Cana Fuest, PhD Candidate

I think many of us likely take it for granted that technology, such as artificial intelligence, exists for our use today. We are reaping the benefit of many decades of research in the field of cognitive science, brought to us by individuals such as Herbert Simon and Allen Newell (Doroudi, 2022). Their research predates the internet, and even the personal computer (at least in the sense of what it is for us today). In fact, there were many “failed” experiments along the way, and in 1969, neural network research seemed to be a dead end (Kelleher, 2019). The excitement surrounding AI fizzled for a time but was revived again in the 1980’s and 90’s.

Where would we be today if inquisitive individuals had not persevered and continued on, despite the seemingly impossible task of getting a machine to learn, like a human being? I suppose many would argue that we would be better off without AI. Perhaps that is true. But for my part, I believe that human beings have great potential for creativity and innovation, and now we can partner with AI to enhance those capabilities. I believe that each step forward is an opportunity to further unlock human potential and improve our understanding of how the world works – how we work.

References

Doroudi, S. (2022). The intertwined histories of artificial intelligence and education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 33(4), 885–928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-022-00313-2

Kelleher, J. D. (2019). Deep Learning (1st ed.). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11171.001.0001