The Artificial Jack of All Trades: The Importance of Generality in Approaches to AI Tarek R. Besold KRDB, Faculty of Computer Science, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano 29. October 2015 Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Honor to whom honor is due... The following is joint work with: Ute Schmid Faculty of Information Systems and Applied CS, University of Bamberg Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Nilsson (2009) AI is that science devoted to making machines intelligent, and intelligence is that quality that enables an entity to function appropriately and with foresight in its environment. McCarthy (Dartmouth proposal, 1956) The study is to proceed on the basis of the conjecture that every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Nilsson (2009) AI is that science devoted to making machines intelligent, and intelligence is that quality that enables an entity to function appropriately and with foresight in its environment. McCarthy (Dartmouth proposal, 1956) The study is to proceed on the basis of the conjecture that every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Standard (“weak”) AI Computational models can be used to simulate human information processes thereby either providing tools which take over specific functions or tasks previously requiring certain mental capacities, or allowing detailed and consistent generative descriptions of specific sub-areas of cognition. Human-level AI The (re)creation of human higher-level cognitive or intellectual capacities by artificial means is possible and will eventually be achieved by scientific means. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Standard (“weak”) AI Computational models can be used to simulate human information processes thereby either providing tools which take over specific functions or tasks previously requiring certain mental capacities, or allowing detailed and consistent generative descriptions of specific sub-areas of cognition. Human-level AI The (re)creation of human higher-level cognitive or intellectual capacities by artificial means is possible and will eventually be achieved by scientific means. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Working hypothesis While standard AI can confine itself to the modelling and (mostly descriptive) study of individual mental capacities as isolated subparts of the mind, HLAI necessarily has to take a general holistic interpretation of intelligence and cognition as foundation. Challenges for HLAI approach What is “intelligence” in the first place? How can intelligence be detected and how can HLAI systems be evaluated? How can progress be measured? Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence, Cognition, and Computer Systems Working hypothesis While standard AI can confine itself to the modelling and (mostly descriptive) study of individual mental capacities as isolated subparts of the mind, HLAI necessarily has to take a general holistic interpretation of intelligence and cognition as foundation. Challenges for HLAI approach What is “intelligence” in the first place? How can intelligence be detected and how can HLAI systems be evaluated? How can progress be measured? Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Computers, Minds, Intelligence Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Computers and the Mind Usual theoretical foundations at the heart of many endeavors in HLAI and/or computational cognitive modeling: “Computer metaphor” of the mind (i.e. the concept of a 1 computational theory of mind). Church-Turing thesis. 2 Bridges gap between humans and computers: 1 Human mind and brain can be seen as information processing system. Reasoning and thinking corresponds to computation as formal symbol manipulation. Gives account of the nature and limitations of the computational 2 power of such a system. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Computers and the Mind Usual theoretical foundations at the heart of many endeavors in HLAI and/or computational cognitive modeling: “Computer metaphor” of the mind (i.e. the concept of a 1 computational theory of mind). Church-Turing thesis. 2 Bridges gap between humans and computers: 1 Human mind and brain can be seen as information processing system. Reasoning and thinking corresponds to computation as formal symbol manipulation. Gives account of the nature and limitations of the computational 2 power of such a system. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence No unanimously accepted definition. Scientific study of characterization and ways of measurement: Psychometrics . Working definition: Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Intelligence Wide variety of psychometric tests of intelligence, ranging from tests with only one type of item (e.g., Raven’s Progressive Matrices) to varied batteries of different questions or items (e.g., Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale). Overall range of possible items seems to cluster into groups of correlation-coupled subtests as, e.g., spatial items as opposed to verbal ones. Subtests tend to be positively correlated amongst each other and subjects scoring high on one are also fairly likely to be above average on others. ⇒ Spearman’s general factor g . Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Psychometric Tests and Approaches in/to AI Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Psychometrics & AI Psychometric AI (Bringsjord & Schimanksi, 2003) Psychometric AI is the field devoted to building information-processing entities capable of at least solid performance on all established, validated tests of intelligence and mental ability, a class of tests that includes not just the rather restrictive IQ tests, but also tests of artistic and literary creativity, mechanical ability, and so on. Problem: Psychometric AI does not put any constraints on the nature of the mechanisms or capacities at work in the corresponding computational model. ⇒ Psychometric AI as it stands does not rule out the possibility of attempts employing patchwork systems with many specialized “island solutions”. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Psychometrics & AI Psychometric AI (Bringsjord & Schimanksi, 2003) Psychometric AI is the field devoted to building information-processing entities capable of at least solid performance on all established, validated tests of intelligence and mental ability, a class of tests that includes not just the rather restrictive IQ tests, but also tests of artistic and literary creativity, mechanical ability, and so on. Problem: Psychometric AI does not put any constraints on the nature of the mechanisms or capacities at work in the corresponding computational model. ⇒ Psychometric AI as it stands does not rule out the possibility of attempts employing patchwork systems with many specialized “island solutions”. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Specialized AI Systems and IQ Test Problems Current landscape of AI systems for solving IQ tests: Many specialize on one particular type of item or task in employing task-specific mechanisms or in modelling domain-specific capacities. Domain- and task-specific description languages (e.g., number sequence problems). Problem-specific representations and structure computations (e.g., matrix problems). Domain-specific heuristics or specifically trained networks etc. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Specialized AI Systems and IQ Test Problems Problem: Limited value in HLAI context – little hope of generalizing and integrating these isolated solutions into a computational system (re-)creating general domain-independent human-level intelligence. Solution: Study and development of a priori domain-general mechanisms and computational models of cross-domain cognitive capacities. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Specialized AI Systems and IQ Test Problems Problem: Limited value in HLAI context – little hope of generalizing and integrating these isolated solutions into a computational system (re-)creating general domain-independent human-level intelligence. Solution: Study and development of a priori domain-general mechanisms and computational models of cross-domain cognitive capacities. Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
Towards General Mechanisms and Capacities Tarek R. Besold The Importance of Generality in AI
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