A History Of Artificial Intelligence And Its Current & Future Development [extract]

A History Of Artificial Intelligence And Its Current & Future Development

Research Report: This Premium article is exclusive to premium  subscribers. For unrestricted website access please Subscribe: £5 monthly / £50 annual.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defined as computer systems that simulate human thinking and capacities such as learning.  Modern AI is made up of different categories of systems that each have unique specialisations. 

Common AI Types

AI systems generally are divided into four main types.  They are similar to the weak and strong categories in that they start from practical applications that exist today and evolve to envision what could exist in the future. These are:-

1. Reactive Machines: As the name implies, reactive machines are the simplest form of artificial intelligence systems: They react to what is put in front of them. Their performance is reliable, as they will respond the same way to the same stimuli every time. 

On the other hand, they have a very limited functionality set because the AI will not learn or grow over time. 
A famous example of this is IBM’s chess-playing computer Deep Blue, which relied on programmed rules and variables to understand the game of chess.

2. Limited Memory: Limited memory AI systems have some capacity to recall information and make predictions as to what function is needed. They do require human feedback to train the machine to learn how best to perform in each instance. 

A common example of this type of AI would be the automated chatbots that many organisations use as a way to scale their customer support and streamline their interactions.

3. Theory of Mind: Theory of mind is the first theoretical stage of AI development. It does not exist currently, but it represents the point when an artificial intelligence system will be able to discern emotion as it makes a decision about how to respond to a prompt from a user. 

A system might be able to understand if there is an urgent tone in someone’s voice or if someone is frustrated. This capacity would enable the system to adjust its responses to different situations far beyond what is possible today.

4. Self-Awareness: In the very distant future, an AI system that has mastered theory of mind might be able to reach a stage of self-awareness. In this stage, the system would understand what it is and that it was made by humans. 

 A self-aware AI system would essentially have human-level consciousness, which would allow it to adapt to immensely complex situations. This development would rely on vastly more advanced technology than what we have today.

(Full article length: 3,250 words)

To continue reading please Subscribe