People continue to compare deep learning to the brain and how it functions. This serves as a great simplification even though much of the inspiration for deep learning come from the brain.
“It’s true, deep learning was inspired by how the human brain works,” Girshick said on the Structure Show, “but it’s definitely very different.” Although much of the inspiration for deep learning originated with the most basic understanding of the brain’s structure. The analogy has been taken out of context by a variety of news sources and has added to the hysteria of artificial intelligence. Although some very intelligent people have come out as being worried and can be seen here. It is worth noting that people who work with artificial intelligence such as Andrew Ng and Patrick Ehlen, are the some of the least worried people. More can be read about that here.
“This whole ‘they’re going to destroy us’ meme is kind of a distraction,” Mr. Ehlen said.
For those who are worried about the robot take over, artificial intelligence still has a long way to go. The leap from a self-driving car, to a robot overlord is a large one, and one that is not likely to happen for decades, if ever.
Currently computers are only capable of learning a specific task and are limited at that. Artificial intelligence has come a long way, but still has a very long way to go before anyone needs to be concerned.
Here are the things to remember:
- The people responsible for artificial intelligence, laugh at the idea of super-human intelligence. They are currently still excited about a computer winning a game of chess.
- Learning one skill beyond the level of a human, is not the same as learning the way a human does.
- Computers are not about to overrun the human race.
- Although deep learning has roots in the biological understanding of the brain, it is in no way capable of doing what the brain can do.
If you are interested in learning more:
Here is an article about what AI experts are saying.
Here is what people who don’t know AI are saying about AI.
Here is an explanation about the brain inspiration behind deep learning.