Abdul Raffae
Philosophy
Dec 12th, 2018
Exam #3
Professor Maureen
Turing Test (1)
Turing test, developed by Alan Turing, is a program made for machines to decide if they can think like humans or not. Human interpret with machines through question and answer, and we program them with certain knowledge so that they can create limitation without any objection. They know the conditions and theory, and all we have to do is to play along with the machines and see how far they can get. They use their knowledge to give as much information as they can to satisfy the questioner.
Alan created this test to investigate a machine if they ever will have “the physical and the intellectual capacities of a man”. We can understood the basics by categorize its program a X, Y and Z: X as interpreter, Y is human, and Z is AI machine. Interpreter asked a question to Y and Z about “how is the weather today?”, and both of them respond differently. The human answered, “ it is cloudy and windy” and then the AI machine said, “ Today’s weather is 45F, and wind blows from West-North in 65mph”. As we can see that, the human’s answer talks about what he/she felt and whereas, AI machine went beyond human’s mind and said every single details it knows. This limitation game gives an idea of how they can advance in getting correct information regardless of what human ask them. But there are some objection when it comes to carry-on questions like “what is the 2 + 2? And is it odd or even?” Or ask something that an AI wasn’t program to answer such as, “do you have any feelings for anyone?”. Then, the question raises again, if they ever will be able to think like human and will they ever be accurate and fast?. Also, some criticized for them for take over human jobs which could lead to unemployment. But, still we can make them controlled by humans by “provide answers that would naturally be given by a man”. So, limitation game has been a successful Turing test for the machine and passed specific knowledge of a human mind.
AI used on beings is a complex method to interact with them. It will take time for humans to understand the nature and language of a being that has a little or no mind of thinking as humans. According to KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Gavagai’s AI language analysis, they are working on a complex communication system that they hope will take at least 2021 to complete. To understand dolphin language, researches need to understand their way of communication and that is the difficult part as if we used Turing test on them, we wouldn’t understand if they are responding to us or not. It is a long way to go to understand them first and test their beings. It wouldn’t be soon to think about how they connect to humans.
The soonest beings that can pass the Turing test are Great Apes, Elephant and AI computers. Ken Schweller, Professor of computer and psychology of Buena Vista University, developed a robot that looks like an ape. He studied and converted the human language of their species, culture, and tools to orangutans and bonobos’s language. They are being asked about humans and their existence. We know that the evolution of humans were proposed by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace of how our traits have evolved generation by generation. So we know that it definitely will pass the Turing test. Koko, a gorilla, understand more than 1,000 advance American sign-language died few months ago. It has passed many test that was conducted by scientists. This could lead us closer to understand more about them. Elephants, according to a new study we got to know that the African Elephants are able to understand human’s pointing gestures. Richard Byrne, researcher at University of St. Andrews, studied and found that we are one step closer to communicate with elephants. They can understand our gestures while we are still studying their gestures. We can direct them but they cannot. It is more likely that we are experimenting them and not focusing on how we can interpret them. But Anna Smet, a doctoral student, studied African elephants and they communicated through gestures. Google recently design a new feature called Google Duplex, AI assistant, that can function human-like and passed the Turing test recently. It communicate not as a robot but more like in a phone call in a typical women’s voice. They are designed to communicate as a human and answer questions. It is the quickest AI being that can pass the Turing test and change the world of AI.
References
Wikipedia, Charles Darwin, and Alfred Russel Wallace.”Evolution”.
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution)
It-World, Kevin Fogarty. “Robot chimp: Teaching apes to talk and humans to run”.
(https://www.itworld.com/article/2728196/consumer-tech-science/robot-chimp–teaching-apes-to-talk-and-humans-to-run.html)
National Geographic, Sandeep Ravindran. “African Elephants Understand Human Gestures”.
(https://www.itworld.com/article/2728196/consumer-tech-science/robot-chimp–teaching-apes-to-talk-and-humans-to-run.html)
Extreme-tech, Joel Hruska. “Did Google’s Duplex AI Demo Just Pass the Turing Test?”
(https://www.extremetech.com/computing/269030-did-google-duplexs-ai-demonstration-just-pass-the-turing-test)
Fanatical-futurist, Matthew Griffin. “By 2021 this AI could help us talk to dolphins”.
(https://www.fanaticalfuturist.com/2017/05/an-ai-is-helping-scientists-crack-the-language-of-dolphins-by-2021/)
Plato’s Myth of the Cave (2)
People wouldn’t eventually believe the theory of forms without realizing that they are stuck in an imaginary world. They will assume that, where they are, what they see, and what they feel is all real and there’s nothing beyond what they have seen. Those illusions for people, prison of imaginary world, will be felt as real, and if someone, free-men, talks about what it really is and where we are, then there’s chances that free-men will be killed for saying false and senseless things. According to Plato’s Theory of Forms, our world changes constantly and we change every 3 years, and real world is outside from where we live in. The prisoners in the myth of the cave didn’t believe that the reality which wast by one of the freed prisoner was true and they cannot bear what he was saying and wanted to kill him no matter what. They couldn’t understand that they were chained to a wall and couldn’t move and what they only can see is the shadows.
The myth of the cave can be true in our real-life. We have seen historic battles that have fought just because they have different views, and countries that have taken the freedom the people and force them to believe that there is no place but this, where you can live peacefully. We can look at the War of 1812, they fought over a trade route that American assume was illegal for British to blockade France through the naval. British and US both agreed to for “free ship make free goods”, but later went against. Now we can talk about the theory of forms, that there is reality exist beyond what we think of the world. We could work together and accept the truth and reality and not to go on war just because of what they heard from some source that was not true. We can also look at North Korea how they control their people and not let them have the technology and connection that we have with every country around the world. They were forced to accept that North Korea is only the country that would accept them and whatever is beyond what they don’t have is not real and a trick to go against their leader. Kim Jong Un made them believe that this is their home and everyone else, other countries, are enemy of their freedom.
In today’s world, we are free to decide whether to live by given rules and accept what our government wants us to believe or have freedom of speech, and bring your point in to awareness and let people know the truth. The myth of the cave can be false, if we go beyond where we are and look out for truth to believe then that brings the theory of forms to be true. Today we can feel, see, and hear what we wanted to as per our freedom, so believing to a myth of a cave will be false because we know whats the truth and whats illusion. We can differentiate between real and virtual reality. Our tech is beyond our imagination, so no matter how real the games and VR games are programmed, we will never have the freedom as we know the dissimilarity.
VR, virtual reality, is an experience in a simulated environment. According to philosopher Philip Brey, the virtual objects and events are obviously not real, but others are every bit as real as their real world analogues. We can surely tell the difference between what is real and what is been shown to us. In myth of a cave, they were shown the shadows of objects which for them were real, but they also never been set free and never know what is reality. So, it all comes down to freedom and differentiation that we can do, and understand that the myth of a cave is similar to our current generation Virtual Reality headsets. It is untrue to believe that our surrounding is not the reality.
References:
Faculty Washington, S. Marc Cohen. “ The Allegory of the Cave”
(https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/cave.htm)
Smithsonian, Amanda Foreman. “The British View the War of 1812 Quite Differently Than Americans Do”
(https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/british-view-war-1812-quite-differently-americans-do-180951852/)
Wikipedia. “Virtual Reality”
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality)
Ieet, John Danaher. “The Reality of Virtual Reality: A Philosophical Analysis”
(https://ieet.org/index.php/IEET2/more/Danaher20170918)
Five Faces of Oppression (3)
Five faces of oppression entail or cause distributive injustices, but also, all involve issues of justice beyond distribution. There’s many term oppression that describe injustice in the society. Traditional oppression says about strong connotation of conquest and colonial domination. Dominant political describe oppression as society such as communist. Left social movement changed the concept of oppression, and said it is disadvantage and injustice some people suffer from everyday practices of a well-intentioned liberal society. The systemic character of oppression implies that an oppressed group need not have a correlate oppressing group. The five set of oppression covers all kind of groups that faces exploitation, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, violence, and marginalization.
Australia has a history of oppression, and still has on-going issues that put communities in fear. There has been indigenous genocide, use of convict labor, gender discrimination, and xenophobia of Asian, Middle Eastern, and now African immigrants. Exploitation and marginalization still exist in Australia today. 17% of women are middle class are having a huge pay gap as compare to high class people. There have been strikes and boycotts to stop this civil disobedience. There have major strikes like Qantas’ 2011 and 2014 threat to strike, that were made to improve the imports and pay wage. Australia food industry has been accused of slave labors. They have been abused and exploited in Australia to stock goods in various places. They work for 22-hours days, 7 days a week and paid $3.95/hr.
Aboriginal people were assaulted in the Western Australia’s homelands. Mining companies are making billion dollar profits from aboriginal lands, and government wont longer support the homelands. Aboriginal people are being denied the basic rights, and they have been cut off from $534 million aid of social programs, health budget, and legal aid. Australian government signed the Northern Territory 99-year lease that is going to expire after 4 years. Recently, Coalition and Labor government has withdrawn the national jobs and community development employment programs. They prohibited natives to invest in infrastructures: housing, generators, and sanitation. They are afraid that they can overcome the white power, the current ruling government in Australia. Western Australia jails aboriginal men 8 times more than the white ones. Due to mining, oil, and gas companies at least 80% of indigenous children suffer from deafness. Almost 60 indigenous communities are in threat of losing their lands. Government’s forced eviction is still covered and not seen by the United Nations.
Marginalized and exploited Australians are in disadvantage state and since, there’s positivity in social stigma, poor health, financial hardship, and social isolation. Majority of groups wanted to exit from marginalization and exploit people wanted to bring a change to Australian law.
References
The Conversation, Elizabeth D. Tunstall. “Un-masking the five faces of oppression in Australia”.
(https://theconversation.com/un-masking-the-five-faces-of-oppression-in-australia-39227)
The Guardian, John Pilger. “Evicting Indigenous Australians from their homelands is a declaration of war”
(https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/22/by-evicting-the-homelands-australia-has-again-declared-war-on-indigenous-people)
Daily-Mail. “There is slave in this country’: The shocking allegations of exploitation of migrants workers on Australian farms”.
(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3067650/What-young-migrants-forced-endure-Australian-farms-factories.html)
Marginalized Australians, Tegan Cruwys.“Characteristics and Predictors of Exit Over Ten Years 2001-10”.
(https://bcec.edu.au/assets/Cruwys_Berry_Cassells_Duncan_2013_Marginalised_Australians.pdf & https://bcec.edu.au/publications/marginalised-australians-characteristics-predictors-exit-ten-years-2001-10/)
Plato, Crito & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (4)
Socrates’ views is a bit different from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about breaking the law. Crito offered Socrates to easily escape the prison but he instead wanted to face death and not to quit practicing philosophy.While Martin Luther King Jr. disobeyed the trial which he considered unjust. He organized a parade to reform the unjust system of legalized racial segregation. Socrates was evaluating the argument while Martin Luther King Jr. was distinguishing civil disobedience from other kinds.
Socrates shares all about personal mortality, and what two reasons upholds the laws in his case: Gratitude and Contract. There is an opposition about Socrate’s view of the moral acceptability of civil obedience. He first talks about the Laws of Athen, but in the apology, he would rather die than obey the command of jury to leave philosophy. He would rather die than leave teaching. Socrates in argument was against the obligation to his children that he should think about them whether to go as per his sentence or flee said by Crito. He accepted the Laws of Athens to accept his sentence of death. It will bring no harm to his children and clearly will live as a resident not foreigners. After the laws, he was told to no longer be concerned about his children. Socrates showed an agreement with the laws like always as he thinks it’s a breach to his philosophy.
Martin Luther King Jr. thinks that a small kind of disobedience can improve the law without harming anything. He thought of revolution, and did it without any illegal change. He had a peaceful and friendly protest to have a civil right movement. He wanted the government to pass a law that allow people of color to buy any properties, house and business. He wanted to remove people who are against the people of color and install a new government in to the United States. It wanted to focus on the aims to meet and not being targeted as a terrorist. He says, “an unjust law is no law at all” but he also agrees that it is a moral duty to obey laws. He concludes that our civil law does not conform to the eternal and natural law, and it is our duty to fix the unjust laws.
Socrates and King both accepted the legal system’s punishment. Socrates believe that it is not justice if you are punished to kill philosophy from ones life, and King said unjust law is out of harmony with the moral law. They both challenged the society to listen to their messages. They both were wrongly accused, and both reversed their accusation. They both tried to convey the universal concept of humanity and justice. They both came to philosophical ideas about change and how to use the power to convey the inequality in justice. Socrate’s society was imbalanced and they were in denial of a change in their life. While King wanted others to reform based on his letter from Birmingham jail. Their perspective limited them because the society was in fear of change and lose their identities. People were blind, when it was time to bring change to the system that is working unjustly.
Socrates and King were living in a different time and place, but their goal was same to bring a change in the law of order and let be justly. There wasn’t any principles of concepts but straight forward justice to system. They talked about the principles of their universal concept and defend it from the accusers and wrong people. They stand out against the system and people. They stood up for their beliefs and dedicated their life to bring betterment to the society. They sacrificed the peaceful life to bring change, and they did. Their source was strength and belief. They both lost their life for their cause through peaceful agitation for their identity and work. Socrates wanted Athenians citizens such pestering to bring action and improvement in their life, while King progressed through peaceful protest to bring social justice. Their point of persuasion with the public ignite an arena of thoughts and ideas to live justly.
References
Philosophy of Law, Michael Green. “Socrates and King on legal obligations”
(http://carneades.pomona.edu/2008-Law/nts-0312.shtml)
PrawfsBlawg, Ben Barros. “Socrate and Obedience to the Law”
(https://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2008/07/socrates-and-ob.html)
Imaginative conservative, John Creech. “Martin Luther King and The Rule of Law”
(https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2011/01/mlk-and-rule-of-law.html)
Summit, Chuck Edwards. “Martin Luther King, Jr. And Natural Law”
(https://www.summit.org/resources/articles/martin-luther-king-and-natural-law/)
WordPress, C. D. Phillips. “Martin Luther King and Socrates were Similar?”
(https://mizzrebelution.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/martin-luther-king-jr-and-socrates-were-similar/)
Sententiae Antiquae, Eyaoza. “ Martin Luther King Jr. and Socrates”
(https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2018/01/15/martin-luther-king-and-socrates/)
Raw Story, the conversation.”Why the ancient philosopher Socrates was important to Martin Luther King Jr.”
(https://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/why-the-ancient-philosopher-socrates-was-important-to-martin-luther-king-jr/)