What is stopping us from creating artificial intelligence known as AI? What is it about human intellect and cognition that separates us from a computer?
There lies an inherent problem which is philosophical in nature. This is the subjective matter of knowledge of self and experience. This is a problem because aside from an individuals deep immediate sense of self and experience we have no way of quantifying this externally.
How could you recognize true artificial intelligence?
Let’s just say we created a computer and from our experience with it it appeared to be self aware and cognizant. How could you truly know it was truly self aware? Even if we tested it extensively the computer might merely be programmed to behave this way, mimicking the behaviors of a cognizant being. Now back to the problem from earlier, the one about the inherent problem.
How can we be sure humans possess true cognition?
A human being is a complex collection of molecules, minerals, chemicals, and DNA. We seem to immediately know we exist yet there is no method for proving this externally. We may just be a series of chemical reactions reacting in predictable ways, yet closed off to this truth by some self imposed biological filter.
You brush your teeth to keep your teeth healthy, you do this because sense data and your atoms and molecules aligned such that this sense data is repeated. You forget to brush your teeth, new sense data impeded on the prior paradigm of molecules and chemicals to produce a new reaction. Now imagine these events happening simultaneously in the tens of millions (or more) processes. Maybe our sense of self is no more real than the unfathomable and unknowable complexity of the web of these molecular and chemical processes.
True knowledge of human cognition must be a sound premise first
In order to logically verify that a computer or robot has reached true self awareness we first have to establish a sound premise. In this case we need to logically verify cognition in human beings. Once quantified then logical hypothesis can be formulated and tested on machines. If human self awareness in proven then artificial intelligence can be proven if it matches the criteria necessary to conform human cognition.