Many people think that science will eventually be able to explain everything that happens in nature, and that technology will be able to reproduce it. Perhaps that is so, but even then, that day lies far into the future. Probably a more likely scenario is that the further science and technology advance, the deeper the mysteries of the world will grow. Even with topics that we believe science has solved for good, when you take a closer look, you'll find that plenty of problems have slipped through the cracks or been swept under the carpet. Furthermore, these are often the issues that are closest to us and most important in our daily lives. Take hunches or intuitions or premonitions, for example. They may have rational-sounding explanations, but our gut feelings tell us something is not quite right after all. Such examples are not at all uncommon. When you think about it, there are lots of things that modern civilization has forgotten all about. Maybe the time has come to stop for a moment and try to remember. The seeds of forthcoming science and technology are impatiently waiting to be discovered among the things we have left behind.
HORIBA, Ltd.
When we encounter people with abilities that we don’t have ourselves – athletes making incredible performances, craftsmen with transcendent skills, or genius artists or scientists – we often feel envy or jealousy, but also a sense of longing and admiration. Many people seem to have a similar response to AI.
Although we can’t fly through the sky or look through solid objects, we have learnt to use practical tools like airplanes and X-ray cameras. The purpose of tools has always been to extend our powers and abilities beyond what we can do with our bodies alone. Nobody would dream of competing with an airplane or an X-ray camera. The same should true for AI, but seeing AI as a rival is perhaps only human nature. However, it is a fight we cannot hope to win. From the very beginning, AI technology is aiming for superhuman skills and is fighting in a different arena altogether. Instead, the emergence and development of AI is a great opportunity to reflect on what we can do precisely because we are human.
Superior AI requires superior algorithms, of course. An abundant accumulation of high-quality data is another prerequisite in order to produce accurate output according to the set task. It is in discovering relationships among colossal amounts of data that AI truly comes into its own. In human judgment, empirical knowledge probably plays the largest role. Empirical knowledge is the memory of sensations. Without sensations, there can be no knowledge, and no wisdom to put to use.
In order for AI technology to evolve, it needs not only existing data, but a steady input stream of new and accurate data.
For this, measuring and analysis technology has to advance as well. The future of artificial intelligence depends on sensoring technology, or in other words the technology of “artificial sensibility.”
© 1996-2013 HORIBA, Ltd. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.