Western Kentucky University

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Spring 1990

A Philosophical Critique of Artificial Intelligence

David Miller
Western Kentucky University

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses

Part of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Commons

Recommended Citation
Miller, David, "A Philosophical Critique of Artificial Intelligence" (1990). Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper
201.
http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/201

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 A PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUE
OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

by

David Miller

for

The Western Kentucky University

Honors Program

Spring 1990
 A PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The term "Artificial Intelligence" creates fantastic

images of robots and omniscient machines. Of all the

technological pursuits, Artificial Intelligence best

epitomizes man's thirst for technology. The science of
making machines think stands at the apex of man's mission,

reflecting not only his desire for control over his world but

also his quest to control himself. To create a machine

capable of thought -- rational life -- would mean that man

would have achieved a dream as old as technology itself.

Just as the field of medicine promises longevity,

Artificial Intelligence (AI) implies that man can at last be

his own master. Eternal and masterful, he may finally

control his world. Control over the human mind in the form
of external embodiment is control over man as surely as the

knowledge of physics is dominion over nature. AI is the goal

to end all goals for those modern computer scientists who

implement cognitive theories on machines.

There is no doubt that the information age has given

mankind his most prosperous status to date, and current

trends show technological capacity increasing with no end in

sight. Likewise, the impact of computer technology has had a