ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND REALITY

Abstract

Science and technology have revolutionized thinking in such a way that computers and Srobots appear to perform human actions or task with ease, precision and unbelievable speed even beyond humans. This questions the long held view that rationality is a unique and distinctive characteristic of man that is not shared by any other realities. This view seems to be changing with the advent of artificial intelligence. Here computers perform as if they have the capacity for reasoning, creativity, perception, emotion and even motives that characterize human action. Philosophers have classified such kind of computers into either strong artificial intelligence (artificial general intelligence) or weak artificial intelligence. This paper is aimed at examining different conceptions of artificial intelligence with particular reference to artificial general intelligence to ascertain whether it can fit into the character of reality as understood by metaphysicians The research is a qualitative one using analytic method to critically examine datasourced from books, articles and other internet sources to arrive at the argument of the paper The paper argues that, artificial intelligence of whatever kind is real but does not possess certain ontological characteristics of reality. It is a practical reality that lacks the ontological properties of the real and may not be able to attain such status in a near future. Artificial intelligence if is to be called intelligence at all it will be a manifestation of human intelligence through human creative endeavours.