Myths & One-liners

My first thoughts while reading Weizenbaum’s article, Computerized Gods and the Age of Information, mainly focused on mans’ replacement of God as our saviour in favour for computers and science. Weizenbaum clearly points out that following this new faith will likely lead to the end of mankind. However, we can feel solace if this does happen since we will leave behind the “computer evidence” of our “achievements” and that our demise was a result of “natural” evolution.

In his comparison of computers to humans, Weizenbaum states, “In any case, once the computer is properly instructed, there is certainly a feeling — and I think it has some solidity — that the computer behaves in the image of man in the sense that one has taught it "to think" (again I use that word) like a human being and to do what a human being would do to solve that particular problem.” This statement contradicts Weizenbaum own statement in his 1976 book, Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation. This is summarized in the Wikipedia article Computer Power and Human Reason as follows:

Joseph Weizenbaum's influential 1976 book Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment To Calculation displays his ambivalence towards computer technology and lays out his case: while artificial intelligence may be possible, we should never allow computers to make important decisions because computers will always lack human qualities such as compassion and wisdom. Weizenbaum makes the crucial distinction between deciding and choosing. Deciding is a computational activity, something that can ultimately be programmed. It is the capacity to choose that ultimately makes us human. Choice, however, is the product of judgment, not calculation. Comprehensive human judgment is able to include non-mathematical factors such as emotions. Judgment can compare apples and oranges, and can do so without quantifying each fruit type and then reductively quantifying each to factors necessary for mathematical comparison.

Weizenbaum wisely points out that human decision making contains intangibles that cannot be captured and placed into computer programming code, making computers incapable of thinking like a human. This, however, will not stop us from trying. But the question has to be asked, will giving computers decision making abilities bring about our salvation? Or will it bring about our demise?

Weizenbaum, J., Computerized Gods and the Age of Information, http://www.vedicsciences.net/articles/computerized-gods.html#Artificial-Intelligence, retrieved on September 22^nd, 2012.

Wikipedia, Computer Power and Human Reason, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Power_and_Human_Reason, retrieved on September 22^nd.