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WWatt’s TechnologyArtificial IntelligenceBy David Seshai, a Computer Science student at Unisa and a Technology LeadershipProgramme (TLP) candidate with Stratek and Tshwane University of Technology.There has been a lot of discussion concerning the philosophyof Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its future role in oursmall and getting smaller world. With the Internet andthe PC becoming so common people are now asking thequestion “What next?”There can be no doubt that Artificial Intelligence is about to becomea real force in our technological evolution. There has been so muchdevelopment and change in the last 10 years that it is hard to believehow far we have come, but there is going to be another technicalrevolution … and it will be about AI.Computers and robots have been functioning features in our worldfor several years. These man-made ‘slaves’ can seemingly do everythingfrom making your morning coffee to lowering the thermostat fornight time sleeping. However, does performing a simple task, such asflipping a switch, mean that these robots are actually ‘intelligent’ orare they just performing a specific function as programmed to do?The question arises, will computers and robots be able to evolveand incorporate human like tendencies and the ability to learn fromprevious experiences into their programming?There are several definitions of artificial intelligence, with some ofthe definitions relying on more of a technical or scientific standpoint.To put it simply, artificial intelligence, commonly referred to as AI,is the capability of a device to perform functions that are normallyassociated with human intelligence. This includes learning throughreasoning and gaining additional knowledge through experience. AIcan also be seen as an interdisciplinary field where computer scienceintersects with philosophy, psychology, linguistics, engineering andother fields.Human beings make decisions based upon experience and intuition.The concept behind artificial intelligence is that computers willintegrate the necessary components to mimic this human learningprocess and evolve as they accumulate and process new learningexperiences.The ultimate test of artificial intelligence was developed by AlanTuring, a British mathematician famous for the invention of thetheoretical Turing machine and for deciphering the German codesduring World War II. Turing’s test is very simple. You place something(or someone) behind a curtain and then have it speak with you.If you cannot determine whether this entity is human being or acomputer, it passes the test and can be considered a true form of31