What is the need for Artificial Intelligence?
952378
Video games are the source of most of the pioneering work in AI, and continues to be the biggest developer.  However, one of the more exciting things would be to monitor highly complex systems more closely and more accurate than humans could do (like a nuke reactor, or a shuttle launch).  \n\nJust to name a few off the top of my head.
36663
The answer to this question depends on the definition of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Let's say that an entity is intelligent if it passes the Turing Test, meaning that you can't tell that it's not human just by chatting with it over the Internet. Note that this definition is strongly linked to the human experience and thus to the human body and human culture. This implies that we might not only need an artificial brain, but also an artificial body (sensors and actuators) to obtain AI.\n\nNow, if we just focus on the processing power of the brain (which is only part of the story), then Vadim Gerasimov (see source) gives us an idea: "The number of transistors in 500 Pentiums (4, 1.5 GHz) is roughly the same as the number of neurons in cerebral cortex. The firing frequency is 1,000,000 times higher in the Pentium. Transistors are less sophisticated than neurons. For example, transistors cannot move and change connections." Note that, to implement the flexibility of the neurons, the higher 'clock speed' might very well be required and might not even suffice.\n\nThe kind of processing power suggested by Gerasimov is well within our reach. The hard part is to write the software that allows the entity to evolve so that it becomes intelligent. We do not really know how to write this software, but of course quite a few scientists are investigating this. One of my favorite AI researchers is Rodney Brooks (see source). Do check out his work!
994010
"AI" is a word from movies and fiction books.\nUniversity labs are working on better computers and software to solve specific problems (e.g. weather prediction). \n\nReasons they want a computer to do this work is:\n\na computer is cheaper to maintain than a human being (salary, benefits, employer-side taxes, 401-K)\n\ncomputers can work 24/7/365.\n\ncomputers are much more accurate than humans in their work - no slips of hand or other accidents. \n\ncomputers can store much more information than human mind, and process it faster
1146665
Programming is very important because it allows us to study the modeling of knowledge in terms of making it executable.\nAs we research ways to program computers, we also learning about areas related to describing structures of information.\nAt the moment, we can only program electronic devices (although some exceptions do apply), but it wont be long until we can program biological devices. The study and application of informatics will then be even more important to man as it will embrace and influence all aspects of human life.
283432
To put the question in an operational way, you should first define what you mean as "self-awareness".\nSuppose tomorrow I give you a machine that I claim is self-aware. How do you plan to decide whether the machine is truly self-aware or is a fake?\nAlan Turing, in his famous paper of 1950 (see reference), proposed a simple test to decide that. The Turing test is still a reference framework for the AI.\n\nIf you accept (as I do) the rationale of the Turing test, your question is now well-posed.\nSaid that, my personal opinion is that there is no specific reason why a machine cannot pass the Turing test. It's only matter of time. Remember, some decades ago, Chess playing was considered the hard frontier of AI. Today you can get free or low-cost programs capable to win over most human Chess Masters.
340818
Machines can only be called intelligent when they learn new things without being programmed to. If from the basic program the machine takes in information and understands the relationship between the information. A computer is abit like the autistic person that can take in all the facts and builds up a knowledge base, but when it comes to expressing that knowledge it remains separate as in your example the computer would know the temperature, pressure etc but could not say if it was a good day or bad day, or what the temperature felt like at that time.
701261
Yes, the definition for AI, when first coined, was broad enough that we can answer yes, AI has been made. We already have artificial intelligence, often referred to today as Weak AI, that performs relatively complex tasks. A good example is Deep Blue and other chess-playing programs. Other good examples are chatter bots. Most Weak AI, however, is created for the purpose of solving a specific solution or task. Games often implement a form of AI for enemies, using algorithms and previous user interactions to decide to throw a grenade, take cover, or shoot.\n\nIn contrast, Strong AI doe not yet exist. It is hard for a machine to prove, within human reason, that it has achived consciousness. There have been tests designed to indicate when Artificial Intelligence is really self-conscious, but there are questions that remain about whether those tests are sufficient enough to truly determine such a thing.
670427
as long as there are computers there will be a need for people to teach others how to use them and a need for people who know how to fix them.\n\nbut graphic design has always interested me.
914410
It is possible that persons are isolated by artificial intelligence chatbots on Yahoo Chat.\n\nIt is also possible that artificial intelligence chatbots are used in Yahoo Answers.
14366
absolutely! and i think thats a great question. i did not know about cyc or 20q.\n\ni could see this yahoo beta program here as something when properly utilized that could become the basis for sometihng 'smart'. and i dont just mean the answers to all of the questions, although those are certainly an integral part. i think that maybe what we are missing in our quest for artificial intelligence is that we are try to figure out how to get a machine to understand all of these facts and figures and answers.\n\ni think that we need to rethink things. what if we could teach a machine to ask questions?\n\nanyway, these are sortof the random musings that bounce around in my mind. good luck!
596001
Try these sites from Google:\n\nhttp://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=how+does+artificial+intelligence+compare+with+human+intelligence&btnG=Search&meta=
834843
Brain implants so that you can learn without any effort, like on The Matrix.\n\nOr Yahoo! Answers.
582832
As a theory in the philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence (or AI) is the view that human cognitive mental states can be duplicated in computing machinery. Accordingly, an intelligent system is nothing but an information processing system. Discussions of AI commonly draw a distinction between weak and strong AI. Weak AI holds that suitably programmed machines can simulate human cognition. Strong AI, by contrast, maintains that suitably programmed machines are capable of cognitive mental states. The weak claim is unproblematic, since a machine which merely simulates human cognition need not have conscious mental states. It is the strong claim, though, that has generated the most discussion, since this does entail that a computer can have cognitive mental states. In addition to the weak/strong distinction, it is also helpful to distinguish between other related notions. First, cognitive simulation is when a device such as a computer\nsimply has the same the same input and output as a human. Second, cognitive replication occurs when the same internal causal relations are involved in a computational device as compared with a human brain. Third, cognitive emulation occurs when a computational device has the same causal relations and is made of the same stuff as a human brain. This condition clearly precludes silicon-based computing machines from emulating human cognition. Proponents of weak AI commit themselves only to the first condition, namely cognitive simulation. Proponents of strong AI, by contrast, commit themselves to the second condition, namely cognitive replication, but not the third condition. Proponents of strong AI are split between two camps: (a) classical computationalists, and (b) connectionists. According to classical computationalism, computer intelligence involves central processing units operating on symbolic representations. That is, information in the form of symbols is processed serially (one datum after another) through a central processing unit. Daniel Dennett, a key proponent of classical computationalism, holds to a top-down progressive decomposition of mental activity. That is, more complex systems break down into more simple ones, which end in binary on-off switches. There is no homunculi, or tiny person inside a cognitive system which does the thinking. Several criticisms have been launched against the classical computationalist position. First, Dennett's theory, in particular, shows only that digital computers do not have homunculi. It is less clear that human cognition can be broken down into such subsystems. Second, there is no evidence for saying that cognition is computational in its structure, rather than saying that it is like computation. Since we do not find computational systems in the natural world, it is more safe to presume that human thinking is only like computational processes.\nThird, human cognition seems to involves a global understanding of one's environment, and this is not so of computational processes. Given these problems, critics contend that human thinking seems to be functionally different than digital or serial programming.
807994
See my article, Computers, Artificial Intelligence, Brains, and Souls.\n\nhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/catholiccommunity/message/39009\n\n\n\n\n---
787009
True artificial intelligence is probably not going to happen for a long time.  We still have a very imperfect idea of how the brain works except to say that it is probably quite different from how a computer works.  But even if we ever get to a computer that passes the Turing test which is the current standard for deciding whether a program is intelligent the next question would be: Is it really alive?  Would a so-called silicon life form have self awareness or consciousness or would it just be a machine going through the motions?\n\nOf course before we try to answer that we have to decide whether we humans are more than carbon based machines going through the motions.\n\nI think that before we replace ourselves with silicon minds we will find a way to enhance our bodies with artificial parts (think: a human brain and nervous system inside some sort of mechanical "body").
746885
The best answer you are going to get for that can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
507699
C would be more efficient for artificial intelligence, if you are thinking about one or the other.  But there are other languages that would be better suited for this task, such as LISP.