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Rethinking Intelligence in the Age of AI
Rethinking Intelligence in the Age of AI

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On an hour-long drive a couple of evenings ago, my son asked my daughter to put herself in a hypothetical situation and answer a question he had in mind.

While the question itself is not so essential, the conversation veered towards the ability of humans to put themselves into imaginary and hypothetical situations (my daughter’s inability to do so in this case), evaluate the problem, and then react to it. Then, the conversation shifted to asking large language models (LLMs) about this, and we had a great time with the answers we got from the available tools.

Delving deeper into this, I realized that humans are very comfortable with imagination and creativity and addressing such questions with logic and reasoning while adhering to the laws of physics and common sense. I wondered if LLMs are good at this aspect of intelligence.

I spent the weekend trying to clear my head about what makes us intelligent and if the term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is perhaps (not so) apt. I wondered why AI is considered intelligent, even though it operates so differently from human intelligence.

Here are some notes that I collected:

Computing vs. Thought: Human thought involves comprehending the significance of symbols and concepts far beyond mere rule-based manipulation. In contrast, current AI is just computing and manipulating symbols according to predefined guidelines.

  • Theory of Mind: This is the ability to understand and empathize with others to grasp their feelings and mental states. It allows us to predict how someone will behave in a given situation. Our current form of AI lacks this deep emotional understanding.
  • Reasoning and Problem-Solving: Humans can reason, debate, and correlate ideas with emotion and logic. We adapt to novel situations using prior knowledge, emotional connections, and experiences. AI lacks this nuanced reasoning while capable of processing vast amounts of data.
  • Sentience and Embodiment: Sentience is the capacity to feel sensations and emotions, believed to be linked to having a physical body. Humans experience pain, pleasure, anger, and many other emotions. Can another form achieve sentience without a physical body?
  • Self-Awareness: This is the ability to differentiate one’s existence from the external world, having a sense of control and a self shaped by past experiences and memories. No matter how advanced AI has been, it does not possess this self-awareness.

My daughter, who is studying medicine, often emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding in patient care. She notes that while AI can assist doctors by processing medical data and providing diagnoses, it cannot replace the compassionate care and psychological understanding that a doctor can provide. This human touch is crucial in building trust and effectively treating patients.

On the other hand, my son, wanting to pursue economics, sees AI as a powerful tool that can drive innovation and efficiency in business. He acknowledges AI's potential to analyze market trends, optimize operations, and predict customer needs.

However, he points out that such AI usage is only a fraction of what humans can solve through creativity, intuition, and the ability to connect with people—qualities that AI lacks.

In conclusion, while artificial intelligence can augment human capabilities, it falls short of replicating the depth and breadth of our intelligence. The nuances of human thought, emotion, and self-awareness remain beyond AI's grasp.

My daughter’s insights and my son’s perspective underscore that AI, despite its remarkable advancements, still cannot fathom the true essence of “intelligence,” let alone replicate it. This profound difference reminded me that human creativity, empathy, and intuition are irreplaceable and that our unique capacity for imagination and understanding will always set us apart from machines.

Author

Kiran Kuchimanchi is President, Cigniti Technologies, and heads the Digital Engineering Services group. Kiran is responsible for the company’s digital and technology teams that power its customers’ digital transformation initiatives and long-term growth. Kiran has over two decades of experience in the IT services and digital space. He has played multiple roles in both technology and business settings. He has headed country operations as well as global delivery. He has been instrumental in setting up a digital division encompassing Big Data, Cloud, Mobility, and Analytics. 


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