Introduction
It’s no secret that humanity considers itself the apex species on this planet. The conceptualization of intelligence has long been an exclusive domain of humankind. We claim other animals act only on instinct, while we, the thinking species, are capable of making decisions based on our intelligence. But what if we were to be challenged in this domain?
Understandably, many people are in disbelief that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could ever surpass the intelligence of humans. After all, AI systems don’t possess a mind of their own—at least not yet. All algorithms and datasets come from us, humans. So how can our own system replicate our decision-making process better than ours? Could a new being really surpass us in this respect?
These questions are critical to consider in our current age of technology. AI is quickly advancing and making inroads into every sector of our lives, from healthcare to finance. This article will delve into the current discussion about whether AI can be smarter than humans and provide an overview of the potential implications.
Human Intelligence vs. Artificial Intelligence
We cannot move forward in this discussion without understanding the difference between human intelligence and AI. First, let’s define intelligence. According to the Oxford Dictionary, intelligence is “the ability to learn, understand and think in a logical way about things.” Fairly simple, right?
However, it is essential to note that intelligence comes in many forms and can be measured in various ways. Biological intelligence, such as the kind found in humans, is based on instinct and emotional responses. AI, on the other hand, relies on algorithms and datasets to come to conclusions.
While both can be utilized to make decisions, it is difficult to compare the two as they operate in very different ways. Humans possess a relatively complex and powerful brain capable of understanding and analyzing data. From sensory information to memories, our brain collects and stores extensive knowledge.
AI systems rely on pre-programmed instructions to identify patterns in data. This makes AI faster than humans at specific tasks, such as searching large datasets or recognizing facial features. It also helps machines access greater amounts of information quickly than we could ever hope to process.
Convergent Thinking vs. Divergent Thinking
This fundamental difference brings us to one of the major points of contention regarding AI and humans. Convergent thinking is the ability to come up with a single, correct answer from a set of data or facts. For example, a math equation is one type of convergent thinking problem. We can use pre-established rules and algorithms to find the answer, which will be the same every time. Logical reasoning and problem-solving skills fall under the realm of convergent intelligence. As such, we can compare convergent thinking to common sense.
In contrast, divergent thinking is used to develop a wide range of creative solutions to a problem or question. A good example of divergent thinking would be brainstorming a list of possible answers to the gun control debate in America. Since there is no single correct answer here, divergent thinking is necessary to come up with a range of ideas. This type of thinking requires a certain amount of cognitive flexibility in order to generate new and unique solutions. If convergent thinking is common sense reasoning, then divergent thinking is “human sense.”
At this point, AI cannot match the human level of creativity, empathy, morality, or intelligence needed for divergent thinking. However, it is worth mentioning that AI systems can be enhanced with deep learning and other advanced techniques to strengthen their pattern recognition capabilities. More on this later.
As for convergent thinking, intelligent machines are already surpassing humans in certain areas. AI is being used to automate mundane tasks and make decisions based on information and analysis that would be too difficult for a human to process. In many cases, this has resulted in faster and more accurate results than what humans can achieve.
Who would be smarter – AI or Humans?
Since biological and digital intelligences are multifaceted and operate differently, it is difficult to compare the two directly. When it comes down to which one is “smarter,” there is no simple answer. We can look at it from many different angles, such as:
Strategy Games
Before March 2016, Go champion Lee Sedol reigned supreme for almost 20 years as the greatest Go player in the world. The strategy game consists of two players who take turns placing black and white stones on a board. The aim of the game is to capture as much territory as possible by surrounding your opponent’s pieces. Go is typically enjoyed by high-IQ human players because of its complexity and the skill level required to master it. In fact, there are more possible board configurations in Go than atoms in the universe, so accounting for every possible move is impossible for humans.
In 2016, DeepMind designed a computer system called AlphaGo to challenge Lee Sedol in the game of Go. After months of training, AlphaGo went on to defeat Lee Sedol in all but one of their five matches. Not only did this achievement lead to Sedol’s retirement, but it also demonstrated the potential of AI to exceed human capabilities in complex strategic games. Today, AlphaGo Zero is even stronger than its predecessor and can beat it 100–0 in a match.
One-shot Learning
The ball drops back into humanity’s court when it comes to one-shot learning. One-shot learning is a type of intelligence where someone (or something) can learn from very few examples. For instance, if you showed a human a picture of an apple and asked them to recognize it in the future, they could do so easily. Even children 1–2 years old can recognize an apple after seeing it only once. AI, on the other hand, is not quite as adept at this sort of learning yet.
AI is often based on supervised learning, meaning it needs many labeled examples to recognize patterns and make accurate predictions. One-shot learning requires the system to be able to detect patterns after just one example, which is something that AI still struggles with. While progress has been made in this area, AI can’t quite match the human ability for one-shot learning yet.
Emotional Intelligence
Finally, when it comes to emotional intelligence, AI has not been able to match the capabilities of humans. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions. We can break this down into four components: Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and empathy.
AI has become more adept at recognizing human emotions, but it has yet to demonstrate the ability to understand, interpret and use them effectively. Intelligent machines are also unable to truly feel empathy towards another entity. The closest they have come is being able to mimic human behavior and responses in specific scenarios, but this does not constitute true emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence extends to other disciplines, such as the arts and philosophy. Human creativity is still unrivaled in this area. Sure, you could program an AI to mimic certain creative processes, but it would be unable to think outside the box or come up with something that has never been seen before.
However, that may be about to change. In 2022, an AI-generated artwork actually won first place at the Colorado State Fair for the first time in history. Of course, humans were still responsible for the development and programming of AI. Still, it showed that machines might soon be able to create artwork with a level of creativity comparable to that of humans.
A Weird Intelligence
As so eloquently displayed by Janelle Shane’s “AI Weirdness,” machines can come up with some pretty strange solutions when tasked with a problem. While these crazy inventions and ideas may seem far-fetched, they display an intelligence that is completely unique to AI. Do we consider an octopus weird or intelligent for changing its color to match the environment?
AI might not be able to match the emotional intelligence of a human yet, but nothing indicates that this type of intelligence is more important than another in the grand scheme of things.