“An algorithm is a finite procedure, written in a fixed symbolic vocabulary, governed by precise instructions, moving in discrete steps, 1, 2, 3 … whose execution requires no insight, cleverness, intuition, intelligence, or perspicuity, and that sooner or later comes to an end.” — David Berlinsky, The Advent of the Algorithm.

“He [God] has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, He has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 

HAL 9000

Once I walked the corridors of big corporations trying to make a living by solving problems of various kinds. It took a few years for me to understand that I was always dealing with basically the same issue: there were sets of data that needed to be analyzed with clarity and precision. The results could not be ambiguous or inexact. Information consumers in high places have no use for anything that is not true and certain. One day I found myself in the world of automating analytics without even noticing what I was getting into.

In the long process of learning I realized that managers were not fully aware of the vast power brought to the field by computers. Computer programmers and analysts knew better but most times lacked the ability to define the best path of action. It seems like the disconnection lasts to this day. I am glad I don’t have to deal with that anymore. I had my fill of incompetent managers and stupid tasks achieving nothing but a waste of time. Not long ago, an ill-informed reader tried to give me a lesson on what an algorithm was. Apparently the public seems to misunderstand the concepts of algorithm, program, and application. The words are used interchangeably in conversations, articles, etc. adding to the general popular confusion.

Technology is currently used to ensnare and distract people. In the matter of Artificial Intelligence and other related topics, I think we are seeing sort of a Wizard of Oz situation. There is a man behind the curtain. There is no such thing as “artificial intelligence” and most likely will never be. In the sixties there was talk of “artificial life.” It never happened although many tried hard to produce it. In a similar fashion, Artificial Intelligence cannot be because intelligent thoughts are the products of a mind. Since there is no such thing as an artificial mind, there can be no such things as artificial intelligence or artificial thoughts.

What has been created so far is a giant Dr. Sigmund program. That was an old little program from the early 1990’s that provided the illusion of intelligence. The program appeared to dialog with the user and —if the word “mother” was not used in the various responses after a number of minutes— then the program asked: “I noticed that you haven’t mentioned your mother. Why?”

For many years, this kind of “artificial intelligence” has been programmed by a human mind. In general, it degrades after a while, it takes the wrong road from time to time, and  —like any complex computer program— it has to be monitored to keep the loonies on the path … “sooner or later it comes to an end …” (says Dr. Berlinsky most accurately) There is an operator behind the curtain and that operator may be operated himself by dark spiritual forces.

What seems to be happening now is that the tech tycoons are pulling the wool over the eyes of politicians and business managers who still don’t know diddly doo about technology. The process may end up devouring corporations and their money. If they were fooled into believing that there is such a thing as artificial intelligence… and they do not understand that what they see is a very big, very complex collection of algorithms playing tricks and giving the illusion of thought … they are being fooled into buying the proverbial bridge.

The man behind the curtain

After exchanging a few emails on the subject, a reader of this blog who wishes to remain anonymous wrote the following:

“Nevertheless, as you so well illustrate, there is a mind behind artificial intelligence. It is the mind of the engineer/programmer.  AI is just a big search algorithm with some ability to grow its own database in which it catalogs some search results.  It obviously doesn’t know anything at all.
There was a hilarious bit of fun in the culture wars recently when a “reporter” (ha ha ha) asked Snap Chat which presidents had previously pardoned close relatives. Snap Chat responded that so and so had pardoned Hunter Debutts. The “reporter” mentioned this pardon on a news show to “prove” that Old Joe was aligned with legal tradition and common ethics in pardoning his son. Someone else smelled something off and asked Snap Chat the same question, got the same fake response and exposed the “reporter” who then blamed the computer for misinformation!!!!  [NOTE: See Independent, Dec. 12, 2024]
Somewhere an unknown programmer smiled at his or her handiwork. Indeed! Look behind the curtain at your own risk of disillusionment.” — Received via email on December 6, 2024.

A very smart man, the current very successful President of Argentina, recently offered the untapped intellectual forces of his own country to the international AI community. One wonders if he was ever advised on the potential of AI to be (at worst) an information Trojan horse or (at best) the handiwork of very sophisticated jokers.

In the meanwhile many so called analysts try to imagine the impact of artificial intelligence in various aspects of human activity such as production, investment markets, defense, etc. God help us!

Let me repeat here the logician’s definition algorithm by Dr. Berlinsky:

“An algorithm is a finite procedure, written in a fixed symbolic vocabulary, governed by precise instructions, moving in discrete steps, 1, 2, 3 … whose execution requires no insight, cleverness, intuition, intelligence, or perspicuity, and that sooner or later comes to an end.”

This unique and brilliant definition of algorithm is ontologically opposed to any kind of artificial intelligence because intelligence itself must exist previously and outside the algorithm to initiate it. Thus the modern concept of artificial intelligence is flawed from the very beginning because it is barely able to extend human intelligence but cannot beget intelligence at all because algorithms neither own a mind nor can form one.

This is Darwinismus redivivus yet another effort to explain everything by means of an unexplained rabbit coming out of a hat. In the funny definition of certain conception of the universe quoted sometimes by E. Michael Jones: “it is turtles all the way down!”

Examine Berlinsky’s definition carefully and you will find that (unintendedly) denies even the possibility of artificial intelligence. What we get at present is —at best— a sort of tool to assist human intelligence. No more, no less.

And remember: pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Conclusion: There is no such thing as Artificial Intelligence, there is only a computer generated imitation of human responses.  Those who push Artificial Intelligence as a form of ultimate solution to human problems are either wickedly dishonest, badly deluded, or both.

See also: The Wizard of Oz