Scientists built an AI that is smarter than most adults
Scientists built an AI that is smarter than most adults
Mike Wehner January 19th, 2017 at 10:23 PM
Computers can already hold a massive amount of
instantly-retrievable data in a manner that puts most humans to shame, but
getting them to actually display intelligence is an entirely different
challenge. A team of researchers from Northwestern University just made a huge
stride towards that goal with a computational model that actually outperforms
the average American adult in a standard intelligence test.
As PhysOrg reports, the witty computer system utilizes an
AI platform called CogSketch that gives it the power to solve visual problems
just by looking at them, which is something that has traditionally held back
many examples of artificial intelligence. Being able to visually understand,
interpret, and then use that data to come to a solution brings the computer
system closer to the functioning of the human brain than many before it, and so
the team pitted its creation against a popular standardized test called Raven’s
Progressive Matrices.
The Raven’s test (or RPM for short) is comprised of 60
multiple choice questions that measure the taker’s ability to reason, using
visual puzzles. For each question a series of shapes is given and the test
subject must identify the pattern and select whichever shape should logically
come next.
The researcher’s AI system performed extremely well on
the test, placing in the 75th percentile of American adults. What’s more, the
places where the AI stumbled are also spots where human test takers have gotten
stuck.
“Most artificial intelligence research today concerning
vision focuses on recognition, or labeling what is in a scene rather than
reasoning about it,” Northwestern’s Ken Forbus said. “But recognition is only
useful if it supports subsequent reasoning. Our research provides an important
step toward understanding visual reasoning more broadly.” Basically, the day
when computers enslave humanity is just around the corner.
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