL. If you find any errors, please let me know in the comments.
