Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

AI and human society

  • Open Forum
  • Published:
AI & SOCIETY Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of the AI R&D programme on human society and the individual human being on the assumption that a full realisation of the engineering objective of AI, namely, construction of human-level, domain-independent intelligent entities, is possible. Our assumption is essentially identical tothe maximum progress scenario of the Office of Technology Assessment, US Congress.

Specifically, the first section introduces some of the significant issues on the relational nexus among work, education and the human-machine boundary. In particular, based on a Russellian conception of rationality I briefly argue that we need to change our related conceptions of work, employment and free time, through a new human-centred education. On the human-machine boundary problem, I make a couple of tentative suggestions and put forward some crucial open questions.

Section two discusses the impact of the emerging machine intelligence on human nature both as modification of its self-image, keeping human nature itself unchanged, and its potential for altering human nature itself. I briefly argue that: (i) in a certain context, the question of the supremacy or uniqueness of human intelligence loses much, if not all, of its ‘weight’; and (ii) appearance of Robot-X species would immortalise the human spirit.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arbib, M.A. (1985). On Being Human in the Computer Age. In Trappl, R. (ed.)Impacts of Artificial Intelligence. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boden, M.A. (1977). Artificial Intelligence and Natural Man. Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boden, M.A. (1985). Impacts of Artificial Intelligence. In Trappl, R. (ed.)Impacts of Artificial Intelligence. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R.A., Breazeal, C., Marjanovic, M., Scassellati, B. and Williamson, M.M. (1999). The Cog Project: Building a Humanoid Robot. MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA. To appear inSpringer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

  • Cooley, M. (1987). Architect or Bee? (extended edn). Hogarth Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreyfus, H.L. (1972). What Computers can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason. Harper & Row, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelepithis, P.A.M. (1984). On the Foundations of Artificial Intelligence and Human Cognition. PhD thesis, Department of Cybernetics, Brunel University, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelepithis, P.A.M. (1991). The possibility of Machine Intelligence and the Impossibility of Human-Machine Communication.Cybernetica.34(4). 255–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelepithis, P.A.M. (1994). Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, Science of the mental, and Evolution. In Tsalicoglou, F. (ed.)Psychology in Greece Today. Editions Plethron, Athens, 224–233 (in Greek).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kazantzakis, N. (1981). Life and Attitude of Alexis Zorbas. Editions E.N. Kazantzaki, Athens.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, G.D. and McKenzie, S. (1993). Machine Interpretation of Emotion: Design of a Memory-Based Expert System for Interpreting Facial Expressions in Terms of Signalled Emotions,Cognitive Science.17(4). 589–622.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michie, D. (1990). The Superarticulacy Phenomenon in the Context of Software Manufacture. In Partridge, D. and Wilks, Y. (eds)The Foundations of AI: A Sourcebook. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 411–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, A. (1990). Unified Theories of Cognition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, A. (1992). Précis of ‘Unified Theories of Cognition’,Behavioral and Brain Sciences.15, 425–437 (Open Peer Commentary pp. 438–492).

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, A. and Simon, H.A. (1976). Computer Science as Empirical Inquiry: Symbols and Search,Communications of the ACM.13(3). 113–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, N.J. (1984, 1985). Artificial Intelligence, Employment, and Income. In Trappl, R. (ed.)Impacts of Artificial Intelligence. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of Technology Assessment, US Congress (1986). Federal Government Information Technology: Electronic Record Systems and Individual Privacy. US Government Printing Office.

  • Russell, B. (1935). Can Men be Rational? In Russell, B. (ed.)Sceptical Essays. George Allen & Unwin, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Searle, J.R. (1980). Minds, Brains and Programs,Behavioral and Brain Sciences.3, 417–457 (including commentary).

    Google Scholar 

  • Weizenbaum, J. (1976). Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgement to Calculation (2nd edn 1984). Penguin, Harmondsworth, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winograd, T. and Flores, F. (1986). Understanding Computers and Cognition. Ablex, Norwood, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kingston University, KT1 2EE, Kingston upon Thames, UK

    Petros A. M. Gelepithis

Authors
  1. Petros A. M. Gelepithis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Petros A. M. Gelepithis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gelepithis, P.A.M. AI and human society. AI & Soc 13, 312–321 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01174784

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01174784

Keywords

Search

Navigation