Avant AI white paper

“Computers are not Intelligent, They just think that they are.”

(Computer Symposium, 1979.)

Introduction

The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing aggressively. It’s influencing our lives and societies more than ever before and will continue to do so at a breathtaking pace. Areas of application are diverse, the possibilities far-reaching if not limitless. Thanks to recent improvements in hardware and software, many AI algorithms already surpass the capacities of human experts. Algorithms will soon start optimizing themselves to an ever greater degree and may one day attain superhuman levels of intelligence.
Our species dominates the planet and all other species on it because we have the highest intelligence. Scientists believe that by the end of our century, AI will be to humans what we now are to chimpanzees. Moreover, AI may one day develop phenomenal states such as self-consciousness, subjective preferences, and the capacity for suffering. This will confront us with new challenges both in and beyond the realm of science.
AI ranges from simple search algorithms to machines capable of true thinking. In certain domainspecific areas, AI has reached and even overtaken human abilities. Machines are beating chess grandmasters, quiz show champs, and poker greats. Back in 1994, a self-learning backgammon program found useful strategies no human had considered. There now are algorithms that can independently learn games from scratch, then reach and even surpass human capacities.
It’s not just fun and games. Artificial neural networks approach human levels in recognizing handwritten Chinese characters. They vie with human experts in diagnosing cancer and other illnesses.

We are getting closer to creating a general intelligence which at least in principle can solve problems of all sorts, and do so independently. Today’s AI is more a form of “cognitive computing,” which is true machine learning. Cognitive
computing was born from the fusion of cognitive science (the study of the human brain) and computer science. It’s based on self-learning systems that use machine-learning techniques to perform specific, human-like tasks in an intelligent way. IBM describes it as “Systems that learn at scale, reason with purpose and interact with humans naturally.”

According to Big Blue, while cognitive computing shares many attributes with AI, it differs by the complex interplay of disparate components, each of which comprises its own mature disciplines. The sheer volume of data being generated in the world is creating cognitive overload for us. These systems excel at gathering data and making it useful.
So here we are at a new age. But a word of caution is in order. Almost all progress poses risks and that’s certainly the case with the bold new age of AI. Some of the problems will be vexing ethical ones. How will AI affect individual lives and whole civilizations around the world? Studies conclude that even though dire scenarios are unlikely, maybe even highly so, the potential for grave damage
must be taken seriously. We at GBP certainly do.

With that in mind, let’s look at what lies ahead and what role GBT will play in the AI age.