Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making

In a recent discussion in my Enterprise Models class, a classmate and I discussed the limitations of Artificial Intelligence theories and human emotions. Here is my response:

From the research I have been doing over the years on AI specifically, one of the biggest challenges is how to program emotions into a computer system. I think there are two primary problems currently. One, and the main problem, is that modern computing technology processes thing in a linear fashion, every time slice of a CPU cycle is occupied by either a 1 or a 0. There is no middle ground, there is no gray area. Everything is black or white, and follows a strict logic rule set. What is currently being done with systems like Watson and Google's web crawler software is using software to simulate scenarios and have the hardware crunch the data, while another part of the software provides the processing logic through algorithmic manipulation thereby creating an intelligent system. Current intelligent systems are limited by the scope of their programming environment. Two, there isn't a programming language that yet exists that can accurately tell a computer how it needs to do what it needs to do in order to understand the logic behind a feeling. Most of the researchers I have found over the years say that technology isn't there yet, and I happen to agree. The possible solution to this quandary could be quantum computing.

With quantum computing a quibit offers a system the ability to see a data stream in two states simultaneously. Each quibit is BOTH on and off (1 and 0) in the same "time slice" of a processing cycle, leveraging the power of superposition and entanglement. This allows the system to perform many operations on the same data stream. Neural networks simulate this through software, but over hardware that still processes data in a linear fashion. What we need is the hardware to perform this, because it can perform it much faster than software could ever process the same data stream. Enter quantum computing. D-Wave Systems is the current leader in true quantum computing with their current D-Wave quantum computer, but their system is highly specialized at the moment due to a lack of programming knowledge...while the system has amazing potential, as you will see form a couple of the links below, no one really truly understands how to use it. There are other links below with details on their system and methodology.

The problem with quantum computing is it requires a completely new way of perceiving computers and also a completely new way for users to interface with computers, not to mention new hardware that performs in ways modern hardware cannot. That is what I see as the next way of technological evolution. As transistors become subatomic through the help of graphine and carbon nanotubes, and technologies like memristors look to shatter our perceptions on information storage capacities and data throughput, quantum computers will become more common place across the landscape. The ability to create a true quantum system capable of processing complex emotional patterns is very real. Once we have a true quantum processor, and a true quantum operating system, then we will not only have the power to process it in fractions of nanosecond but also the programming logic and syntax to leverage an intelligent system, and possibly create a sentient computer system, otherwise known as AI.

AI is an fascinating concept, and exactly why it will be the focus of my post grad work. Quantum computing has been a subject I have dreamed about and followed since I was a young boy, before computers were common place and technology was still considered a super luxury. Today technology is seen as a necessary commodity, but there are still concepts that have yet to be discovered or invented, and quantum computing is currently the field of interest. Once we researchers and scientists figure it out, it will change the world.


D-Wave System References:
http://recode.net/2014/09/25/d-wave-ceo-our-next-quantum-processor-will-make-computer-science-history-video/
http://www.dwavesys.com/quantum-computing
http://www.dwavesys.com/d-wave-two-system
http://time.com/4802/quantum-leap/


Quantum Computing References:
http://techland.time.com/2013/09/25/the-carbon-nanotube-breakthrough-moores-law-needs-to-survive-well-see/
http://phys.org/news387.html
http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/nanotech/research/nanotubes/index.html
http://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/short/article/30589/