[alicebot-aiethics] Stephen Hawking

[Brenda R. Freedman]

I read about Stephen Hawking's comments when the article first came out and 
thought what could prompt someone who has been regarded as "the most 
brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein" to make these remarks has 
had me thinking for a while on the topic. He has made many theoretical 
predictions that have been proven including the discoveries of COBE (the 
Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite) which probed back in time to within 
300,000 years of the beginning of the universe. Professor Hawking is not 
one to make statements or predictions without evaluation and yet he 
believes that the machines can surpass our intelligence and take over the 
world.

When I had first read Hawking's bio on his site,  when he was diagnosed 
with a neurone motor disease at a young age but it did not stop him from 
going on with his career and when a young boy in the bed next to him was 
dying of a terminal illness, he thought things could always be worse. I 
have always admired his determination and his way of explaining the 
theories of the Universe to ordinary people.

I go back and read or look up a reference in his "Brief History of Time" 
when I read about something that prompts me in my own interest about the 
Cosmos. His remarks about machines taking over human intelligence, in 
particular a part "artificial brains contribute to human intelligence 
rather than oppose it." I think about ALICE and all the work that has been 
done towards this endeavor.  His ending paragraph in "A Brief History of 
Time" (when he talks about a complete theory of the Universe) says much to 
where we may be going in the world of AI:

	"However, if we do discover a complete theory, it should bee 
understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a 
few 	scientists.  Then shall all, philosophers, scientists and just 
ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the 	question, 
why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it 
would be the ultimate triumph of human 	reason -- for then we would know 
the mind of God."

As Richard Wallace has stated, ALICE was written for the category B client. 
It is something I am reminded about and time again when I see the joy of 
people discovering ALICE for the first time who have no other interest 
except chatting with this enchanting bot.

Stephen Hawking never felt sorry for himself because of his disability and 
I would think giving him an artificial body might not be high on his list 
(this is just my opinion) and from everything I have read about his 
attitude towards his disability. He has led a full life with children and 
now a grandchild, so giving him an artificial body at this point in time 
perhaps would not give him any more accomplishments to his career.

Brenda