Jun Gu - Human and Machines: Philosophical Thinking of Artificial Intelligence

This book series presents the threats to human intelligence from the perspectives of philosophy, sociology, mathematics, computer science, literature and medicine, and also demonstrates the cultural differences of thinking, the responsibilities of the two intelligences, the legal relationship and the significance of life in the era of artificial intelligence. In these books people are warned to recgnize the coming of artificial intelligence and proposed to think about the differences that people are faced especially the challenges as well as the the opportunities that artificial intelligence brings to the world. On the other hand, the authors expect to share with the whole world what the human and social sciences are doing in China and how Chinese social scientists elaborate the relationship of the two intelligences from Chinese perspective.

Jointly published with Shanghai University Press

The print edition is not for sale in China (Mainland). Customers from China (Mainland) please order the print book from: Shanghai University Press.

Translation from the Chinese Simplified language edition: / Ren Yu Jiqi: Sixiang Rengong Zhineng by Jun Gu and Yike Guo, Shanghai University Press 2018. Published by Shanghai University Press. All Rights Reserved.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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A man who has no plan will have trouble at hand.

An excerpt from the Analects of Confucius titled as Duke Spirit of Wei.

To worry about things before they happen is called consideration. Take things into consideration before they happen and then you will be successful. To consider a disaster before it comes is called preparation. If a man is prepared, no evil will happen. To think over things when they come to the fore is called backwardness. Backwardness means that it is difficult to get things done. To deal with disasters when they approach is called procrastination. Procrastination is a recipe of disaster.

An excerpt from the Analects of Hsn Tzu titled as General strategy.

Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) is the most concerned technological innovation and industrial trend in the development of many fields. On the positive side, it has become a consensus that human can use AI to improve productivity and peoples lives. What is questionable is only the extent to which it can be achieved. On the negative side, other voices viewing AI as The Fourth revolution, Singularity and disruptive impact convey human beings complex mentality of both love and fear towards AI. In order to make good use of it and avoid its possible negative impacts, an increasing number of researches have began to focus on foreseeing the prospective negative impacts of artificial intelligence on human beings. Those studies are certainly necessary in that only by considering all kinds of possibilities in the development of artificial intelligence, can we take precautions to ensure that it will not go too far or posing threats to human control.

The problem is that most of the existing domestic researches on risks do not involve the attributes of AI itself. Even if they do, most of them are just some fragmented remarks, lacking complete discussions, let alone methodological reflections on the perspective and methods adopted. Therefore, although these researches have made different opinions upon specific issues and have put forward many valuable views, they basically stay at the physical level. For instance, there are studies that equate artificial intelligence with the existing creation of human beings. Those researches adopt simple and optimistic attitudes towards the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence by referring to the effective control of science and technology in the past and provide, at best, predictions and responses to surface effects such as job losses. However, there are few researches on the cautions and long-term concerns about the overall development of artificial intelligence. Objectively speaking, such a situation constitutes quite a friendly environment for the development of artificial intelligence, but it is obviously not favorable for human beings to face up to the potential disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, nor to fully evaluate the potential negative effects, and make preparations for its risks in advance. In the event of unexpected new phenomena, new developments, new evidence or new consequences, existing prospective studies are likely to be falsified and fail to play their due role in scientific prediction. Indeed, from Deep Blue to AlphaGo, Moores law-based AI has repeatedly surprised people with the speed at which it has evolved and the level of intelligence it has reached. With this upward trajectory and developing rate, the frequency and intensity with which AI shocks human beings will only tend to be increased in the future. Blind optimism will prove to be unwise or even stupid. As a concern for the common destiny of mankind, Chinese researchers on risk study of AI must jump out of the surface thinking, strive to improve the level of thinking, and promote reciprocal exchanges with scholars in developed countries. Only by adopting proper methodology, can we break barriers, sharpen thinking and inspire insights so as to make reliable predictions and serious queries about AI from the philosophical perspective moderately detached from the traditional reasoning, in hope of standing on the leading position in prospective research on AI.