What Will it Say About Us, in the Event of the Machines Thinking?

Will it think or merely perform like it does in case artificial intelligence ever attains the level of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)? The question arose at our discussion in Core 456: The Digital Revolution, and promptly resulted in a much greater one: is it only the brain at work, or is there more to human mind than that?

During a lesson, we discussed AGI as a type of intelligence that would not only get a certain task done, but would be able to learn, reason, and adjust to a wide range of different areas similar to a person. This brought an intriguing parallel between machines and people. Assuming AGI is capable of simulating human-level reasoning, is there any reason to consider intelligence as a complex system of inputs and outputs? Or does not the human mind transcend the physical processes?

The difference between the mind and the brain was of particular concern in this discussion. The brain can be touched, it is a physical thing comprised of neurons, chemistry and electrical signals. The mind, on the other hand, seems less concrete. It comprises consciousness, creativity, feelings and self-awareness. Although it is evident that the brain has a role to play in giving birth to the mind, it is yet unclear why the two are actually identical to each other.

AGI gets us to review that relationship. When a machine is able to reason, solving and possibly even able to think about itself, then we might be required to redefine what we deem as thinking. This concept is related to the digital revolution when technology does not only alter the way we lead our life, but also how we comprehend ourselves. The development of powerful AI compels the society to think about philosophical issues that were theory before.

In our attempt to develop machines that can think like us, we have to inquire ourselves about what it is that we as human beings think about. I wonder whether in the subsequent discussions of this course, I will be given the opportunity of refuting some of my assumptions regarding intelligence, consciousness, and the place of technology in the formation of both, as the course proceeds.