How AI Will Become Self-Aware and When? A Lot Sooner than you think!
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into the concept of AI consciousness, exploring the history of natural language programs like Eliza and the Turing test's role in assessing machine intelligence. It questions whether AI, such as ChatGPT, can be conscious, despite passing rigorous tests and simulating human conversation. The discussion suggests AI's current limitations to pattern recognition without self-awareness, contrasting with human cognitive abilities. It ponders the future possibility of creating conscious machines, hinting at both technological and philosophical implications.
Takeaways
- š¬ People tend to anthropomorphize AI, attributing human-like feelings to it.
- š§ Joseph Weizenbaum's Eliza program demonstrated that even simple AI could give the illusion of understanding.
- š¤ The script challenges the common belief that AI like ChatGPT possesses consciousness.
- š ChatGPT operates on a large language model, learning from vast amounts of text to predict word patterns.
- š The Turing Test, proposed by Alan Turing, is a method to evaluate a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human.
- š ChatGPT version 4 reportedly passed a rigorous version of the Turing Test in March 2024.
- š« Despite passing the Turing Test, ChatGPT is not considered conscious by scientists.
- š§ The script discusses the limitations of AI, noting that it lacks self-awareness and the ability to make novel conclusions.
- š The concept of emergence in consciousness is introduced, suggesting that AI could potentially develop consciousness if it mimics the brain's interconnections.
- š® Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that conscious machines might be possible by around 2030.
- āļø The script concludes by pondering the implications of conscious machines and what it would mean for society.
Q & A
What was the illusion created by Joseph Weizenbaum's Eliza program?
-Eliza created an illusion of understanding to users by simulating human conversation through simple pattern matching, even though it did not have any capability to understand anything.
Why were people attributing human-like feelings to Eliza?
-People, including Weizenbaum's own secretary, attributed human-like feelings to Eliza because we tend to anthropomorphize anything that faintly resembles us, assuming there's an individual or consciousness without thinking about it.
What is the Turing test and how does it relate to machine consciousness?
-The Turing test is a method proposed by Alan Turing to determine if a machine can think, by having a human judge converse with both a human and a machine and not being able to reliably tell which is which. It's used as a litmus test for consciousness, but it only shows the machine's ability to simulate human conversation, not necessarily that it has a mind or is aware.
How did ChatGPT perform on the Turing test according to the Stanford University researchers?
-In March of 2024, Stanford University researchers reported that the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT 4, had passed a rigorous version of the Turing test.
What is the criticism of the Turing test in the context of machine consciousness?
-The criticism is that while the test can show that a machine can simulate human conversation, it does not prove that the machine has a mind or is aware. A machine that passes the Turing test does not necessarily have consciousness.
How does ChatGPT work and what is its limitation in terms of consciousness?
-ChatGPT works like a super-fast reader and writer, spotting patterns in how people use words and piecing together words that fit best with the question and context. It doesn't have a mind to think on its own or have an awareness of itself because it's simply looking at patterns and synthesizing information based on what it was trained on.
What is the definition of consciousness used in the script?
-The script uses the simple Wikipedia definition of consciousness as awareness of existence, including aspects like selfhood, soul, free will, subjective experience, sentience, and qualia.
What is the emergent phenomenon and how does it relate to consciousness?
-The emergent phenomenon refers to a property that arises from the interactions of a system's components that isn't found in the components themselves. In the context of consciousness, it means that consciousness arises from the interconnections and interactions of billions of neurons within the brain.
What is the position of Marvin Minsky on the mind and brain?
-Marvin Minsky believed that 'mind is what the brain does,' suggesting that the mind's functions, including consciousness, are the result of the brain's activities and could, in principle, be replicated by a machine.
What does the futurist Ray Kurzweil estimate regarding the creation of conscious machines?
-Futurist Ray Kurzweil estimates that around 2030, it might be possible to build conscious machines, suggesting that the technology could be achievable in the near future.
What is the main question the script leaves us with regarding conscious machines?
-The main question left by the script is not whether or when conscious machines will be built, but what the implications and consequences will be once they are created.
Outlines
š¤ Anthropomorphizing AI: The Eliza Effect
This paragraph introduces the tendency of humans to anthropomorphize AI systems like ChatGPT, Siri, and Alexa. It begins by referencing the 1960sā Eliza, a natural language program that, despite its lack of true understanding, led users, including the creatorās secretary, to attribute human-like qualities to it. The paragraph also discusses how two-thirds of people believe AI may possess consciousness, despite the ongoing debate among scientists. It sets the stage for the videoās exploration of AI consciousness, questioning whether machines like ChatGPT are intelligent or conscious.
š§ Defining Consciousness: Awareness and Intelligence
This paragraph focuses on defining consciousness, drawing from sources like Wikipedia and Scientific American. Terms such as selfhood, free will, sentience, and qualia are discussed as attributes of consciousness. The paragraph also introduces Alan Turingās 1950 test (the Turing Test) designed to determine if machines can think. It notes that although GPT-4 passed the Turing Test in 2024, scientists argue this doesn't prove consciousnessāmerely that AI can simulate human conversation, much like a computer simulating a coffee machine without producing real coffee.
š¤ Limitations of ChatGPT: Intelligence Without Consciousness
This paragraph explains how ChatGPT operates as a large language model (LLM), synthesizing and predicting patterns from a vast array of human-generated data without true understanding. While intelligent in terms of processing and pattern recognition, it lacks self-awareness or the ability to make novel conclusions. The comparison is made between ChatGPT and a computer simulating a coffee machine: ChatGPT may simulate conversation but lacks an actual 'mind' to think on its own. The paragraph concludes by stating that scientists largely agree AI is intelligent but not conscious.
š AI's Future: Consciousness and Learning Pathways
This paragraph shifts the discussion toward the possibility of AI developing consciousness in the future. It introduces a promotional segment for Simplilearn, an online learning platform offering courses in AI and machine learning. The paragraph emphasizes the growing role of AI across industries and encourages viewers to pursue in-depth studies through Simplilearn, highlighting its certifications and partnerships with top universities and companies.
š§¬ Can AI Become Conscious? Human Brains vs. Algorithms
The paragraph resumes the debate about AI consciousness, discussing the argument that LLMs like ChatGPT cannot achieve true consciousness because they are restricted to human-defined algorithms. The counter-argument is posed: if only biological brains can be conscious, what makes them unique? The paragraph also addresses the idea that consciousness may arise from outside the brain, countering that there is no scientific evidence supporting this theory. Most cognitive scientists believe consciousness emerges from complex neural interactions within the brain, not from individual neurons or external sources.
š The Emergence of Consciousness: A Property of the Brain
This paragraph explores the concept of consciousness as an emergent property of the brain. It uses the analogy of water: just as wetness arises from the interaction of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, consciousness arises from the complex interactions of neurons in the brain. The paragraph concludes by questioning whether machines can eventually replicate this emergent process and achieve consciousness, suggesting that while such technology may be out of reach now, it cannot be ruled out for the future.
š Can We Build Conscious Machines?
This paragraph delves into the technical feasibility of replicating consciousness in machines. It discusses Marvin Minsky's view that the 'mind is what the brain does,' implying that consciousness is a function that could, in theory, be replicated in machines. The paragraph discusses the possibility of creating a machine with a mind in the future, with futurist Ray Kurzweil predicting such advancements by 2030. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the question of 'then what?'āthe ethical and philosophical implications once machines achieve consciousness.
Mindmap
Keywords
š”Consciousness
š”Turing Test
š”Large Language Model (LLM)
š”Emergent Phenomenon
š”Mind
š”Artificial Intelligence (AI)
š”Pattern Recognition
š”Self-awareness
š”Qualia
š”Emergent Consciousness in Machines
Highlights
Joseph Weizenbaum created Eliza, a program simulating human conversation without actual understanding.
People tend to anthropomorphize AI, attributing human-like feelings to computer programs.
There's widespread disagreement among scientists on whether AI is intelligent or conscious.
ChatGPT's ability to write scripts does not equate to consciousness, but could be seen as pattern recognition and regurgitation.
Consciousness is difficult to define, with definitions ranging from awareness to subjective experience.
Alan Turing proposed the Turing test to determine if a machine can think, which has been influential but also criticized.
ChatGPT passed a version of the Turing test in 2024, but this does not imply consciousness.
Critics argue the Turing test shows simulation, not mind or awareness.
ChatGPT operates by recognizing patterns in language rather than thinking like a human.
Large Language Models like ChatGPT are limited to the information they are trained on and cannot reflect or 'know' the information.
AI can be intelligent to some degree, but it is not conscious according to current scientific understanding.
The question of whether AI can become conscious is still open, with some experts arguing it's impossible due to the nature of algorithms.
Consciousness is seen by many cognitive scientists as an emergent phenomenon within the brain.
The concept of emergence suggests that machines could potentially have a 'mind' if we understand the processes of consciousness.
Marvin Minsky suggested that if we can specify the functional process of consciousness, there's no obstacle to building it into a machine.
Ray Kurzweil estimates that conscious machines could be built around 2030.
The speaker posits that it's a matter of time before we build conscious machines, with the bigger question being the implications afterward.
Transcripts
If youāve ever had a text exchange orĀ conversation with something like ChatGPT,Ā Ā
or Siri, or Amazon Alexa, you might haveĀ found it difficult not to imagine a humanĀ Ā
being on the other side of the screen. In the 1960ās computer scientist JosephĀ Ā
Weizenbaum of MIT created a natural languageĀ program called Eliza. It was a simple patternĀ Ā
matching program that simulated humanĀ conversation. It gave an illusion ofĀ Ā
understanding to users, but as you might expect,Ā using 1960s technology, it did not have anyĀ Ā
capability to understand anything. Weizenbaum wasĀ shocked that many people who used the program,Ā Ā
including his own secretary, attributedĀ human-like feelings to the computer program.Ā
We generally tend to anthropomorphize anythingĀ that even faintly resembles us. We often assumeĀ Ā
thereās an individual, or purpose or even aĀ conscious entity in human-seeming objects,Ā Ā
without thinking about it. In fact, two-thirds ofĀ people believe that AI possesses consciousness,Ā
But among scientists, thereās wide disagreementĀ on whether common forms of AI like the ones IĀ Ā
mentioned are even intelligent, let aloneĀ conscious. Is ChatGPTās ability to write aĀ Ā
Youtube script on consciousness, intelligence,Ā or is it simply regurgitating inputs given toĀ Ā
it by a human-created, fine-tuned, algorithm? It seems no two people can even agree on whatĀ Ā
consciousness is. So we are going to try toĀ define it, and then answer the question areĀ Ā
AI machines capable of being Conscious? HowĀ would we recognize it if it happens? ThisĀ Ā
may be one of the biggest questions we faceĀ for our future. Thatās coming up right nowā¦Ā
Letās first define what consciousness is,Ā so that we have a baseline for reference.Ā Ā
Now this is not so easy. Wikipedia definesĀ consciousness as awareness of internal andĀ Ā
external existence. Scientific AmericanĀ defines it as everything you experience.Ā
The words associated with consciousnessĀ include selfhood, soul, free will,Ā Ā
subjective experience unique to the individual,Ā sentience ā the capability to sense and respondĀ Ā
with free will (or perceived free will) to itsĀ world, and qualia, the subjective qualities ofĀ Ā
experience that is felt by the individual. Keep those ideas in mind as a generalĀ Ā
guideline for what consciousness likelyĀ is, rather than get bogged down by aĀ Ā
precise definition. For now, I like the simpleĀ Wikipedia definition, awareness of existence.Ā
In 1950, English mathematician Alan TuringĀ proposed a way to determine whether a machineĀ Ā
can actually think, whether it as a mind. ThisĀ proposal is now called the Turing test in hisĀ Ā
honor, but was originally called the imitationĀ game. In this test, a human judge holds a textĀ Ā
conversation with two entities, one a human beingĀ and a one a computer. If the judge cannot reliablyĀ Ā
tell which of the two entities is artificial,Ā Turing believed that the artificial machineĀ Ā
must be considered as having a mind. It turns out that while the difficultyĀ Ā
of meeting this standard may have seemedĀ insurmountable in 1950, it does not seemĀ Ā
all that difficult today. In fact, in March ofĀ 2024, Stanford University researchers reportedĀ Ā
that the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT 4, hadĀ passed a rigorous version of the Turing test.Ā
So does this mean ChatGPT is conscious? Not inĀ the least, according to scientists. AlthoughĀ Ā
the Turning test has been very influential,Ā as a kind of litmus test for consciousness,Ā Ā
it has also received heavy criticism. The mostĀ common criticism is that while the test can showĀ Ā
that a machine can simulate human conversation,Ā it does not prove that the machine has a mind,Ā Ā
or is aware. In other words, a machine thatĀ passes the Turing test does not necessarily haveĀ Ā
consciousness. Some scientists have describedĀ this metaphorically as a computer simulatingĀ Ā
a coffee machine. While it may perfectlyĀ simulate the workings of a coffee machine,Ā Ā
including all its functions and even sounds,Ā it does not make anything that we can actuallyĀ Ā
drink to experience drinking coffee. So the question is whether ChatGPT isĀ Ā
like the coffee machine simulating theĀ function of a mind, without actually beingĀ Ā
anything like a mind. To understand this,Ā letās briefly look at how ChatGPT works.Ā
Imagine ChatGPT like a super-fast reader andĀ writer. It's been fed a massive number of books,Ā Ā
articles, and conversations, and it's learned toĀ spot patterns in how people use words. This is whyĀ Ā
itās called a Large Language Model, or LLM. WhenĀ you ask it something, it doesn't think like humansĀ Ā
do. It pieces together words that fit best withĀ the question and context, based on patterns thatĀ Ā
it recognizes from all the material it was trainedĀ on. It essentially predicts patterns of words.Ā
So can we say that ChatGPT has a mind? Well, noĀ because it doesnāt really quote unquote āknowāĀ Ā
anything. It is simply looking at patterns. TheĀ problem with LLMs is that at the end of the dayĀ Ā
they are just super fancy synthesizers ofĀ information, and restricted to whateverĀ Ā
humans have taught them. They donāt have theĀ ability to reflect or "know" the informationĀ Ā
they are producing, to make novel conclusions,Ā or achieve new knowledge like humans have. TheyĀ Ā
are limited to knowledge from the material theyĀ are given to study, which is still human made.Ā
So the answer to my previous question isĀ yes, chatGPT is rather like the computer thatĀ Ā
can simulate a coffee machine but canāt produceĀ anything that we can actually drink. It can hold aĀ Ā
conversation like a human being, but does not haveĀ a mind to think on its own or have an awareness ofĀ Ā
itself. We can probably say that it is intelligentĀ at least to some degree, if we define intelligenceĀ Ā
as the ability to learn, store, synthesize andĀ interpret information to answer questions andĀ Ā
solve problems. So this is what most scientistsĀ think, that AI is intelligent but not conscious.Ā
Notice that Iām using AI and chatGPTĀ interchangeably because not only is itĀ Ā
what most people think of when discussingĀ AI, but it is also arguably the mostĀ Ā
sophisticated form of AI currently. So if scientists agree that chatGPTĀ Ā
is not conscious currently, does it have theĀ capability to eventually become conscious?Ā Ā
Thatās the question we will answer and provideĀ the rationale for in the rest of this video.Ā
But first, if you want to pursue a career in AIĀ and Machine learning, or just learn these subjectsĀ Ā
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Now regarding the question of whetherĀ chatGPT can ever become conscious,Ā Ā
and again we are defining consciousness asĀ awareness of internal and external existenceā¦Ā
There are some computer experts, including ourĀ own in-house computer expert that thinks AIĀ Ā
can never be conscious because as he says,Ā LLMs are nothing but algorithms trained toĀ Ā
synthesize results based on human produced data.Ā And even if allowed to self-learn, it conforms toĀ Ā
a human-defined fitness function, which is no lessĀ or greater than the human that defined it. It willĀ Ā
not lead to new thoughts or discoveries.Ā But the argument I posed to him is this:Ā Ā
if you say that only humans or biological animalsĀ can be conscious, then you are saying that thereĀ Ā
is something unique about a biological brain thatĀ cannot ever be replicated artificially. What isĀ Ā
that uniqueness about the human or animal brain? And by the way, I know there are some peopleĀ Ā
who believe consciousness does not ariseĀ from within the brain, but from elsewhere,Ā Ā
and that the brain acts like a radio receiver.Ā To this I say, there is absolutely no evidenceĀ Ā
of this. No consciousness has ever been found inĀ a person or animal who did not have a functioningĀ Ā
brain. There is no evidence of a receivingĀ mechanism of any kind in the brain. And noĀ Ā
consciousness or thoughts have ever been detectedĀ outside of the brain. So, no one can keep you fromĀ Ā
believing whatever you want, but if you believeĀ consciousness comes from somewhere else other thanĀ Ā
brains, itās a belief, not based on any science. Most cognitive scientists believe thatĀ Ā
consciousness is an emergent phenomenonĀ arising within the brain. What does thisĀ Ā
mean? It means that you wonāt findĀ consciousness in individual neurons,Ā Ā
or other isolated brain structures, but it arisesĀ from the interconnections and the chemical andĀ Ā
electrical interactions of billions of neurons. The classical example of emergence comes fromĀ Ā
John Stuart Mill, the 19th century EnglishĀ philosopher, using water. A hydrogen atom isĀ Ā
not wet. Neither is an oxygen atom. Nor doesĀ a single H2O molecule, made up of hydrogenĀ Ā
and oxygen atoms, have that property. But putĀ lots of those molecules together, interactingĀ Ā
at room temperature, and you have something new:Ā liquidity. Only now do you have something wet.Ā Ā
Thatās emergence. The emergent property ofĀ āwetnessā arising from countless interactingĀ Ā
H2O molecules is analogous to āconsciousnessāĀ arising from countless interacting neurons.Ā
So from the brain emerges theĀ mind which has consciousness.Ā Ā
The question is can machines have a mind? Marvin Minsky, a major figure in the historyĀ Ā
of artificial intelligence, who founded the MITĀ artificial intelligence lab, said that āmind isĀ Ā
what the brain does.ā Well, there certainly isĀ something the brain is doing. In principle, weĀ Ā
should be able to specify what that something is. Suppose there is something that consciousnessĀ Ā
does, and we can put our finger on whatĀ that is. The next step would be to specifyĀ Ā
that functional something is operationally. AtĀ its core, it must be a process that moves fromĀ Ā
some range of inputs to some range of outputs.Ā This is because consciousness manifests itselfĀ Ā
ultimately as a range of outputs that we perceive. Suppose we succeed in giving a formal outline ofĀ Ā
the process of consciousness. There shouldnāt be,Ā then, any obstacle to building that formal processĀ Ā
into a machine. Now, itās quite possible that weĀ donāt have the capability to build such a machine.Ā Ā
Itās possible that such a machine requires someĀ combination of hardware and biological wetware.Ā Ā
But at some point in the future this technologyĀ can not be ruled out. When will this happen?Ā Ā
Futurist Ray Kurzweil estimates around 2030.Ā Thatās not so far away. I can wait 6 years.Ā
There was a time we thought no artificialĀ machine could think like humans enough toĀ Ā
beat us at chess, or in the gameĀ Jeopardy, or the Chinese game Go,Ā Ā
or hold a conversation without us noticing. AllĀ these have been accomplished in recent years withĀ Ā
man-made machines. Is there really something soĀ unique about a mind that it too cannot also beĀ Ā
replicated by a machine? I donāt think so. My opinion is that It's probably only aĀ Ā
matter of time that we will have all we need inĀ order to build conscious machines. In my view,Ā Ā
the biggest question is not if nor evenĀ when, but after it happens, then what?
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