Introduction to the Problem of Artificial Intelligence

Chapter 1 introduces the problem of artificial intelligence (AI) as a human doppelgänger. The logic of artificial intelligence is the control algorithm, dominated by the tradition of two-value logic. We sketch out the consequences of such algorithmic performance, which have had deleterious effects on the ecological landscape in the broad sense of the term. We also report the findings of an interdisciplinary report from Stanford University on the successes and failures of AI. The chapter ends with a discussion of the key findings of an interdisciplinary conference, sketching out the correlates of understanding. These can best be summarized by answering the questions: How do we determine if a system understands? Does a lack of understanding make AI systems susceptible to adversarial examples, and to what degree do systems need to understand in order to be able to explain their decisions and predictions? By what mechanisms do humans extract meaning from data or experience?

Keywords: Algorithm, Artificial Intelligence, Autopoiesis, Common Sense, Logic, Phenomenology, Understanding