Next: Really Smart Computers

Computers today are smart. Smart at performing specific tasks. They still cannot match the adaptive and flexible mind of a human being, not even that of an infant. Faster computers alone will not get us there. Artificial Intelligence is required. While the field of artificial intelligence is over 50 years old, and there have been great successes, the field has a long way to go. Partial intelligences do narrowly defined tasks very well, but thinking is not a narrowly defined task.

Dr. Paul Cohen, Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Arizona, College of Science, delivers a lecture on the past, present and future of artificial intelligence. He suggests that computer scientists move from the complex to the simplistic, and focus on developing childlike intelligence, that will — just like human infants in nature — learn through their own experience.

The lecture is accessible to all learners, no computer knowledge required to understand and enjoy. Skip to about minute 6:00 to get right to the beginning of the lecture.

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