Artificial Intelligence: Cognitive Ability or Information Processing Computers have become an integral part of our everyday lives. We rely upon these machines to perform innumerable tasks that we often take for granted.
…show more content…
In “ Is the Brain’s Mind a Computer Program, “ John R. Searle presents an interesting argument against strong artificial intelligence proponents. Believers of strong artificial intelligence contend that a computer that can pass the Turing test is displaying cognitive ability. The Turing test basically states that if a computer can function in such a way that an expert can not distinguish its performance from that of a human who has a certain cognitive ability, such as the ability to understand a language, then the computer also has that ability. Proponents of weak artificial intelligence have a much less forceful view which states that if a computer can pass the Turing test it is merely a successful model of the mind. In his essay, it is the strong AI proponents whom Searle is critiquing. Searle’s argument against artificial intelligence can essentially be summed up in three simple statements: (1) Computer programs are formal/syntactic (2) Human minds have mental contents or semantics (3) Syntax by itself is neither constitutive of nor sufficient for …show more content…
He could insist that premise three of his detractors argument was false, that the luminous room argument demonstrated nothing about the nature of light, and that an ongoing research program which investigated the relationship between of both these phenomena was required in order to settle the dispute. In the same manner, a proponent of artificial intelligence would then have only three similar arguments to respond to Searle’s theory. He could argue that Searle is not in a position to insist that rule governed symbol manipulation can never constitute semantic phenomena and that the Chinese room experiment demonstrated nothing about the nature of mind. Additionally, he could contend that semantic and cognitive phenomena have yet to be explained and that Searle exploits our ignorance of these phenomena to prove his argument. The Churchlands then attempt to justify their own theory regarding how artificial intelligence might be possible. They assert that presently existing computers are not capable of cognitive ability as a result of the serial manner in which they process
In “ Is the Brain’s Mind a Computer Program, “ John R. Searle presents an interesting argument against strong artificial intelligence proponents. Believers of strong artificial intelligence contend that a computer that can pass the Turing test is displaying cognitive ability. The Turing test basically states that if a computer can function in such a way that an expert can not distinguish its performance from that of a human who has a certain cognitive ability, such as the ability to understand a language, then the computer also has that ability. Proponents of weak artificial intelligence have a much less forceful view which states that if a computer can pass the Turing test it is merely a successful model of the mind. In his essay, it is the strong AI proponents whom Searle is critiquing. Searle’s argument against artificial intelligence can essentially be summed up in three simple statements: (1) Computer programs are formal/syntactic (2) Human minds have mental contents or semantics (3) Syntax by itself is neither constitutive of nor sufficient for …show more content…
He could insist that premise three of his detractors argument was false, that the luminous room argument demonstrated nothing about the nature of light, and that an ongoing research program which investigated the relationship between of both these phenomena was required in order to settle the dispute. In the same manner, a proponent of artificial intelligence would then have only three similar arguments to respond to Searle’s theory. He could argue that Searle is not in a position to insist that rule governed symbol manipulation can never constitute semantic phenomena and that the Chinese room experiment demonstrated nothing about the nature of mind. Additionally, he could contend that semantic and cognitive phenomena have yet to be explained and that Searle exploits our ignorance of these phenomena to prove his argument. The Churchlands then attempt to justify their own theory regarding how artificial intelligence might be possible. They assert that presently existing computers are not capable of cognitive ability as a result of the serial manner in which they process