Paul Kaiser's Blog

Can we make an artificial brain capable of thinking like a human?

I think we probably can, eventually. From what I know of artificial intelligence research, though, some key elements have been left out, or at least aren’t widely publicized. One of those key elements is right-brain thinking.

A little to the left

Computers are great at logic. In fact, if all it took to rule the world was a capacity for logically processing, we’d already be ruled by legions of machines. But that’s not enough.

We often refer to logic as “left-brained” thinking, because the left side of our brain is primarily responsible for logical processes. At one point in time, it was thought the left side was all that made us human, and the right side of our brains was more or less vestigial — left over junk we didn’t really use or need.

Humans are in the right

It turns out we were wrong — the right side of our brain serves vital functions the left side can’t imagine doing. The right side focuses on “the big picture,” recognizing patterns, faces, the context of a situation. The ability to empathize with the way others feel would be lost if we didn’t have the right side of our brain.

A new way of processing

Logical processing like that done in the left side of our brains can be reduced to mathematics and decision trees. We’re already inferior to computers in that regard. However, the ability to empathize, to see all the data at one time and recognize patterns, to understand when the color red means love and when it means danger — these are not easily done by machine. Certainly not in a continuous, interconnected way.

Can you imagine a computer contemplating the color red, its connotations for love, danger, and more, then appreciating the poetic irony of situation where pursuing love actually produces danger?

Part of the problem is at the very heart of how today’s computers work. Everything is ones and zeros, black or white, on or off. Logic works that way. Less-concrete concepts like patterns and context do not.

Is it possible we need to rethink how computers work in the first place to get them to think like humans?

More importantly, do we really want to give them the ability to think like humans?

Stay tuned

In the next several days, I’ll also weigh in on how I think the following affect artificial intelligence limitations:

• emotions
• hormones
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Downtown pilgrimage

Bethy, Gwen, Me, and Willow. I'm happy there, not psychotic.

Friday, Leigh had to leave for the night to have some testing done. Just as she was leaving, I realized I’d forgotten an important USB key full of data at work that I’d likely need over the weekend. The kids had given Leigh a hard time all day, and I figured a walk downtown would be good for airing out their thoughts, while getting my data at the same time.

On the way home, we talked a bit about how everyone’s day went, and Bethy said something I’ll not likely forget for a long time. First, she told me sometimes when she’s next to someone, she just wants to hit them or yell at them, even though she knows she’s upset about something they had nothing to do with.

That was a bit unnerving.

However, then she said I was different.

“Not when I’m around you, though. When I’m next to you, it relaxes me, like being by a water fountain. You’re like a water fountain of calmness or something.”

Yeah… that totally made my day! I must be doing something right.

Oh, rats

This is Lightning, one of Gus' young padawan learners

Sunday morning, I got up early to do some sketches for a theatre project. When I checked on the rats, I noticed Gus was… unusually still. Gus was given to us by some friends who had their other rat die, and they didn’t want Gus to be lonely. Shortly thereafter, Gus must have had a stroke or something. He couldn’t use his back legs, so he’d just scoot around the cage or the floor. It was kind of freaky.

Anyway, Gus died. Later, I dug a hole between some garden beds and we all went outside to bury him and throw some flowers. Gwen took it the hardest, which was no surprise. Of all the kids, she seems the most empathic.

Okay to be scared

Xander, the amazing, complete with Harry Potter scar from a library chair that attacked him

Temperature in the pool was awesome today. It was about 78 degrees. With the sun out, that was perfectly comfortable.

I’d just bought Xander a life jacket his size, so he could have more freedom in the pool than the little baby floater allowed. Today, he wanted to be free in the pool, not on any raft, so I got in with him.

He said he was scared a lot, but I could see he wasn’t terrified. I just kept an eye on him as I bounced him through the water and tested his limits. Really, I was stretching limits. I told him it was okay to be scared but to move on anyway.

By the time we got done, Xander was climbing up and down the ladder and would jump off in to the pool. He really made a lot of progress, and I felt again like I must have been doing something right.

That’s about all I have to say about that. I don’t really have a snappy conclusion.

A few more photos

Xander, let's get this wagon train a'movin'

Willow eating a Star Trek Eggo waffle

Gwen explaining four square meals a day

Sammy, the most boring frog in the universe

Cricket in Sammy the frog's terrarium. The crickets are more interesting to watch than Sammy.

Plant in frog terrarium reaching down for water.