this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
932 points (97.3% liked)

Technology

59587 readers
3117 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] frezik@midwest.social 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

AI as a field of computer science is mostly about pushing computers to do things they weren't good at before. Recognizing colored blocks in an image was AI until someone figured out a good way to do it. Playing chess at grandmaster levels was AI until someone figured out how to do it.

Along the way, it created a lot of really important tools. Things like optimizing compilers, virtual memory, and runtime environments. The way computers work today was built off of a lot of things out of the old MIT CSAIL labs. Saying "there's no I to this AI" is an insult to their work.

[–] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Recognizing colored blocks in an image was AI until someone figured out a good way to do it. Playing chess at grandmaster levels was AI until someone figured out how to do it.

You make it sound like these systems stopped being AI the moment they actually succeeded at what they were designed to do. When you play chess against a computer it's AI you're playing against.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

That's exactly what I'm getting at. AI is about pushing the boundary. Once the boundary is crossed, it's not AI anymore.

Those chess engines don't play like human players. If you were to look at how they determine things, you might conclude they're not intelligent at all by the same metrics that you're dismissing ChatGPT. But at this point, they are almost impossible for humans to beat.

[–] ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago

I'm not the person you originally replied to. At no point have I dismissed ChatGPT.

I disagree with your logic about the definition of AI. Intelligence is the ability to acquire, understand, and use knowledge. A chess-playing AI can see the board, understand the ramifications of each move, and respond to how the pieces are moved. That makes it intelligent - narrowly so, but intelligent nonetheless. And since it’s artificial too, it fits the definition of AI.