REVERSE ENGINEERING THE RECIPE FOR AI

There are many words used to define different aspects of what it means to be living. I found one that boiled it down to the basics: “Living systems are complex dynamic information processing energy consuming entities with properties of consciousness, intelligence, sapience, and sentience.”

Source: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/10/6/254

So if the above definition can describe the human condition, maybe it can also be used to define the fundamental aspects of what an Artificial Intelligence should possess?

When writing the second book in the Posthuman series, The God Virus, it became clear to me that I hadn’t defined these terms in my mind. I’d opted for the more general view of the Turing test. Instead of objectively defining the target, I derived it from what we perceive to be intelligence in our fellow man. That isn’t good enough! And I know we all love delving into word definitions, so here goes. What, if any, of these properties should an AI possess?

(Just a word of warning. These terms are sometimes overlapping and might contradict your view of them. That is what the comment section is for!)

If an AI is to be, not just something really clever that I can ask almost anything, but something that needs to be part of our lives in the way the Tesla bot seems to be envisioned, or that can act as a therapist, that can evaluate emotional and physical threats, arguably the other aspects we associate with being human becomes more important.

I saw a clever Venn diagram that expressed what I’ve written about in a different way. This suggests that neither consciousness or sentience is a requirement for AI, but instead Sapience and Self-awareness.

What do you think? Am I stating the obvious or is this relevant in our AI- and robot-infused future?