...\ The Chinese Room Argument The Chinese Room argument was developed by John Searle in the early 1980’s. The argument was designed to prove that strong artificial intelligence was not possible. While the argument itself is flawless, John Searle’s opinion that strong artificial intelligence is impossible is not. The Chinese room argument is really more of a thought provoking experiment. You are asked to imagine an English speaking man in a room, within this room there is nothing but tools to which he can translate Chinese symbols. The man in the room is passed these symbols through a slit on one side of the room, and using his tools he must translate them. Then, he passes the translations through the slit in the other side of the room, and to the people outside the room it looks like he understands Chinese. Searle’s argument is that just because it looks like the man understands the Chinese symbols, and has the tools to translate the Chinese Symbols, doesn’t mean he actually understands the symbols. Within this argument the man represents a computer. The symbols are given to the computer, the computers programming allows the computer to translate the symbols, and the computer gives an answer. At no point does this imply the computer understands the original information it was given. The computer was simply programmed to be able to function as such(Gams 231). Using words and substituting the word Computer for Strong Artificial Intelligence the argument would sound...
Words: 1133 - Pages: 5
...Oxford University. The Chinese room argument is Searle’s way of refuting the Strong A.I. thought that running an adequately complex program is sufficient for thinking by showing how running a computer program is not sufficient for the computer to be thinking. The argument goes that a person who has never seen the Chinese language in any form is sitting in a room sealed from the outside world. In the room, there is a basket full of Chinese symbols and a book that shows what symbols to put together when responding to a group of symbols on a piece of paper that has been slipped into the room by a Chinese speaker. The man in the room following the instructions can trick the Chinese...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
...Locke’s theory on personal identity relies heavily on the matter of psychological continuity. He believes that the criteria for a human being and the criteria of a person are different (Study Guide, pg165). The criteria for a human being rely on the structural continuity of the being whereas the criteria for personal identity are the individual’s psychological continuity and his ability to withhold memory. The continuation of memory plays a vital part in Locke’s theory as, he believes that a person’s identity is shaped by the memories he has of himself (Study guide, pg166). However, Butler and Reid objected certain aspects of Locke’s theory. In which, Butler stated that Locke’s theory was circular as, he had failed to notice that the relation of memory presupposes the notion of personal identity (Study Guide, pg167). Butler does not state that Locke’s theory of personal identity is wrong, however he is simply stating that Locke’s theory of memory cannot be a criteria for identity as it is causing a circular problem. This is because, if an individual identifies himself based on his memories, then memory and the individual would be the same thing. Hence, this in turn raises the question as to who holds the memory. Therefore, Butler believes that even though Locke’s theory may be right, the memory theory should not be a criterion of personal identity. Reid also raised an objection with Locke’s theory whereby he believes that memory is neither necessary nor sufficient for...
Words: 323 - Pages: 2
...notoriously debatable. The problem of consciousness is arguably the most principal issue in philosophy of the mind and is also mostly related to quantum physics, such as the possibility of belief in free will.” But how are we to understand consciousness? Is it something any object can possess, whether alive or not? Only humans can maintain consciousness; therefore, a computer can never duplicate human intelligence. The argument and thought experiment generally referred to as the Chinese Room Argument was first published in the paper in the 1980s by the American philosopher John Searle. The Chinese Room Argument, in recent years, has become one of the most well-known arguments in philosophy. Searle, creates a scenario, with himself alone in a room following a computer, containing a program for responding to Chinese characters that have been slipped under the door. Searle doesn’t have any earthly understanding of Chinese, and yet, by following the computer program and copying the characters down he is ultimately fooling the outside into thinking there is a Chinese speaker in the room. (e.g.) In conclusion, computers may appear to have an understanding, but are not aware of...
Words: 610 - Pages: 3
...Name Professor Course Date John Searle’s Chinese Room Argument When coming up with the ‘Chinese Room’ argument, John Searle was looking to establish whether or not machines can be termed as “intelligent” judging by the kind of accurate outputs they produce, given a specific kind of input. He specifically aimed at refuting the functionalism claim that, just like people, machines with the ability to run programs are presumed to have consciousness and a brain. In Searle’s argument, he creates a scenario where one is locked in a Chinese room without any knowledge of the Chinese dialect but is expected to answer questions in Chinese. As per his theory, an English-Chinese guide would allow one to answer the questions accurately but not understand the conversation. In relation to this, John Searle concludes that a computer has no ability to understand or achieve consciousness no matter how intelligent the underlying computer program might be. According to the argument, a human being with no knowledge of the Chinese language is locked in a room. He is issued a set of English guidelines that help him relate each set of Chinese symbols to another set. Basically, the rules are to guide the individual on how to use the Chinese characters to answer the questions brought forward. At the end of the process, the Chinese illiterate will be in a position to write down Chinese answers to the questions, which are also in Chinese. To those that posed the question, the individual will seem...
Words: 626 - Pages: 3
...Subsequently, John R. Searle explains this theory as the Chinese room experiment with arguments to follow. This experiment can be described as a man with no knowledge of Chinese sitting in a blank room with two holes with nothing but a book of English instructions. The man is getting fed some sort of Chinese questions through one hole and has to use the book of English instructions to compute the answer in Chinese and output this through the other hole. Searle then goes on to explain that even though the man is giving answers out in Chinese, he still does not know anything at all about the meaning of what those Chinese words he is sending out. In general someone favoring strong AI would say in order to be considered intelligent a system the system/machine must be able to understand a story and provide answers (Searle 354). Searle then goes on to his first argument (The Systems Reply) that there are two subsystems in this problem and they do not coincide with one another. He explains that when the man sees the Chinese he doesn’t understand a word of it but the Chinese do, thus the Chinese doesn’t understand a word of the instructions in English but the man initially does. Initially as stated above in order for this system to be intelligent according to strong AI, the system would in fact have to understand the whole problem and be able to provide answers, when in fact Searle proves that both subsystems clearly do not. Searle’s second argument (The Robot Reply) then explains that even though...
Words: 1229 - Pages: 5
...When it comes to the subject of the mind, it can be difficult for any one person to separate his or her own human experiences from the discussion at hand. The natural inclination of most people is to believe that there is something special, something uniquely human, about the processes of thinking, reasoning, and understanding. With advances in technology taking exponential leaps forward, however, the idea that science may one day – if it has not already – create an artificial intelligence equal to our own becomes ever more plausible. Searle’s piece in the course text tackles the issue head on, and it makes his case strongly and succinctly. Based on the arguments set forth by Searle, his Chinese Room Objection in particular, and my own take on the idea of understanding as a whole, I find myself in agreement with Searle on the subject of artificial intelligence. It can be tempting to believe that an advanced instance of artificial intelligence is capable of understanding when it is able to demonstrate behaviours that we typically associate with it. I refer here to the example of the storytelling computer mentioned early in the reading. The computers is able to answer questions about the hamburger story with responses that contain information not found in the story itself, because it possesses information on how human beings typically behave with regard to restaurants. This does not strike me as being equal – or even comparable – to real understanding as we humans know...
Words: 779 - Pages: 4
...In this essay I will argue that John Searle’s Chinese Room does not refute the possibility of strong AI. The thought experiment goes something like this: Imagine you are a monolingual English speaker in a room with boxes full of Chinese symbols, and a guide book that maps sequences of symbols to other sequences of symbols. You receive a piece of paper with symbols on it from outside the room, the input, and, using the guidebook, the program, arrange and pass different sets of symbols out of the room. Unbeknownst to you, the symbols you pass out, the output, are carrying on a fluent Chinese conversation with a person outside of the room. Strong AI is the position that a computer running a sufficiently advanced program could generate mental states that are identical to those generated by humans, that is, the AI would be conscious in the same way we are. Contrast this with weak AI, which merely mimics human behaviour, without the corresponding mental states. Searle maintains that any system that operates in a purely syntactic manner will never be intelligent in the same manner a human is,...
Words: 835 - Pages: 4
...As human beings we are biologically wired to live with intention. Part 1 Strong Artificial Intelligence says that a functioning computer can accurately represent the cognition of a human mind. (133) Meaning that the essence of computer programs are considered to be identical to those of mental states in the brain. (explain more AI claims) In “Minds, Brains and Programs”, John Searle is arguing against the claims supporting Strong Artificial Intelligence. The Chinese Room Experiment is used to explain the difference between understanding and the simulation of understanding. It goes as follows: Searle is sitting in a room and is given a box of Chinese letters in which he will interpret, using a set of english rules, to respond in a way...
Words: 1581 - Pages: 7
...Turing’s and Searle’s argument concerning computers having consciousness. I will argue that Searle’s argument against computers having consciousness is the stronger argument of the three arguments. Firstly, I will begin by examining the Turing’s and Putman’s argument showing their strengths and weaknesses. Then I will layout Searle’s argument and showing it strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, I will show that although Artificial Intelligence has the capability of producing machines that have humanistic functions, this science however lacks the ability to produce computers with minds. In other words, computers will do a lot, but won’t be a lot. Artificial Intelligence according to the Webster dictionary can be defined as computer programs developed to mimic human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, problem-solving, and making decisions. Artificial intelligence programs enable computers to perform tasks such as playing chess, proving mathematical theorems, etc. The definition of Artificial Intelligence can be further placed into four categories, these are systems that think like humans, systems that act like humans, systems that think rationally and systems that act rationally. Let examine the Turing test; this is test experiment invented by as the name suggests by A.M Turing as a proposal for the question whether machines can think. This experiment is one in which two connecting rooms are arranged each consisting of a teletypewriter. One room has a human (interrogator)...
Words: 1520 - Pages: 7
...Of all the technological developments of the modern age, none is as complex as artificial intelligence. The idea that a non-human, manufactured entity could advance to a point of emulating human behavior is enough to make people shiver. The idea of something so advanced that we will not be able to tell the difference may be even worse. In 1961 Philip Dick wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It portrayed a world with these exact characteristics. Artificial Intelligence had advanced to a point of near-perfect human replication. In creating this world, Dick was echoing the speculations and fears of a.i. that had build up by that time. It would then continue to influence those opinions in the years after. It is necessary to look at the development of artificial intelligence in order to put this idea into context. The concept of intelligent and aware constructs began to emerge in the 1950s and 60s as several scientists in many fields came together to discuss the possibilities of advanced computer research. The first major step was a scientific conference at Dartmouth College in 1956. Here, the general concepts and possible paths of research for a.i. were fleshed out. As described in Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, this conference was “the birth of artificial intelligence.” This was mostly a theoretical stage yet attending experts predicted that with a huge investment, working technology could be available in a generation (16). After being officially established...
Words: 1922 - Pages: 8
...A.M Turing conducted a study on a particular question, “Can machines think?” He changed the question into a problem called the imitation game. It is played with a total of 3 people. (A): MAN, (B): WOMEN, (C):INTERROGATOR who may be of either sex. Individual (Z) (INTERROGATOR) stays in a different room from the other two (X) and (Y). The objective of this game is for the interrogator to conclude which individual (X) or (Z) is the male and which one is the female. The interrogator only distinguishes them by labels (X) and (Y) so at the end of the game either (X) = (A), (Y)=(B) or (X)=(B) and (Y)=(A). So in this imitation game the interrogator can ask a myriad of questions to (A) and (B) to find out who is the male and who is the female. (As) jobs will be to confuse the interrogator....
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
...For a computer program to be considered artificial intelligence it must first past the Turning Test. “The Turing Test, proposed by Alan Turing in his seminal 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" as a method for determining in principle whether a computer possesses thought.”(Shieber 502-503) The turning test is a new take on an old concept. The original concept was an imitation game that consisted of three players. The players were a man, a woman, and an interrogator all in separate rooms. The three players communicated via teletype only (think instant messaging) so that the players could not see or hear each other at all. The goal of this game is for the woman to convince the interrogator that she is a woman; the man to convince the interrogator that he is a woman, and the interrogator to determine which is which. Common contestants for this test are Chat programs. These are programs that are designed to chat with humans by imitating responses in a chat room environment. There are many versions of the Turning Test that put these chat programs to the test. They work in a manner similar to the imitation game. There are 3 players, a computer, a human, and an interrogator. The computer and the human both attempt to convince they are human while the interrogator tries to determine which is really human. Works Cited Shieber, Stuart. "Inverting the Turning Test." American Scientist (2011): 502-503....
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...The first part of my presentation is definitions and goals of Artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence It is ok, but what is the intelligence? Intelligence is the computational part of the ability to achieve goals in the world. There is not a solid definition of it because we cannot yet characterize in general what kinds of computational procedures we want to call intelligent. We understand some of the mechanisms of intelligence and not others. As you can see on the screen, Artificial Intelligence has various goals such as put the human mind into the computer, and reach the human-level intelligence, but, his main goal is to create intelligent machines that can perform complex tasks on their own. To determinate if a machine is intelligent or not, is used the Turing Test. Alan Turing, the creator of Turing Test, argued that if the machine could successfully pretend to be human to a knowledgeable observer then you certainly should consider it intelligent. The test consists of the observer could interact with the machine and a human by Teletype, and the human would try to persuade the observer that it was human and the machine would try to fool the observer. Now let’s pass to the second part comparisons between human and computer intellligence. People normally think that the Artificial...
Words: 815 - Pages: 4
...In Searle’s Chinese Room Argument, a man is behind a door with a set of instructions and database to manipulate Chinese symbols. The person will then follow the provided instructions to manipulate symbols and slip responses back. The person next door would believe that the man understands Chinese, but the man does not truly understand Chinese since all he did was to manipulate symbols and compute on the syntactic level without understanding semantics. Through this argument, Searle illustrates that machines compute on the syntactic level and lacks intentionality and that the Turing Test is inadequate for judging intelligence. He believes that intentionality is a biological phenomenon that cannot be present in a machine’s internal program, making mind a biological phenomenon; therefore, internal programs are unable to have a mind or intelligence and be on the semantic...
Words: 537 - Pages: 3
