3 Questions to Understand Synthetic Intelligence

Previously I introduced the concept of synthetic intelligence. In that discussion, I made the bold statement that we’ve been lied to about the capability for artificial intelligence. AI is not a form of intelligence nor will it ever be capable of being intelligent.

Now, let’s get somewhat scientific. Let’s come up with a way to determine whether my prediction is correct or incorrect. We need to figure out what we mean by intelligence or being intelligent. In doing so, we can address fundamental three questions:

1. What is intelligence?
2. How do we measure intelligence?
3. Are we the only intelligent life?

Photo by Josh Riemer on Unsplash

What is intelligence?

Intelligence can be a controversial topic. There is an odd paradox at work. We talk about possessing intelligence. We talk about others having more or less intelligence than us. Yet, we embrace the notion of not discussing how to measure intelligence. To be clear, we are not concerned with how intelligent an organism is in this work. We want to know an organism’s capacity for certain qualities is in relation to its environment. That’s a funny quality of intelligence. Intelligence must be embodied for us to know that intelligence exists. Intelligence must be in action or demonstrated.