Alchemy and Artificial Intelligence - RAND Corporation

98 Pages·2006·3.43 MB·English

by  Hubert L. Dreyfus

ALCHEMY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Wubert L. Dreyfus

December 1965

Ped

smonay

Early successes in prograwning digitel computers to
eubibit sixpte forne of intelligent behavior, coupled with
the belief that intelligent activities diffe: only in chety
degree of conpleatty, have led to the comLetton that the
Anfermation processing underlying any cogattive pertormancs
esa be fornulaced in a progran aad thus slmmlated on a
digitel computer, Attenpte to aimulate cognitive processes

pn computers have, however, run into greater digficuleics
than anticipated,

‘n exeminecion of these o:fficulties reveals thet the
ectenpt te analyze inteiligent behevior in digital conpuce:

Language systenatically excludes three fundauental funan

forrs of information processing (
essence/accident discriuizatlon, and anaiguity tolerance).
Moreover, there are four distinet cypes of intelligent

activicy, only two of which do not presupzese these hurse

age consciousness,

forms of information pr

aeing ané can therefore be pro~
1 dntel-

promacd. Significant developments in ertifte

Ligence in the remaining two aveas maxt aveic coaputers of

an entirely diferent sort, of which the only exiscing

prototype ds the }ittle-understaad hunan brain,

AdNoienanests

A woald Like to thank Ingrid Stadler, Samuel Todes.
Stuart Dreyfas, and RoberL Reinstedt for cheir interest,

encourazenent, and helpful suggestions.

gunrutrrs

SMART eee beceveessetees ant
ACSNOWLEDGHENTS y
ANTRODUCTLON ... Z
Part 1

HS CURKEWL SERIE OW THE ELELD OY SRTLELELAL
INTELLIGENCE. . 8
SICRS OF STAGNATION 9
Gane Fleying ..... 9
Probler Solving |)... 10
Langvage Translation 1?
Fartern Recognition . 1a
Comments and Conclusions | 16

gart tL

‘THE UNDERLYING SIGNIFICANCE OF CURRENT
DIFFICULTIES ..0ecsseseeeece sees qe

UNAS VS. MACHLNE LNLURMATEON PROCESSING 1s
Fringe conscJoueness Ys. tinmristicaly
Guided Search - 16
Enaence/Accident Dlacriuination vs.
Trial ané Error... 24
Aubigaity Tolerancé va. Exhaustive
Eourerat Loa 30
Perapicuots Groaping--A Derivative of the
‘Above Three Forms ys... 37
Fringe Consciousness.» 39
Goneext-Depandent Aublgvity Reduction ag
Perspicuous Groaping ...-.. wees 4g
Conclasion wets : 45
MISCONCRPTLONS MASKING TIE SRRIOCSWRAS OF
CURRENT DLFFACULTTES 46
The Associationist Asmunpeion : 48

Eupiical Evigenee foe the Associa
tivoist assumption: Critique o7 the
Sclentifie Methodology of Cognitive
BSiwLet lou ss cccsssereeresssceserens ee 30
oil

A Friort Argaments for the Assvciationiet
Assumption: Conceptual Canfusioas
Vaderlying Confidence tn artifictel

. Tntelbivence . . :

CONCLUSION ste.

Fart 111

TRE FUTURE OF ARTIFICU INTELLIGESCE

THRRE NON-PROGRAMMAELY FORMS OF INFORMATION
The Infinity of Facts and the Threat of
Indinite Progression -
The Indeterinacy a: Needs and the Threat
of Infinite Roress .....
‘The Reciprocity of Context and the Lhveat
nf Gireu-arity ..
AREAS OF INTELLIGMNT ACTIVILY CLASSIFIED WiTA
RESPECT 10 THE POSSINTI.TTY OF ARTIFICIAL
INGELTIGHNCE IN EAC :

COSCLUSTOY 4...

BIBLTOCRAPEY esse

55
a1

a7
ALGQUDO AND ARTIFICIAL InvEwaguncz
Hubert L. Deeyfua™

‘The RAND Corporation, Senta Mouica, California

The difference between the maLhunatt cal
mind (esprit de yéométria) and the perecptive
mind (esprit de flacsse): the reason chat
mathenaticiens are not perveplive iv that they
do not see what is before thec, and that,
aceustoned to the exact and plafa principles
of matnenaties, and not teauoning til! they
have well inspected and arranged their prin-
ciples, they exe loat in matters of perception
where the prineiples do nat altay for such
avrangetent.. .. . ‘These prineiplen mre sa
Eine and av nunerous thac a vory delicate and
very clear sense is nee¢ed to percelve Lhem,
and to judge rightly end justly when they are
perceived, withove or tho most part being
able to dexonstrate them in order as iu naLhe-
matics; beceuse the principles ara nat know
to as in the game way, and bevause it would
be an cadlesa matter to undertake it. We must
pee the matter al once, at one glance, and not
by a process of xeasoniag, at Leaat t¢ a cer-
tala degecs .:, .,. Mathemeticians wish to
treat watters of perception machenatically,
and make ¢honselves vidiesious . . . eho wid

+ does it tacitly, naturally, and without
technical rules

Pascal, Pénsées

‘any vicws cxpressed in this paper are those of the
author. They should not be interpreted an reflecting the
views Of The RAND Gozporatioa or che official apinion or
policy of any of its governmental or private research
sponsnrs, Tapers are reproduced by The RAND Cerporation
‘reesy to menbers of ite staff,
This paper i cased on en informal call presented at
The RAND Corporation in august 1964.
INLEODUCTION

Research dedicated te the cons
artifacts hus, from its inception, intrigced philosophers,
bur thus far their discussions have heen remarkably out of
touch with che work actually being done. analytic phileso-

weLinn of intelligent

phers, such as Patneu, Scriven, and Ziff, use Liw present
interest in “mechanical brains” to rarest the conceptual
issues dividing behavicriete from Certesians, Whey assume
that robots #£il eventuelfy be baile whose behavior will be
indistinguishshle frow thet of humans, and ask uidex what
congitions ve would be justified in saying that such a
artifect was thinking, On the other hand, aoraliste aad
theolngians evoke certain highly sophiartcated forms of
behavior--maral enpice, love, creative abstraction, ele.--
wiich they cleta axe beyond the powers of any mechine.
ither side defines wiat sort of machine te hea in mtad

nor tries to show that a aachine ean or cannot exhibit the
behav
highly tneetligont artifacts huve already been develuped,

in question. Both paceics creculously sssune that

LE each artifacts have

1en or ere about to be

duced, ehely operation will depend on the only hntghespeed,

all-purpose inforvatton procesaing device which uow exists
the digital computor, Thus, the only queation which can
Foesonably be discused at present is ant whether robots
can £411 im love, or whether if they did we would eay vhcy
wore conscious, but rater to what extent a digital com-
puter can be programmed to exhibit the sort of siuple
intelligent behavior characteristic of ciildren and wone-
times animels, such as playing ganes, solving stuple