• Question: could science one day create human like ai with feelings and everything?

    Asked by epicduckofepicness to Dilwar, Lou, Rachel, Simon, Susan on 12 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Simon Langley-Evans

      Simon Langley-Evans answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      hi epic- another tricky question for us which we will probably all struggle to answer because none of us are computer scientists.
      I think that we will develop really good AI software that can be used for solving problems, operating machines and other tasks. There are some pretty good things around now that are very simple but effective. My iPhone has crude AI software that can understand my voice commands and hold a simple conversation with me. There are some computer programmes that can fool humans into thinking that they are communicating with a human. In fighter jets AI software can interpret the eye movements of pilots to arm and fire weaponry.

      Although the AIs will get more and more complex and sophisticated, I don’t that they would ever develop emotions or feelings. They will always be machines. Emotions and feelings don’t just come from the electrical impulses in our brains, we respond to chemical signals that make us feel happy or sad, excited or in love. A machine or a computer could never have that.

    • Photo: Rachel Dakin

      Rachel Dakin answered on 12 Nov 2013:

      Hi,
      I don’t know that much about technology either. I agree we have come along way in the last few years. I remember thinking how good it was to have a phone so I could make a call in an emergency, now I couldn’t find places without the maps app, catch the train without the timetable app….
      I think technology will continue to advance and make an AI that can interact well with humans. It might even be able to interpret that others were emotional and react to it differently. However, the AI itself having feelings I don’t think is possible. I don’t think neuroscientists fully understand how the brain creates feelings, particularly when they differ between people. Without this understanding I don’t think we can make an AI with emotion.

    • Photo: Susan Skelton

      Susan Skelton answered on 13 Nov 2013:

      Hi epicduckofepicness! (what an epic name!)

      This is a really interesting question! And although AI has come on in leaps and bounds in the last few years, we are still a long way away from creating AI beings with emotions and feelings. So I think the answer to your question will very much depend on personal opinion rather than fact, and therefore will depend on who you ask!

      I disagree with Simon and Rachel – I don’t think there is any physical reason why we will not be able to create human-like AI with emotional intelligence. As a physicist, I think everything in the world can be described by scientific laws.

      I personally do not believe in a “soul” which is separate to our body: I believe that our emotions and feelings come about through different chemicals in the brain, and through different electrical signals being passed between brain cells. If we can fully understand how these chemicals and signals affect our emotions, why should we not be able to reproduce this system in an AI being?

      I don’t think it is easy, and we are still a long way from that point, but I do believe one day we will be able to make human-like artificial intelligence, capable of experiencing feelings and emotions.

      Where I am, in Japan, they are making great progress in robots and artifical intelligence. I recently saw a really cool robot called Asimo, who is capable of holding whole conversations and can even play football – check him out on youtube if you are interested!

    • Photo: Dilwar Hussain

      Dilwar Hussain answered on 13 Nov 2013:

      Hi,

      Good question. I know that this is an area a number of Japanese research groups are working on. They love their robotics. They’ve done quite well in making robots that can ‘sense’ the environment they’re in and not crash into a wall or something. Not sure about the feelings part. You can create robots that respond touch but probably not display ‘feelings’.

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