Can artificial intelligence reach human thought?

Abstract

The transformative achievements of deep learning have led several scholars to raise the question of whether artificial intelligence (AI) can reach and then surpass the level of human thought. Here, after addressing methodological problems regarding the possible answer to this question, it is argued that the definition of intelligence proposed by proponents of the AI as "the ability to accomplish complex goals," is appropriate for machines but does not capture the essence of human thought. After discussing the differences regarding understanding between machines and the brain, as well as the importance of subjective experiences, it is emphasized that most proponents of the eventual superiority of AI ignore the importance of the body proper on the brain, the laterization of the brain, and the vital role of the glia cells. By appealing to the incompleteness theorem of Gödel's and to the analogous result of Turing regarding computations, it is noted that consciousness is much richer than both mathematics and computations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it is stressed that artificial algorithms attempt to mimic only the conscious function of parts of the cerebral cortex, ignoring the fact that, not only every conscious experience is preceded by an unconscious process but also that the passage from the unconscious to consciousness is accompanied by loss of information.