Can the artificial really be 'intelligent'? This researcher wants us to think bigger

Artificial intelligence is starting to underpin everything we do, whether we like it or not. And at the highest levels, companies like Google and Open AI are saying their AI is on the verge of crossing a humanlike threshold that we’ve only seen in science fiction.

This is prompting all kinds of conversations about sentience and the possible dangers of a superintelligent computer system. 

But the definition of “Artificial General Intelligence,” or AGI, is controversial. 

And many researchers aren’t even sure today’s programs have our common understanding of “intelligence” at all. They argue ChatGPT isn’t really thinking -- it's just really good at predicting the next sequence in a pattern (and copying someone else along the way). 

So what makes something intelligent? Or alive, for that matter? 

For Google’s Blaise Agüera y Arcas, the most interesting piece of examining AI breakthroughs has been how they connect to the evolution of life on earth. 

In his new book, What is Life? he argues for a broadened definition of “intelligence,” to include things like single celled organisms and even basic tools. And he says humans’ development of technology -- most recently, AI -- is part of a long history of symbiotic relationships that have pushed our evolution forward. 

Guests:

• Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Vice President and CTO of Technology and Society at Google, where he leads a team called “Paradigms of Intelligence” researching the intersection of AI, biology, and philosophy. Author of What is Life, the first part of a broader work on intelligence at large. 

Related Links: 

• What is Intelligence? | Antikythera

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.