Humanity cannot yet travel between the stars, it has not even visited the nearest planets - Mars and Venus, the development of which science fiction writers have long prophesied. But still, mankind would surprise these authors: after all, they did not even assume, despite their level of perception of the future, the emergence of the Internet and cellular communications and their huge role in the life of civilization.
For thousands of years, scientists have been trying to understand the processes taking place in the human brain. In parallel with these studies, over the past decades, work has been carried out in the field of artificial intelligence. But in order for scientific developments on artificial intelligence to advance successfully, it is necessary to understand the process of human thinking and his behavioral response to various external influences.
Some researchers believe that a situation may arise when a high level of electronics can leave the human brain "out of work". You start to believe in this, you just have to pay attention to how most people, in the literal sense, are "attached" to their electronic gadgets, without which they cannot even imagine their life. And how artificial intelligence (AI) will change a person's life is even difficult to imagine. For example, after the world chess champion Kasparov lost to a computer, he was incredibly upset and refused to compete in the future with an electronic device operating according to a complex algorithm and using AI developments.
It is customary to determine the level of "self-awareness" (read - intelligence) of an electronic gadget using the so-called Turing test. The essence of the text is that a certain expert evaluates the "conversation" between a person and a machine, and he does not know which of the interlocutors is a computer and who is a person. If the expert cannot establish which of these "interlocutors" is the computer, then the test is considered passed.
The American inventor Kurzweil is confident that no later than 2029, electronic machines will easily pass the Turing test, and by 2040, machine intelligence will far outstrip human intelligence. This conclusion is not accidental: recently two computers passed the Turing test and got a result of 52%, i.e. they turned out to be more “human - like” than some people! In 1988, the on-board computer was able to independently de-orbit and land the Buran reusable spacecraft.
Work in the field of AI is progressing quite successfully and this allowed the American professor of mathematics Marcus du Sautoy to express an absolutely fantastic idea: AI technologies can, from a purely legal standpoint, be equated to humans. The scientist is sure: the point is that soon technologies will be able to independently improve the intelligence of gadgets without human intervention. It turned out that the AI developers used the developments of scientists obtained in the study of the activity of neural connections in the brain.
Today, there are three types of AI.
The first is highly specialized, aimed at performing simple tasks: parking cars, playing checkers or chess.
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The second is closer to the human brain and is able to perform the functions of consultants in a store, a porter in hotels, lifeguards, etc. They will be able to imitate the simplest human emotions, which will undoubtedly help them in establishing contacts with a person.
The third is overly intelligent. This is exactly the level that many writers and futurists fear. At this level, the "brain" of an electronic gadget can far surpass that of a human.
But despite the fears, there is still hope that humans will be able to effectively interact with AI. The essence of this interaction: a person will be able to connect a networked virtual "avatar" to his own brain. The avatars will be controlled by intelligent programs that will not allow harm to a person.
Scientists continue to work on AI, trying to simulate how the human brain works. The task is quite difficult, given the presence of more than 1 trillion in the human brain. neural connections. So Obama, during his presidency, allocated about $ 100 million for innovative projects in the field of brain research.
Today, there are four known reasons that prevent a breakthrough in the creation of AI.
First. It is impossible to create a machine that functions like a human brain. It is customary in society to say that "the brain works like a computer." What is the error? The brain is a biological object consisting of living tissues and cells, and it cannot be a "piece of iron" with super-modern circuit boards, wires and digital codes.
Second. Modern technologies are unable to create a technical analogue of the brain's neural network. Scientists explained that just one brain cell is comparable in power to one laptop.
Third. Even if we assume that a super-modern and super-powerful computer will be created that will be able to recreate all the neural connections of the brain, it is unlikely that it will be possible to decipher how each of them affects human behavior and consciousness.
Fourth. Among the brain signals, there are those that work only in interaction with a specific human organ, for example, with the spinal cord. This means that an AI equivalent to a human can be created only in conjunction not only with some organ, but with the whole organism.
Today, surprising news is being discussed: American entrepreneur Elon Musk has begun to develop technology that can become a link between the human brain and a computer. The developer's firm is registered as a medical company. At the first stage, it is planned to create sensors capable of monitoring the state of the human brain and diagnosing possible diseases. The entrepreneur himself hopes to provide interaction between artificial intelligence and the human brain, but with a prerequisite that the person, over time, does not turn into a “pet” for AI.