Gigaom AI Minute – December 16

Transcript

Can an artificial intelligence have free will? This is a rather difficult question. Especially given that there's a lively debate about whether human beings have free will.

But assuming for a moment that we do, we also have to look at the artificial intelligence that we have at present and we have to conclude that it does not have free will. Artificial intelligence acts still just like a mechanical clock running its course.

It has no ability to alter its programming at its own will. It merely acts on the behest in receiving the directions it received in its programming. One can, however, imagine a future in which different models of computing put volition, intentionality, and even free will onto the artificial intelligence.

But, we are so far away from that, that that is still a consideration that best lives in science fiction, and we must understand that everything the AI does today is a decision made by a human.