Robots - our future?

,,Artificial Intelligence is the study of how to make computers do things at which, at the moment, people are better. [...]''   Rich1986

Artificial intelligence is everywhere. It’s one of the most current topics and everybody keeps talking about it. But a lot of people can’t imagine what artificial intelligence really is. This is understandable, because there in is no exact definition. Everbody explains it with his own words. Nevertheless I will try to introduce you to some definitions. It all began a long time ago in the 17th century, in the age of Enlightenment. People already had a concept of „humans as machines“. They’re goal was to create an intelligence, which could solve problems and robots with self-confidence and emotions like ours.
 Another definiton is: „Artificial Intelligence is the study of ideas which enable computers to do things that make people seem intelligent. (...) The central goal of Artificial Intelligence is to make computers more useful and to understand the principles which make intelligence possible.“ (Wintson193)
A computer is the best example for Artificial Intelligence. After the invention of computers , the idea of designing thinking machines came up. Some people say that these machines and robots have just one brain half because artificial intelligence doesn’t know intuitive or instinctive behaviour.  The senses of hearing, feeling, tasting...- are totally missing. It’s very difficult to decide if a machine is really intelligent. You can’t say that a machine is intelligent just because it has a big computing ability and a bit storage capacity.

Applications of artificial intelligence (AI)

Game Playing: You can buy machines that can play an excellent chess, there is some AI in them, and they play well against people.
Speech recognition: In the 1990s United Airlines replaced the keyboard for flight information by a system using speech recognition. It`s quite convenient.
Understanding natural language: The computer has to be provided with an ability to understand the domain the text is about, and this is possible for limited domains.

There remains the question: How can you detect artificial intelligence?

In 1950 Alan Turing invented a test, which can prove if a computer has all the qualities needed. This test is called „Turing Test“. The design of the test is the following: A human asks another human and a machine some questions. The questioner doesn`t know, which of them is answering. Afterwards he has to say if the interview partner was a human or a machine. If he can`t distinguish them, the machine has passed the test. Up to now no computer has stood the test. However, experts criticize this method of proving artificial intelligence. They say that there are also humans (for example children), who can`t communicate with the questioner, even though they are intelligent. The experts claim that, if a machine can speak and answer a question, these skills prove only aspects of some human intelligence. So teachers won`t be replaced by robots, at least not tomorrow, but maybe after tomorrow?

Jonas, 20 Jahre

Was verstehst du unter künstlicher Intelligenz?

Hmm, wenn man geboren wird, ist man normal intelligent. Wir können nicht künstlich intelligent sein. Roboter haben künstliche Intelligenz.

Bauarbeiter, 30 Jahre

Was verstehen Sie unter künstlicher Intellienz?

Ja, das sind Künstler, die intelligent sind.

Kann der Roboter den Menschen jemals ersetzen?

Nein, das geht nicht, weil das heutige System schon so viel zusammengestürzt ist.

Geschäftsmann, 46 Jahre

Was verstehen Sie unter künstlicher Intelligenz?

Sie hilft uns besser zu sein und einen besseren Lebenstandart zu erreichen.

Kann der Roboter den Menschen jemals ersetzen?

Ich glaube es ist möglich, aber ich finde, man sollte nicht über das Maximum hinausschiessen.

Frau, ca. 50 Jahre

Was verstehen Sie unter künstlicher Intelligenz?

Das sind diese Roboter und Computer, die wir mit unserem Wissen füttern und dann schauen was sie daraus machen.

Kann der Roboter den Menschen jemals ersetzen?

Ich hoffe es nicht, aber ich weiss, dass die Technik weit fortgeschritten ist.