Artificial Intelligence is something that’s been on the horizon for a long time – Since its emergence into the public consciousness through science fiction, many have assumed that one day machines will have “general intelligence”, and pondered different practical, ethical and philosophical implications. Some of the most exciting recent work in AI, such as the development of deep neural networks, is intrinsically based around creating AIs which mimic the function of human brains.

1. How Close Are We To Artificial
General Intelligence – And Do We
Really Want To Go There?

2. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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IntroductionIntroduction
Artificial Intelligence is something that’s been on the horizon for a long time – probably as
long as anyone reading this will be able to remember.
Since its emergence into the public consciousness through science fiction, many have
assumed that one day machines will have “general intelligence”, and pondered different
practical, ethical and philosophical implications.
Today, though, there’s a palpable sense that we’re getting close and some, including several
very smart people, are predicting that we are rushing headlong towards calamity.
How Close Are We To Artificial General Intelligence
- And Do We Really Want To Go There?

3. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
But is this all marketing hype? Are we really any closer to generally intelligent
machines than we were 20 years ago, when many of the ideas driving AI today –
machine learning and deep learning, for example - already existed?
Well, to answer that question we have to first ask ourselves what really is this
“intelligence”, that we are trying to simulate artificially.
Some of the most exciting recent work in AI, such as the development of deep
neural networks, is intrinsically based around creating AIs which mimic the
function of human brains. But human-like intelligence comes in many forms.
We’re all aware of people who appear to be very smart in some ways, but less so
in others. Some people might have a high IQ but poor social skills and limited
‘common sense’, while others could be successful entrepreneurs but have
limited academic knowledge. AIs also vary wildly in the form of intelligence they
emulate.
How Close Are We To Artificial General Intelligence
- And Do We Really Want To Go There?

4. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
IQ tests were formulated as a method of quantifying intelligence, although their
validity in this regard is often disputed. Machines can do IQ tests – with around
the same ability level as a four-year-old. But there are many other factors which
go into “human-like” intelligence that IQ tests do not even touch on.
Emotional intelligence registers how well someone is able to understand and
interact with people on an emotional level, or interpret their own feelings. This is
sometimes through of as something which is intuitive but is undoubtedly a
mental process, dependent on our brain’s ability to analyse information and
infer an insight or solution, so qualifies as “intelligence”. This aspect of our
intelligence is thought to be integral to our creative abilities – something else
machines will have to master if they are going to develop “human-like”
intelligence. Steps are certainly being taken in this direction. The field of
affective computing is all about training machines to become more emotionally
intelligent and algorithms can already create music and even write poetry and
novels.
Defining “intelligence”

5. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Athletes and craftsmen rely on dexterity, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness of
what is going on around them as well as needing their brain to work quickly and
accurately to react to complicated, changing circumstances. AI-powered robots have been
taught to perform many complex physical tasks like walking, jumping or flying, and AI
algorithms have learnt to play video games using only visual input, showing that they are
capable of “learning” how to react to movement and even developing a desire to win.
Our communication skills – how well we are able to express our ideas and communicate
our insights is another form of intelligence. Again, machines have made ground here, with
recent developments in the AI-related fields of Natural Language Processing and Natural
Language Generation (think of Amazon Alexa or Google Home), which are bringing them
closer to being able to communicate with us in a human-like way.
An AI would have to be able to demonstrate all of these abilities, and probably many
more, before it approached what we would consider to be a human-like level of
intelligence. Now, undoubtedly, the building blocks are falling into place for this to
become a reality, but is an artificial human brain, capable of working at super-speed and
with unlimited memory and perfect recollection, what we want or need?

6. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
The question has ethical implications, particularly if we bring the controversial
topic of consciousness into the equation. From a scientific viewpoint,
consciousness is a state that arises when a biological brain interprets the flood
of sensory input streaming in from the world around it, leading, somehow, to
the conclusion that it exists as an entity.
It’s not well understood at all – but most of us can conceive how this massive
flood of images and sounds is interpreted through a biological neuro-network
which leads to “thoughts” – and among those thoughts are concepts of
individual existence such as “I am a human”, “I exist” and “I am experiencing
thoughts”.
Artificial consciousness

7. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
So, it’s only a small step of logic to assume that machines will one day – perhaps
soon, given how broad the stream of data they are capable of ingesting and
processing is becoming – in some way experience this phenomena, too. How
long before a machine is capable of saying to us “I too, am experiencing a sense
of existence and individuality”? And, when it does, will we have any sound
intellectual ground from which to argue that it is isn’t? After all, science has yet
to put forward any evidence against the idea that we are entirely mechanistic
constructs ourselves. Our brains run on electricity and rely on energy to fuel
them.
You might also want to look at this topic through a religious lens. If your view is
that there is a God that created us, doesn’t that mean that we’re really nothing
more than AIs ourselves? Giving us even less ground to argue with a human-
created AI that it isn’t sentient itself?

8. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Today, when we talk about consciousness and the possibility that machines will
develop sentience, it feels like we are wandering into fringe territories. But it’s
potentially a problem that will become very real for us at some time in the
future, if we remain in pursuit of giving machines ever-more human-like
intelligence.
Perhaps fortunately, when we talk about AI today, most of the time we are
talking about very specific applications focused on solving a particular problem.
It’s doubtful, for example, that we are going to find ourselves in an argument
any time soon with the AI that manages energy usage in Google’s datacentres
about whether it is conscious or not. But that could just be because we haven’t
given it a mouth to speak with yet, or the sensors it needs to make that
deduction. When we do, we might have to prepare for that event.

9. © 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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