Playing God
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Introduction
First off, this article is a long way from being submitted. If ever I'm going to submit something for approval, it will be containing more facts and less personal opinions. This article is just meant to open up a (series of) discussion(s), in search for material worthy of basing an "approved Guide-entry" upon.
I want to discuss Artificial Life (ALife) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While mankind is playing around in search for ALife and AI, they're in fact trying to accomplish something that - in the perception of many people - is meant to be done only by Gods, whatever those Gods may be called.
Artificial Life
Artificial Life can be found in several forms:
1 - Programs that simulate a number of "entities" trying to "live" together, learning to evade hazards such as predators and catching prey, or finding other food-sources. The most successful may even get to procreate in an effort to bring more efficient "evolved" lifeforms into existence.
2 - Machines (of any size) that get power from a small battery or from (an array of) solar cell(s). These machines may consist of only a few simple electronical components, which simply keep it moving.
The challenge here is to make sure the thing never gets in such a tight spot that escape is impossible.
3 - Genetically engineered lifeforms, even as small as bacteria. These might not be ALife in the true sense of the word. In fact they are real lifeforms. But they ARE engineered, modified, to do something they wouldn't normally have done. This "unnatural" behaviour is the artificial aspect about them.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is the ability of machines (generally computers) to reason like sentient beings. Alan Turing defined a test (known as the Turing Test), stating that a computer could be regarded as intelligent, if it was capable of leading someone to believe that they were actually communicating with another human at the other end of a network or something.
The above might be a short sighted idea. After all: if one would succeed in creating a program that perfectly mimics communicative skills, that would be exactly the result: just a machine that may be engaged in small talk.
On the other hand, a machine that can solve problems, even without prior knowledge, still wouldn't be capable of posing as a living being. It would need the communicative skills as well.
And a third ingredient would also be necessary: a sense of its own existence. It would need to be able to distinguish the "self" from the "other", and understand the difference. This concept will be the most difficult part of all.
ALife and AI combined
The way things are at this very moment, one might hope that it never comes to this. Genetically engineering lifeforms is risky enough, but with what intelligence we've shown ourselves so far (nuclear arms race, racism, slavery, apartheid, environmental problems and so forth), our existence would be greatly at risk, if we were to produce an artificial lifeform that is - by our own standards - intelligent.
If we were to create an artificial lifeform that (very unlikely) has TRUE intelligence, however, the risk to us would be greater still. Such a lifeform might consider us a threat to their own existence, and take whatever steps necessary to get rid of us by the most expedient means. Seeing what we've made of our world so far, would you blame them?
Some articles already available
I've compiled a small list of articles (all found in h2g2) that are not by my own hand. Here it is:
1. Artificial Intelligence, (approved guide-entry)
2. Turing Test, (approved guide-entry)
3. Machine Learning
4. Artificial Intelligence
5. Genetic Algorithm
6. Artificial Intelligence
7. Artificial Life
8. Artificial Intelligence
Give me some response
Currently, I haven't provided much new material, yet. That material is what I'm looking for. Your response might give me a clue about where to look for new facts. Don't hesitate to give your opinion.
