Neural Network and Intelligence
Hello Rabbi,
I recently read your article “What is Intelligence? On Free Will and Discretion (Tor 35)” (https://mikyab.net/posts/1819#_ftnref1) in which you argued that since a computer does not have discretion, it cannot be considered intelligent. You noted there that the same is true of a neural network, where everything is deterministic too.
Still, I think it’s important to separate “classical” software from a neural network.
If I want to calculate a complicated calculation, for example 36786489×46891388, I can do it myself, but it will require a lot of effort, and there is a good chance that I will make a mistake. Therefore, it is better to have a computer do the calculation, when I know at each step exactly what the computer will do. Similarly, if I want to calculate the area under a graph (a definite integral), I can write a program that divides the x-axis into very small parts (dx), calculate the value of the function in each part, and approximately get the area (numerical calculation). Here too, I myself can theoretically calculate the area like this, but it will be very difficult for me, and very inaccurate.
A neural network works in a very different way. The software needs to be trained. For example, you can teach a program the rules of chess, and let it play against itself millions of times, and that’s how it learns and improves, until it reaches a level higher than any human.
Here the programmer only needs to know the rules of chess, and nothing more. The programmer cannot explain what the software is doing, because he himself does not understand! So how can one say in such a situation that the intelligence comes from the programmer?! And if it does not come from the software itself, then where does it come from?
Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Let's say a company sells very user-friendly neural networks. The network doesn't know how to do anything, but it can be easily taught. All you have to do is teach it the rules of any game you want, and then the network will play against itself a million times, until it becomes proficient.
I buy myself such a network. Right now, within the closed system that includes me and the network, there is no experience or “intelligence” in relation to playing chess. Now I teach it the rules of the game, press the button, and wait a short while. Now, within that closed system, there is a being that can beat any human in the world at chess. I want to argue that the computer has some kind of intelligence, because otherwise this knowledge was acquired out of thin air.
You assume that the computer's "intelligence" comes from somewhere. Where do you get that from? It can come from nothing (i.e. from training given to it by a layman, as long as there is a smart person who insisted that neural networks can be trained).
Incidentally, I explained in the above column that the "intelligence" of water or birds also comes from nothing in this sense.
Leave a Reply
Please login or Register to submit your answer
