Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

H1 Group 2 Searle


My group discussed the many ideas of Searle. This philosopher provoked many thoughts in our group. One thing about Searle stuck out to me. This was said about him, "Avoidance or outright denial of unpleasant aspects of reality, especially those which might otherwise warrant an unfavorable opinion about ourselves. Thus, for example, the wishful thought, 'I'm not really addicted to nicotine; I could quit smoking any time.' is clearly self-deceptive." We can all trick ourselves into thinking something, but others may know the real truth behind the lies we exhibit to ourselves. Most of the time, we try to think of ourselves as perfect, so we refuse to believe that anything is wrong. You are truly only cheating yourself if you are being self deceptive.
After talking about self decption, we discused the machine topic. This raised many questions and feelings toward this idea. We all have a hard time believing that machines can actually be intelligent. Machines create an output from an input that WE put into it. Humans created machines and computers therefore they can never become more intelligent than we are. We as humans created all the information that computers have inside of them. Technology keeps improving so it is possible that computers or machines may scare us at some point. When you think about it, computers are only as smart as the humans that use them. Computers have no thought or emotions. They do not have the level of intensity that humans have so how can they be classified as intelligent beings? They cannot think on their own. Being intelligent means having certain thought processes. All in all, people can think what they want about machines and computers. Each person has his or her own ideas about them. Searle mearly made us think about this. It provokes feelings and thoughts in each of us as humans.

4 comments:

  1. Turing proposes a test that involves imitation being the defining factor of intelligence, but I believe that intelligence involves the ability to question why one does a certain action and includes the ability to potentially resist doing what one is told. Computers have no resistance capabilities, no ways to defend themselves, and, when they posses countermeasures like anti-virus software, they have only acquired them from the designers, and they are only as competent as the algorithms that the programmer has made. Intelligence involves more that merely the ability to relay information: it involves the application of the knowledge, or at least the ability to apply it. Computers have vast stores of knowledge within them, but without a sentient mind to reveal and utilize that knowledge, it is useless, no matter how advanced the computer is.

    "He is insisting, however, that genuine thought and understand require something more than mere computation. In understanding a language we do not merely manipulate symbols based on their formal properties. We do something (he doesn't pretend to say what) in addition to manipulating symbols in virtue of which we actually understand the meaning of the symbols..."

    http://www.mind.ilstu.edu/curriculum/searle_chinese_room/searle_chinese_room.php

    FQ: Who created a though experiment in response to the Turing Test?
    A: Searle

    DQ: Would life change much (or at all) if machines were able to understand language?

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  2. Ipods and Macs are gonna take over the world!!! That's why I use PC, ha ha.

    I totally agree with everything Emily and Mason said regarding machines and robots. Yes, they may have functions that seem to indicate intelligence, but only because they are emulating their creator and enacting the programs that he/she designed. I agree with Mason and Emily's standard of intelligence, "Being intelligent means having certain thought processes" (Emily).
    "I believe that intelligence involves the ability to question why one does a certain action and includes the ability to potentially resist doing what one is told . . . Intelligence involves more that merely the ability to relay information: it involves the application of the knowledge, or at least the ability to apply it" (Mason). However, I would like to add another stipulation. Intelligence not only requires application skills and thought processes, I think intelligence involves recognition of self and self attainment. Computers will never be able to look into a mirror and know that they are looking at themselves (dolphins, chimpanzees all possess this attribute). In addition, they won't be able to plan for their future and have expectations and dreams like we do.

    Link: http://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/computers%20become%20self%20aware.htm

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  3. My dad is a computer programmer so I've heard a lot about it growing up. It's funny because my dad always talks about the computers "thinking for themselves" but when he says this he really just means that there's a bug in the program making it do something they don't want it to do. Without programmers, computers wouldn't be able to do anything. However, a good program will make a computer seem to think for itself.

    FQ: John Searle came up with the ______ Room Experiment. Answer: Chinese
    DQ: Do you think we could make technology so advanced that it can start thinking on its own? [Larissa mentioned the Disney movie Smart House (great movie! haha)]

    Quote: "The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim." -Edsger Dijkstra

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  4. I believe people can trick themselves into thinking certain ways. I also believe that computers can be taught to "think for themselves" However, it is only an appearance. Humans teach programs how to think. Computers can be taught how to defend themselves, and possibly even evolve into new ways of defending itself against hostile programs. However, all "intelligence" is from humans. Computers are glorified objects and do not possess their own ways of thinking.

    FQ: Who introduced the Chinese room experiment?
    DQ: Can technology think for itself?

    ReplyDelete

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