ComputersMimic The Human MindThe mind-body problem has captivated theminds of philosophers for centuries. The problem is how the bodyand mind can interact with each other if they are separate and distinct. One solution to the problem is to replace any mental term with a more accuratephysical description. Eliminative Materialists take this idea tothe extreme by stating that everything that is believed to be mental willsomeday be explained in terms of the physical world. One way thatpeople try to prove Eliminative Materialism to be true is through technology.
Certainly if we are able to create computers and software that mimic thehuman mind, then Eliminative Materialism is a sound solution to the mind-bodyproblem. In order to examine if computers actually do mimic the humanmind then we must first look at the capabilities of the human mind. If one looks closely at the capabilities of the human mind and comparesthem to the most recent technological advances, then it would be obviousthat computers and software are beginning to mimic even the most advancedmental states. In the future, computers will be able to do anythingthe human mind is capable of thus proving Eliminative Materialism to bea sound solution to the mind-body problem. Most of the day the human mind is takingin information, analyzing it, storing it accordingly, and recalling pastknowledge to solve problems logically.
This is similar to the lifeof any computer. Humans gain information through the senses. Computers gain similar information through a video camera, a microphone,a touch pad or screen, and it is even possible for computers to analyzescent and chemicals. Humans also gain information through books,other people, and even computers, all of which computers can access throughsoftware, interfacing, and modems.
For the past year speech recognitionsoftware products have become mainstream(Lyons,176). All of the waysthat humans gain information are mimicked by computers. Humans thenproceed to analyze and store the information accordingly. This isa computer’s main function in today’s society. Humans then take allof this information and solve problems logically. This is where thingsget complex.
There are expert systems that can solve complex problemsthat humans train their whole lives for. In 1997, IBM’s Deep Bluedefeated the world champion in a game of chess(Karlgaard, p43). Expertsystems design buildings, configure airplanes, and diagnose breathing problems. NASA’s Deep Space One probe left with software that lets the probe diagnoseproblems and fix itself(Lyons). All of this shows that computersare capable of taking information and solving complex problems.
Thisis where current technology put obstacles in the way of Artificial Intelligence. The human mind is a complex system of braincells or neurons which accomplishes all of these tasks. Silicon chips,the hardware a computer, is extremely similar to the human brain. The human brain has over ten billion cells, and the largest cell has 200,000inputs(Levin,30). Neurons run in parallel which adds up to trillionsof connections per second.
Most PC’s run about thirty million connectionsper second. This is a far cry from the capabilities of the humanmind but as technology advances neural technology will begin to close thegap between the two. This is the major obstacle to tackle inorder to build a machine that thinks the same way that a human brain does. Think of it this way. The human mind has had thousands of years toevolve into what we understand of it today.
The field of ArtificialIntelligence roots started in 1965. As we learn more about the humanmind and neural network technology improves we will be able to hurdle allobstacles to mimicking the human mind. There are computer scientists, engineers,and neurologists researching solutions for these obstacles as you read. The human brain is capable of creativity, learning and emotions. These are the areas where computers lack the technology to compete withhumans but they are working on it. Take creativity for example.
“Aaron”, an invention of Harold Cohen, produces artwork that Cohenhas no way of predicting what Aaron is going to do(Boden). Not onlyis the artwork an original painting but it is also pleasant to look at. Paul Hodgson’s program Improviser is a music composer that plays a uniqueperformance in real time(Boden). This does not prove that a computerhas creativity in the same sense that humans do but it is a start. Human creativity springs from association.
One has spontaneous thoughtsor actions that are a result of many different past experiences that arerelated by this new thought. “Copycat”, the brain child of Hofstadter,is closer to this type of thought than any other program(Boden). In her article “Artificial Genius” Boden states “Hofstadter believes thatcapturing the processes that make up creative thinking in a computer programis possible, given that computer could be made big enough and fast enoughto rival the vast complexity of the human brain. “Artificial intelligence experts are startingto mimic the human brains function of learning. Scientists at MITare trying to create a machine that simulates the way that humans learnthrough the senses.
The robot stated out as a baby, that is no codeto base decisions on. Rodney Brooks, the developer, is concentratingon eye-hand coordination and face recognition and hoping that one day itwill use the information to make discoveries of it’ own(Smith). DougLenat is trying to teach a computer common sense in hope that the computerwill “reason” on its own(Smith). He is trying to accomplish thisby manually entering over two million common sense statements such as iceis frozen. Geoffrey Yuen is developing a robot that can learn todo tasks that are too dangerous for humans. Yuen is trying to teach therobot to find a location, remember that site, and return to the same spot.
He most first teach the robot to move around obstacles, process information,and learn from its experiences by using the information in future action(Smith). Although these are extremely simple tasks it is a break through on thefrontier of computers learning from past experiences. Emotions is an area of artificial intelligenceis just beginning to research in this year. If computers could haveemotional intelligence then they would be able to respond to the user.
Dr. Bernhrd Kammeer is teaching devices how to detect and interpret speech,facial expressions, and finger movements. In the article “Computerswith Attitudes” Udo Flohr states, “Emotional intelligence, these scientistspropose, will help machines recognize and adapt to the users’ actions andintentions, offering help and support when needed or scaling down the amountof time interaction to fit stressful situations. ” This would onlysatisfy understanding emotions, what about actually experiencing them?Infantile emotions are a result of interacting with other people. Cynthia Breazeal developed Kismet, a robot that socially interacts andhas emotions. This is accomplished by human drives that become satisfiedor not by human stimulus.
The robot reacts accordingly. Happinessis shown by an open mouth and raised eyebrow and eyelids. Sadnessis shown by a clamped mouth, lowered ears and eyelids(Fung). Kismethas the emotions of a new born child that could evolve into full humanemotions. Kismet means destiny. The destiny of EliminativeMaterialism could lie in the hands of such innovations.
All of this being proved true then EliminativeMaterialism will be proven a sound solution to the mind-body problem. So why do so many people believe that computers will never be able to thinklike human beings? Why do so many people reject the idea machineswill be able to have the ability to learn, be creative, and have emotions?It is due to their religion or belief that human brains are more than justa huge mass of cells working together in that they can experience metaphysicaltransformations(Wright). Elliminative materialism scares the crapout of these people which happens to be the majority of the world. Eliminative Materialism needs to be taken with an open mind. So ourbrain is a natural computer but it is the best and brightest computer thathas evolved over thousands of years(Hinrichs). There should be nothingdehumanizing about this solution to the mind-body problem.
In hisbook Consciousness Explained, Daniel Dennett notes,” Artificial intelligenceis progressing, creating smart machines that process data somewhat theway human beings do. As the trend continues it will become clearerthat we’re all machines, that Ryle’s strict materialism was basically ontarget, that the mind-body problem is in principle solved”(Wright). This summary of Dennett’s book is right on the mark when computers mimicthe human mind.
