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Elon Musk recently announced his new artificial intelligence company, xAI. Its declared purpose is to understand the true nature of universe." Its 12-member team includes subject experts with experience across OpenAI, Google Research and Microsoft Research. With such impressive credentials, xAI is being positioned as a competitor to the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard and as a front-runner in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)a system that can perform tasks a human being is capable of. Renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil has predicted that we will have AGI by 2029 and machines smarter than humans by 2045.

Elon Musk recently announced his new artificial intelligence company, xAI. Its declared purpose is to understand the true nature of universe." Its 12-member team includes subject experts with experience across OpenAI, Google Research and Microsoft Research. With such impressive credentials, xAI is being positioned as a competitor to the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard and as a front-runner in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)a system that can perform tasks a human being is capable of. Renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil has predicted that we will have AGI by 2029 and machines smarter than humans by 2045.

In its first tweet, xAI asked, What are the most fundamental unanswered questions?" While existing AI systems excel in tasks like itinerary planning, essay writing and document rephrasing, they fall short when it comes to tackling profound inquiries. Questions such as the origin of life, possibilities of faster-than-light travel, potential cure for cancer or how to decipher ancient scripts like the Harappan one remain unanswered. To solve such questions, an AI system needs super-intelligence or a level of intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. xAIs aspirations parallel those of the famous supercomputer in Douglas Adams book, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which was asked about the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?" and humorously replied with the number 42.

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In its first tweet, xAI asked, What are the most fundamental unanswered questions?" While existing AI systems excel in tasks like itinerary planning, essay writing and document rephrasing, they fall short when it comes to tackling profound inquiries. Questions such as the origin of life, possibilities of faster-than-light travel, potential cure for cancer or how to decipher ancient scripts like the Harappan one remain unanswered. To solve such questions, an AI system needs super-intelligence or a level of intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. xAIs aspirations parallel those of the famous supercomputer in Douglas Adams book, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which was asked about the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?" and humorously replied with the number 42.

Wouldnt it be fascinating if we had a super-intelligent AI that could discover new laws of physics and answer questions about the meaning of life? Despite notable advances, achieving such a feat remains highly improbable if not impossible in the near future. Current AI systems like ChatGPT excel at assimilating vast amounts of information and leveraging machine learning to generate user-friendly responses to queries. These systems have undoubtedly acquired substantial knowledge. But, answering fundamental questions also requires wisdom.

Creative intelligence extends beyond mere reorganization of available information in our memory. It involves delving into our subconscious to uncover deeper connections and patterns. Intuition and spontaneity play vital roles in this form of intelligence. Einstein often used thought experiments that were radically unrelated to problem statements. Legend has it that his thought experiment of a man free falling in an elevator led him to the Special Theory of Relativity. Newtons quest for laws of motion has the story of having begun with an apple seen falling from a tree. Visionaries possess the ability to find a common framework bridging seemingly unrelated events. They can intuitively conceive ideas or stories and then formulate equations around them. Therefore, an AGI system may be able to grow in its complexity and computing capacity exponentially, but it does not guarantee a solution to fundamental problems.

Hence, it is unlikely that an AI system will discover a new law of physics. That would require a unique blend of skills, including expertise in mathematics and physics, keen observational abilities, proficiency in thought experiments, and the ability to construct novel narratives. The capability to self-reflect, which has predominantly been a unique attribute of human beings, would also be essential. Despite possessing all these qualities, even the brightest minds have been unable to answer some of the fundamental questions of the universe. It took Einstein 10 years to formulate the General Theory of Relativity after he gave us his Special Theory in 1905.

Another example is the hard problem of consciousness put forth by philosopher David Chalmers. It refers to the problem of how physical processes in the brain give rise to the subjective or first-person experience of the mind and of the world. Since subjective experience and consciousness are integral components of this enigma, an AI system that lacks access to these facets would be unable to solve the problem. At best, it can help us develop frameworks to better understand how consciousness works, but it seems unlikely that it would be able to comprehensively crack the task.

In the event that xAI or any other AI system manages to achieve super-intelligence, it would raise a significant concern known as the alignment problem. AI alignment is the challenge of encoding AI systems in a way that is compatible with human moral values. According to a thought experiment proposed by philosopher Nick Bostrom, a super-intelligent AI assigned with the objective of maximizing the production of paper clips might conclude that eliminating all humans is crucial to its mission, as they could potentially deactivate it and because their atoms could be converted into additional paper clips. xAI aims to make the system maximally curious so as to solve this alignment problem, as a curious AI would automatically align with human values.

Nevertheless, there are distinct advantages offered by AI that can prove valuable in tackling fundamental questions. Unlike humans, whose attention spans are decreasing due to exposure to digital distractions, AI can maintain focus on a problem for extended periods. Furthermore, AI can offer tremendous computational power. While AI may not have the capability to solve these problems independently, the most plausible scenario is that AI can assist humans in specific areas, thereby facilitating their efforts to address these challenges.

These are the authors personal views.

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Why AI cant answer the fundamental questions of life | Mint - Mint