286
Study Alert
Traditional intelligence
relates to academic
performance; practical
intelligence relates to
success in life; emotional
intelligence relates to
emotional skills.
Applying Psychology
in the 21st Century
Artifi cial Intelligence:
Building a Smarter Robot
A robot that can open doors and fi nd
electrical outlets to recharge itself.
Computer viruses that no one can
stop. Predator drones, which, though
still controlled remotely by humans,
come close to a machine that can kill
on its own (Markoff, 2009).
Are computers on the verge of outsmarting
humans? That’s the concern of specialists
in
artifi cial intelligence, a fi eld of science that
studies whether
computers and other ma-
chines can learn to perceive their environ-
ment and respond in a way that mimics
human intelligence.
As
artifi cial intelligence technology rap-
idly advances, increasingly sophisticated
machines that can simulate a host of human
functions are now available or are on the ho-
rizon. The military uses intelligent guidance
systems that help bombs fi nd their targets
and remote-operated drones that perform
dangerous combat missions. Department
stores even sell
robotic vacuum cleaners
that independently roam across fl oors and
carpets to track down and sweep up dirt
and then park themselves to recharge for
the next day (Aguilar et al., 2009).
Most of us see these advances as benefi -
cial to society, allowing machines to per-
form tasks that are tedious or even
dangerous for people to handle. But some
are concerned that the use of artifi cial intel-
ligence systems may be going too far, to the
point where
people are handing over im-
portant decisions to cold, unfeeling ma-
chines. The prospect of automated systems
that make medical decisions or robots that
hunt down and kill people may be a bit far-
fetched, but scientists are nevertheless
echoing laypeople’s concerns that we may
be handing over too much control to tech-
nology (Foster & Stiffman, 2009).
Artifi cial intelligence and robotics re-
searchers have pointed to a number of con-
cerns. For example,
some potential problems
include possible criminal uses of artifi cial
intelligence systems, such as the develop-
ment of insidious computer viruses or the
use of technology to steal sensitive personal
data. Other less dramatic concerns include
the possibility of automated systems dis-
placing human jobs as machines become
sophisticated enough to take over functions
that currently only humans can perform,
such as operating cars or taking telephone
calls (Association for the Advancement of
Artifi cial
Intelligence, 2009; Mobasher &
Tuzhilin, 2009).
The overriding concern is that artifi cial
intelligence technology is progressing
faster than society is prepared to deal
with it. We still have a number of social,
ethical, and legal questions to grapple
with, even as machines become increas-
ingly suited to perform human functions.
Scientists want to be sure that such ma-
chines continue to benefi t society into the
future rather than replace old problems
with new ones (Markoff, 2009).
The vacuum cleaner is just one of many kinds
of robots that are becoming increasingly
sophisticated.
• What kinds of human intelligence might machines be unable to mimic?
• Do you believe society should place limitations on
just how smart machines can
become?
RETHINK
with an understanding of what other people are feeling and experiencing, which
permits us to respond appropriately to others’ needs. These abilities may help explain
why people with only modest scores on traditional intelligence tests can be quite
successful: the basis of their success may be a high emotional intelligence, which
allows them to respond appropriately and quickly to others’ feelings.
Although the notion of emotional intelligence makes sense, it has yet to be quan-
tifi ed in a rigorous manner. Furthermore, the view that emotional intelligence is so
important that skills related to it should be taught in school has raised concerns
among some educators. They suggest that the nurturance
of emotional intelligence
is best left to students’ families, especially because there is no well-specifi ed set of
criteria for what constitutes emotional intelligence (Sleek, 1997; Becker, 2003).
Still, the notion of emotional intelligence reminds us that there are many ways
to demonstrate intelligent behavior—just as there are multiple views of the nature of
intelligence (Fox & Spector, 2000; Barrett & Salovey, 2002). Figure 4 presents a sum-
mary of the different approaches used by psychologists, and
Applying Psychology in
the 21 st Century discusses advances in artifi cial intelligence.
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