Saturday, January 29, 2011

Theory of Computing and Intelligent Design

The concept of intelligent design is very intimately related to the field of artificial intelligence. My main argument is that human beings are intelligent information processing systems designed by a superior form of intelligence.

In my view,  a human being is sort of advanced information processing system. DNA represents the code that builds the system and maintains its existence. The hardware consists of atoms and molecules and the laws of physics govern its dynamics. Computers are useless in terms of performing higher levels of intelligent tasks such as laughing for a good joke, recognizing a beautiful face, enjoying a good movie, and recognizing the beauty in mathematics and the laws of physics.

In addition, Turing machines can't solve the Halting problem. However, biological systems like animals avoided running for ever and they do halt. It is evident that the Halting problem is not an issue for biological systems. This implies an intelligent originator (programmer) that designed the first DNA so that biological systems always halt and die (excluding reproduction).

In conclusion, human intelligence is not simulatable by any Turing machine (unless anyone can be the supreme originator). Also, instead of attributing creativity to Nature, it is smarter to attribute creativity to a supreme originator.

Here is an interesting quote from Wikipedia about Artificial Intelligence: "The field was founded on the claim that a central property of humans, intelligence—the sapience of Homo sapiens—can be so precisely described that it can be simulated by a machine".

3 comments:

  1. You said designed by a superior form of intelligence

    In as much as you are positing an Intelligent Designer, I agree with this view. Also the halting problem is an appropriate observation. However, a lot of hooplah is right now tilted to statistical methods, by extension evolutionary theory when it comes to AI methodology.

    For example the idea of Singularity proposed by Kurzweil. Based on what we know of undecidable theories, the dream of having a machine more intelligent than the humans who create it is a pipe dream.

    LPC

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  2. BTW, most believers of Singularity come from neural network and machine learning disciplines of AI as you probably already know. My observation is that these folks completely ignore or are showing ignorance at least of the Turing issues you have raised.

    LPC

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